That’s a great question. As you say, Gunnar is dead, but his past behavior indicates that the man had a mean and impulsive streak. He never wanted Stefan, and resents his presence in the world. In his sober moments, Gunnar possibly hoped to keep his son in servitude, or even try packing Stefan out to Uncle Ray in exchange for some of that extortion money he’d had to save up. Conveniently, Ray would probably make Stefan disappear and Gunnar could plausibly deny any precise knowledge of the boy’s whereabouts. As you suggested, it appears that Stefan was living on borrowed time back in Carlsberg. Thanks a ton for bringing up an interesting plot bunny.