30 - Break

Mia's POV.

A bit of emotional blackmailing later, Federico had finally agreed to give me the pen drive in which I'd transferred all the files I had found in the laptop we had come across the night I'd gotten shot.

When I had looked through those files, I realized they all mostly held information about old deals that had taken place, nothing particularly new. The only useful thing I'd found out was that the Russian mafia used a few warehouses in the city to keep the women they kidnapped before they were sold further.

The thought that my sister had already been sold to some sleaze crossed my mind but I pushed it away. I would track whoever had taken her and get her back if that was the case.

"Find anything useful?" Federico asked from his spot on the sofa. The man had converted the sofa set in his room to an unofficial office of sorts so he could still keep an eye on me while he worked. To be honest, he didn't have to babysit me like that. It's not like I was chronically ill or completely out of commission that I needed help with every little task but the man simply refused to leave me alone.

The reason he had given me was that if left alone, I would work too much and over-exert myself which would hinder my healing. He kept reminding me every hour to take a short break to either drink water or juice or have some fruit. As cherished and taken care of as it made me feel, I felt as if it was he who needed these breaks more than me. The guy hadn't stopped to take a break ever since he had sat down with his laptop to work, making calls in between and whatnot.

"You know, I feel like you're the one who needs a break now. You've been working nonstop for the past four hours, Rico," I said to him, pushing my own laptop away for a few minutes.

"I'm fine," he muttered, much too focused on whatever it was he was staring at on his screen.

I rolled my eyes, getting up from the bed and making my way towards him before shutting his laptop amidst his protests and pushing it away. "Let's go get some fresh air. We've been cooped up in here long enough. You can continue working later."

He huffed out a breath. "How the tables have turned," he muttered under his breath, making me chuckle.

With a reluctant nod, he got up from his spot on the sofa, towering over me as he stretched and cracked his neck. "Where do you want to go?" He asked me, but before I could reply, my stomach did for us by choosing that exact moment to growl loudly.

My cheeks heated up in embarrassment as Federico chuckled. "The kitchen it is," he said, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"It's been a while since we had some food," I defended myself.

"Never said it hasn't," Federico said, raising his hands in surrender.

Within minutes, we were both walking into the kitchen, the aroma of spices and cheese filling my nostrils as we entered, making my stomach growl yet again.

Maria stood in the kitchen, stirring something in a pot with Luca casually helping her cook as he chopped up some tomatoes like a pro.

"Wow, Angela's lucky," I commented as I looked at Luca, making the two of them look up at us as we entered.

Seeing me, Luca gave me a small smile, one that didn't reach his eyes. "How are you doing, Mia?" He asked, his tone formal, like he didn't care what my answer would be either way.

"Better, thank you," I replied, frowning a little. I hadn't talked to Luca much since being here, but he didn't seem particularly fond of me either. He obviously hadn't been as vocal about it as Enzo had been or done anything to make me feel unwelcomed, but his callous attitude made me feel like he did not like me much.

Brushing the thought away, I focused on Maria instead. "Lunch is almost ready," she announced. "Why did you come down here, though? I would've had the maids come to your room with the food."

"It's fine, mama. We needed to get out of the room for a while anyway," Federico interjected, making me nod in agreement.

Maria seemed to have warmed up to me considerably by now. I figured it was because I had saved her son by jumping in front of the bullet that was actually meant for him.

"I'll go and get Angela and Emilia for lunch as well," Luca said to no one in particular before leaving the kitchen quickly.

I frowned to myself again. There was something wrong here, alright. It was obvious he did not like me at all, but the question was why. I hadn't done anything bad to him, or Enzo for that matter, yet the two seemed to hate my guts anyway.

Shaking my head free of those stupid thoughts, I looked at Maria as she closed the lid on whatever she had been stirring with a satisfied smile on her face. "I can have some of that, right?" I asked Maria, not wanting to eat boiled vegetables again. It had been a nightmare to choke them down last night, I wasn't sure I had it in me to do it again.

Maria chuckled at my question. "Of course, you can, Mia. I thought eating boiled food would help you recover quicker but I understand if you didn't like it. It's why I've made this pasta myself instead of ordering the chef to do it so I can make sure it's as healthy as possible for you."

My brows raised at her words. "Wow, thank you, Maria. But you didn't have to go through all this trouble for me."

Maria shook her head, stepping close to me before placing a hand of motherly affection on my cheek. "You have no idea what you have done by taking the bullet meant for my son. You've not only saved his life, but mine, too. It has not been easy for me to cope with the death of my husband and son. I don't think I would've survived losing Rico as well."

I grabbed her hand in my good one and gave it a squeeze. "I did what I thought was right. Despite the business he is in, your son is a good man, Maria," I whispered softly, believing every word that had just come out of my mouth.

"I know," Maria replied, giving me a small smile just as Emilia came rushing into the kitchen.

"Mia! How are you doing now? I wanted to come see you but Mama said you needed rest to get well soon," Emilia explained, pouting up at me.

"I'm fine now, baby, much better," I said to the girl before Maria ushered us both out and towards the dining room, ordering the maids to bring the food on her way out.

Luca, Angela and Federico were already seated when I reached the dining room with Emilia and Maria in tow.

We all took our seats, me sitting next to Federico like before as the maids brought out the food.

Once everybody else had joined, we all began to eat the scrumptious meal Maria had prepared. And even though there were people on this table who did not seem to like me, I still felt content sitting there and silently eating my food as lively chatter, mostly from Emilia, filled the space around me.

Though, it was moments like this, surrounded by Federico's family that made me long to find my sister even more. I hoped I would find her soon.