288 Hunter and the Russo family 9

Fabricio was interrogating people, and he was irritated that no one knows anything. Is it possible that everyone is against him? Sure, maybe they are siding with Keith vs Hunter, but Fabricio said that Hunter should be treated with respect, so whoever acted against Hunter went against his orders.

Penelope was bringing coffee to Fabricio whenever he emptied the mug in front of him.

Keith was sitting in the living room for some time, before heading to his room. All kinds of scenarios ran through his head, mostly related to covering up his tracks and if he missed anything. He knows that as long as Fabricio does not find proof of his wrongdoings, he will be safe. And if he is safe, he will get another chance to remove Hunter who is like a thorn in his side.

Mia and Hunter were in Mia's room.

"How do you think this will end?" Hunter asked Mia.

Mia frowned. "I don't care about this. All this is my father's mess and he needs to deal with it. It reminded me why I left. I can't live in a house where everyone is lying and scheming, it's not healthy. And let me tell you, if Roberto is here, this situation would be much worse. Keith still has some fear of Fabricio, while Roberto has none." Mia took a deep breath to calm her emotions. "The only good thing right now is that in the morning, after breakfast, we are going home and leaving this place behind us. I'm sorry that we came here."

"I'm not sorry. I've got to see where you grew up. This is an important part of you, don't dismiss it."

Mia looked at Hunter with a complex expression. "What we have is a life I craved for a long time. Peaceful and happy. Let's get married and make babies. I will take good care of our children and you can go to work."

"I think that you are not born for a housewife, you will be bored quickly. But if that is something you want to try, I am more than happy to star with the baby-making." Hunter said cheekily.

Mia laughed at Hunter's silly expression. "You are right, I will probably get bored quickly. I don't know what I want to do, but I know that I don't want to go to sleep fearing if someone put scent which attracts rats on my shoes. And if we have babies in these conditions, the stress will increase several folds."

"You know that this is all from Keith. I can see it in his eyes, he is power-hungry. In his opinion, he was one step away from his goal, and now it's slipping away. Even if Fabricio distances him from here, Keith will not give up because he believes that the position of the next boss belongs to him, and to make things worse, over the years he gathered followers."

"Would you like us to take over this place? That will make you the next master, even though I would technically be the boss."

Mia observed Hunter curiously. "How come you are not power-hungry?"

Hunter knows that Mia is asking related to taking over Fabricio's organization (as her husband), but her question reminded him of his family. "I grew up watching Max and I can see that he is under constant pressure. He needs to be the best, he needs to be perfect, for himself, for the family, for all the employees who depend on his performance. That is a lot of responsibility. I love the Alpha group and everything it stands for, and I'm enjoying the power which comes with the last name Anderson. But I never wanted to be the one on the top because I love my freedom. Yes, Max is at the top, but he is not free because his position shackled him, and if he ever wants to do something for himself that would jeopardize people who are depending on him, he will end up looking like a bad guy. Part of me feels sorry for him. I choose to support Max, but if I don't feel like it, I can take time off and he will need to figure it out because for him, there are no excuses. Max has to be there, he needs to keep going and make decisions for everyone while enemies are waiting for him to slip. I don't envy him." Hunter paused and looked at Mia intently. "Mia, if you decide to take over, I will support you, but know that I can't leave Max on his own. He needs me. However, I'm sure that I will learn to balance between the two."

Mia smiled while admiring his insights. "You are wonderful."

Hunter pulled Mia closer and inhaled the scent of her shampoo. While exhaling, Hunter murmured: "If my hunch is correct, Keith is familiar with what Fabricio will do to investigate, and he will avoid being caught."

"You have a plan?" Mia whispered, aware that Hunter lowered his voice in case there are listening devices.

Hunter gave her a knowing look and got his phone.

…

Fabricio, Penelope, Keith, Mia, and Hunter ate breakfast in silence.

Mia knew that silence from Fabricio means that he didn't find anything useful, but she had to confirm, or maybe to rub it in: "How did the investigation go? Did you find who wanted Hunter's feet to be eaten by the rats?"

"Aren't you exaggerating?" Keith scoffed.

Mia's eyes flashed in anger. "Exaggerating? There were more than a dozen rats. Hunter already had a wound on his leg which attracted the rodents. If rats went for him, he would not wake up before the first bite, and once they go crazy, they would keep on biting no matter how much he fights them. In those conditions, he would definitely suffer a big injury. The only lucky thing was that I was there and that they went for me first. Maybe this looks like a small bite to you, but a piece of my flesh is missing!"

Fabricio lifted his hand, indicating to Mia to calm down. "We found the maid who delivered the slippers. She was dead in the storage room. Looks like a suicide."

"Really? A suicide?" Mia asked sarcastically. "And who gave her the thing which attracted the rats?"

"I'm investigating. The videos are tampered with…" Fabricio said in a small voice, embarrassed that his investigation didn't yield better results.

"What about the person who trained the rats?"

Hunter's question made everyone turn toward him.

Hunter looked at everyone at the table before his sight settled on Fabricio. "The rats are trained to go for a specific smell. Someone trained them. Whoever used them last night, was colluding with the rat-trainer."

Fabricio nodded. "I spoke with people who are in charge of the lab which creates scents and animal trainers. They are investigating and I will see people who were in touch with anything relevant before lunch."

Hunter smirked, knowing that this is his time to shine. "No need…"

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