Is this destiny?

The rest of the evening went fine.

Two more Elders approached Aiden, and one of them gave him a similar offer as Elder Sergey: support, if he wants to relocate to another base.

Maksim made an appearance, but it was not more than ten minutes long and he didn't approach Sarah or Aiden.

Sarah and Aiden ate and returned to their room.

They got ready for the night and settled in the bed. A minute later, Sarah instructed Eve to put the surveillance video on loop and to block any audio recordings from their room. For anyone who is watching or listening, it will appear that they are lying in the bed without moving, in silence. Ah, it's good to have Eve back.

"When you were with Elder Sergey, Maksim approached me…", Sarah paused when Aiden's hold on her tightened. Actually, his whole body tensed, as if he is ready to leap out of the bed. And he felt ready to get out, find Maksim, and beat him into pulp.

Sarah hugged Aiden tightly, to reassure him that she is fine. "He didn't harm me."

Aiden relaxed slightly and Sarah told him about what happened in Aiden's absence.

"He was testing you.", Aiden concluded.

Sarah agreed. She thinks the same way, but… "Why? If he wants to take me away, does he need to play these games? Didn't he take Mila away after your event? What prevented him to do the same to me? I don't think that he was testing if I am trustworthy because there is no way he will ever trust me with anything. He knows that I am not Olga, and that I am not from the Voronin organization. What is the point of playing games to check if I will take advantage of his absence?"

Aiden didn't have answers to these questions.

There was no point in guessing the reason behind Maksim's actions, so Sarah decided to change the topic.

"Will you ask tomorrow for a different base? Going to a remote base in South America does not bring any benefits to our cause."

Aiden agreed with this. "I wish that we have more information on factions within the Voronin family."

"Yeah. Then we can make a wise choice in picking which Elder to follow."

Aiden moved closer and whispered, close to her ear: "You mean, which Elder to use."

Sarah giggled. She likes his correction. "You are wise, my husband. Make sure you pick your words wisely. This might be another test."

"Maybe."

Sarah and Aiden chatted about the possibilities that the next day might bring and they stopped when Sarah started yawning.

They were both excited that it's only one day until this is done, and then Aiden will officially become part of the Voronin organization, and they will take it from there. Sarah was looking forward to her two cakes. 

"Tomorrow this testing will end and we can breathe easier.", Aiden murmured while cradling Sarah into his arms.

"I can't wait...", Sarah responded. "I look forward to when we can hold each other and not worry that someone will attack us if we drop our guards."

"Hmm...", Aiden hummed in confirmation. "I will hold you. Always..."

~ Eastern Europe, the base of the Lebedev family ~

5:53 AM

In the basement of Vasily's villa…

"Still not talking?", Vasily asked Ivan with a scowl.

Vasily's hands are bloodied, but that is not his blood. It's from Ivan who is tied up to the chair, and his whole head is a swollen bloody mess with pieces of his flesh missing.

If not for the movements of Ivan's chest that indicate he is breathing, anyone would assume that he is dead.

"Why don't you tell me what were you doing in that dump? I will give you an easy death.", Vasily said angrily.

Ivan's whole body heaved, and he spat blood on the floor.

"Fuck you… I will die one way or another…", Ivan said weakly.

Vasily sneered. "Bastard!" And then he punched Ivan again.

This punch rendered Ivan unconscious.

"Wake him up!", Vasily shouted and one man with a pail in his hand approached.

The heavy splash of the water in the face didn't wake up Ivan. Vasily wanted to ask for another pail of water, but then he changed his mind.

"Make sure he does not die. I am not done with him.", Vasily said and walked out.

Vasily washed his hands from the blood and rubbed his forehead, unsure of what to do.

He confirmed that Ivan went to one of the locations where all kinds of shady characters gather. It's in neutral territory, but the fact is that several people from the Voronin family were there at the same time, and Vasily has a bad feeling he can't shake off. The fact that Ivan is mum about what he was doing there is only making the whole thing more serious.

…

"I hope you have a good reason for waking us up at this time, Uncle Vasily…", JoAnna said grumpily.

Sophia was one step behind her, frowning.

Both JoAnna and Sophia were wrapped in their bathrobes with their pajamas underneath. They hoped that whatever Vasily wants will take one minute, and they can go back to bed and get a bit extra sleep.

"I need to know Sarah's status.", Vasily said.

JoAnna and Sophia gave him 'no way' looks.

Vasily exhaled in frustration. "I know you are keeping details to yourself and that is fine. But I need to know that she is safe and that you have an exit strategy in case something goes wrong."

"What is going on?", JoAnna asked Vasily suspiciously.

"Nothing. Yet."

Sophia felt that the second word was ominous. "Yet?"

"I'm not sure. But I have a bad feeling."

"Does that feeling come often? Or is there a reason why that happened?", Sophia asked. "Don't tell us that you had a bad dream and that is why you came here because we will not believe it. You are here because you need something. Tell us your part if you want our help."

Vasily saw that both Sophia and JoAnna are looking at him with determination and he lifted his hands in surrender.

"Uhm… At that time, when everyone was working on the data from the Voronin family, I came here leisurely.", Vasily started talking and paused to take a deep breath. It was difficult for him to admit his failures, but this is something he needs to say. "I didn't know that you were sending me data because Ivan didn't tell me. And he didn't warn me because he was not here, and his phone was off. He spent that night in a bar, possibly talking to the people from the Voronin family."

JoAnna was alerted. "Possibly? How much possibility are we considering here?"

"I'm not sure. He was there, and those people as well. I didn't send him. He went on his own. It could be a coincidence that he was there with Voronins, but Ivan refuses to admit that he was there at all. But I don't know more than that."

"Ask him.", Sophia said impatiently.

Vasily looked at Sophia like she said something silly. Didn't she hear that Ivan refuses to admit that he was there? "You don't think I did? The bastard does not want to talk."

JoAnna could not believe Vasily's words. It is not difficult to make people talk. She is an expert. "Where is he?"

"In my basement."

"Bring him here.", Sophia commanded.

Vasily nodded and rushed out.

---

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