Chapter 421 - Interrogations (1)

~ Seattle, the Anderson family's villa ~

That evening, Hunter and Max wanted to talk to Nathan, and Madeline made it a dinner occasion where she invited Liz, Mia, Sabrina, Ashton, Angela, Cynthia, and Adam.

"How are you doing, dear?", Madeline asked Cynthia. They all know that Cynthia and Adam are undergoing fertility treatments.

Cynthia smiled. "On Monday we got a confirmation that I am pregnant."

"Oh, that is wonderful!", Madeline gushed and looked around. "Considering that others are smiling, I assume that I am the last to find out."

"Sorry, Mrs. A. We didn't mean to keep it a secret, but everything is overwhelming and now that it's happening, we fear that we might jinx it by spreading the news.", Cynthia explained.

Madeline waved her hand, indicating to Cynthia not to worry about it. "What is your plan now?"

Adam responded. "We will stay here for another two weeks to make sure everything is fine. If things are progressing well, we will return home, and have pregnancy monitored by an ObGyn who is closer to the Grant farm."

After the baby-talk, Madeline turned to Angela. "What are your plans, dear?"

"I am sticking around.", Angela said. "Rina was kind enough to give me an entry-level job at her studio, and I am preparing for my entrance exam while living rent-free at their place. I am very grateful…" Angela looked at Sabrina who returned her smile.

"We are a family now.", Sabrina said to Angela. "Please, stop acting like I am doing something extraordinary."

"And it's not for free.", Ashton added. "After the baby comes, we expect free babysitting services."

Angela laughed. She would watch over the baby one way or another because that is her brother's child, and she loves babies. "You have yourself a deal."

The mood in the living room was good while they snacked on desserts and sipped beverages.

In the study, Max and Hunter faced Nathan and the atmosphere there was stark opposite from the cheery one two doors down the hallway.

Max and Hunter told Nathan about the mole in the Alpha group, what they did, and about their current situation.

Hunter was the one to give the update on the latest status: "Irene disappeared, and we are still looking for her. Mr. Bolton is in our safe house, waiting to be interrogated. From his phone records and emails, we can see that he had frequent contacts with Mr. Stone, Mr. Goulding, and Mrs. Pence. The four of them met at the Silver Club at least once a week, and we suspect that they are behind the idea to topple the Alpha group."

Nathan stared at the invisible spot on his desk with a frown while recollecting his interaction with those four people. He remembered that at some point in time, he considered them as friends. But things changed as they showed how they would try to cheat him in business or act against the Anderson family. In order to protect the Alpha group and his family, Nathan hurt many people, and he is not surprised that some would retaliate, but he didn't expect that they would join forces.

"How much damage did they do to the company?", Nathan asked.

"Not much.", Max responded. "We found a USB memory stick that Irene gave to Mr. Bolton before she disappeared. If he used that the damage would be noticeable, but we got that back in time."

"What will you do now?", Nathan continued probing.

"We need to find out if anyone else was involved, if they planned to do anything other than impacting the Alpha group, and we need to send a message.", Hunter responded.

Nathan nodded and exhaled. "Sorry, boys. This seems to be my mess, and they used Irene to try to get to you." This was mostly directed at Max. "Can I interrogate him?"

"Sure. But we don't want to drag this because we don't know if they have any backup plans. It needs to happen tonight.", Max said.

Nathan agreed. "I am ready whenever you are."

The three of them left the study and went to join their lady-counterparts.

Before entering the living room, Max stopped Hunter. "Can Mia stay with Liz?"

"You don't want Liz to come?", Hunter guessed.

"That is not a place for a woman like Liz."

"You will need to convince Liz.", Hunter said to Max with a smirk and entered the living room.

Max called Liz to the side, and just as Hunter guessed, Liz wanted to come with them instead of staying with Mia.

"Max, you told me not to come to the Alpha group today because you are setting up a trap for Irene. And now you are telling me to stay away from this? These people targeted you and your company. How can I stay away? How can I be your partner if you are keeping me on the side? Do you see me as an equal or as someone who needs to be shielded from everything?"

This last question hit Max hard. He wants them to be partners, equals in everything.

"I only want to spare you from seeing something ugly."

"Max, I am a surgeon. It's part of my job to cut people open. You don't need to spare me from seeing ugly things because I saw a lot."

Max caressed her cheeks with his fingers while gazing into her eyes. "I am more concerned that you will see the ugly side of me."

Liz thought how Max's insecurity is adorable and it reminded her of the evening when Max returned after he beat up Tyler for harassing Liz.

"Max, whenever we have a disagreement I only ask you to stop and think what would you do if our roles are reversed. If I have a fear that you will not like something about me, would you be OK staying behind and confirming that you are not accepting me the way I am?"

Max shoved his hand in his hair, realizing that Liz won this argument.

"I can't say no to you, can I?"

Liz smiled slyly. "You can try." She held his hand in hers. "Don't worry about me and do your thing knowing that I am right by your side. We are in this together."

Sabrina noticed that something is going on. Her father and brothers had matching small creases between their brows, and she could guess that it's nothing good. Probably related to their family or… the Alpha group. She remembered her talk with Max and Hunter about exposing the mole in the company and the pieces fell into place.

Sabrina was curious to find out about the current status, but she knew that because of her pregnancy, they are keeping her in the dark. Other than that, Sabrina is the host for Angela, Adam, and Cynthia, and those three should not suspect that anything is wrong.

"I am getting sleepy…", Sabrina said while leaning on Ashton.

"We can go home", Ashton said immediately to which Sabrina nodded.

"You are coming with us?", Sabrina asked their guests, and Angela, Adam, and Cynthia confirmed.

Sabrina gave everyone a hug before they left.

"Be careful…", Sabrina told Max before letting him go.

Max smiled a little, pleased that Sabrina noticed the current mood and that she figured out what is going on.

"I will, don't worry.", Max responded.

…

Max and Hunter entered the room where Mr. Bolton was tied up to the chair.

Liz, Mia, and Nathan stood in the adjacent room, and they could see what is going on through the one-way mirror.

Nathan wanted to be the one who will talk to Mr. Bolton (and the others who were working with Mr. Bolton) about their scheme against the Alpha group. Based on the people who were involved in the ploy, the Andersons guessed why those people banded against them, and Nathan felt that he was the catalyst that started this. Also, they tricked Nathan into hiring Irene, and he thought it was a friendly recommendation. No matter how Nathan looks at this, it's his fault and he is not comfortable that Max and Hunter need to clean up the mess he caused.

However, Max wanted to go first. Max didn't have any grudges against Mr. Bolton because his plan to sabotage the Alpha group failed. However, Max hated the idea that they treated him as a puppet, as someone insignificant. Luckily, they underestimated him as he saw what they were doing before any real damage was done.

Hunter said that he will be there to help Max, but Max had a feeling that Hunter was by his side to make sure Mr. Bolton stays in a good enough shape to talk to Nathan.

Max had two questions…

"Where is Irene Brooks, and what did you give her to get her into your plan?"

Mr. Bolton looked at Max like he said something funny.

"I don't know where she is.", Mr. Bolton said after some time. "Do you think I keep track of your ex-girlfriends?"

'POW!'

Max's fist connected to Mr. Bolton's jaw without prior warning.

Mr. Bolton's face contorted in pain as the metallic taste filled his mouth.

"Impatient, are you?" Mr. Bolton sneered. "I told you that I don't know where she went!"

"We know that you met with her this afternoon in the Silver Club.", Hunter said.

Mr. Bolton cursed internally. He had a feeling that Irene was followed, but he didn't see anything out of place.

After his talk with Irene at the Silver Club, Mr. Bolton didn't linger. On his way to the parking lot, someone jumped him and when he woke up he was in this place. He hoped that maybe it was a random thing, someone attacked him for money because of the fancy car he is driving. But now that he can see Andersons, he confirmed that he is caught in the act of working against the Andersons.

To top it all, it seems that Irene escaped! Mr. Bolton hated that woman to the core.

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