Is this destiny?

Sarah was wrapping her head around all the information that came her way during the video that Vasily prepared for her.

Vasily's words echoed in her mind, one by one altering the mosaic-like image Sarah had of him, making his features sharper and clearer, despite the tears that clouded her vision.

Somehow, she knew that they don't need to check those folders in order to confirm that Vasily's words were truthful.

It was all in his gaze laced with longing, and his voice filled with pride and concern, and the warmth of his smile that reached his eyes… it all hit straight into her heart and she cursed herself for not seeing it earlier.

Why was she so set on the thought that Vasily is out to get her? How is it possible that she never considered that he has good intentions? Everything he did, she interpreted as malicious… and she was wrong about every single thing.

She pushed him away and hurt him over and over again, yet he still smiled and waited patiently for her to see the truth, and now… it's too late.

'For someone who claims to do the right thing, I messed up big time…', Sarah scolded herself.

She closed her eyes as hot tears rolled down her cheeks faster, reflecting the amount of her sorrow infested with regret and she knew that it will not get better anytime soon because this mistake is unfixable.

Sarah wished for a second chance, a minute with Vasily would suffice… only to tell him that she was blind and wrong, and that she is sorry. And if she has more time, she would tell him that she appreciates him watching over her and that the birthday cake he made for her was delicious. And if by some miracle he returns into their lives, she would promise never to exclude him from any gathering… he would be invited to each and every one of them.

Sarah wished and cried and cursed herself while her heart ached because she knew that her wishes will not come true. She never wronged anyone so badly. She saw Vasily as a villain, yet he cared for her so deeply that he stepped in to protect her when her own parents said that she should learn from her mistakes.

Aiden was not happy that Vasily bashed him so much, but Aiden can't blame Vasily who was protecting Sarah, and actually, everything Vasily said was the truth. Aiden's romantic past was horrible, and Sarah ended up hurt because of Aiden repeatedly, so all those harsh words were true, no matter how difficult it was to hear them. The only shocker in this whole thing is that instead of a villain, Vasily was a caring Uncle.

Aiden looked at Sarah and pressed his lips into a line. She is not moving, and he can't read what is going on in her mind. Did she shut down mentally?

"Love?", Aiden called.

Sarah blinked a few times at the sound of Aiden's voice that pulled her out of her thoughts.

"I misunderstood him completely.", Sarah said in a whisper. "There is no way to fix this, but at least I can make sure that no one else thinks of him in a bad way. Call Anna and Sophia here, please. I want to talk to them."

Aiden released the breath he was holding, happy that Sarah spoke.

He leaned closer and kissed her temple. "I will call them right away, and I will talk to Jeff and Felix separately, so that you can have privacy with your sisters."

Sarah didn't move as she listened to Aiden's footsteps and tears continued rolling down her cheeks silently. She cried a lot for Vasily, and no amount of tears seemed to be able to wash away regrets that weighed on her heart.

A few minutes later, JoAnna and Sophia entered the room. Kitty squeezed in-between them before they closed the door.

Kitty was missing her mommy and she felt that Sarah is in distress. Kitty would not take a 'no' for an answer as she laid next to Sarah and placed her head on Sarah's lap, silently giving Sarah her support.

Aiden left three sisters (and Kitty) to talk.

He knew that they will talk about Vasily and sort out things, and Aiden felt that he needs to set a few things straight as well. It will be part of his thanks to Vasily for protecting Sarah for all those years and for staying behind so that they can continue moving.

Aiden called Jeff and Felix and the three of them went to the study.

Aiden told them about the video. He skipped the part where Vasily verbally bashed him, but Aiden shared the rest which focused on Vasily watching over three sisters and protecting them in his own way.

"Are you sure that Vasily didn't make up those stories?", Jeff asked Aiden.

Aiden shrugged. "Every story he told is supported by evidence. Sure, he might have fabricated it, but he knew that we will check it and it would make his efforts pointless. He knew that Hong is a Voronin before we did. And he also knew many other things, yet he kept them for himself. He wanted Sophia, Anna, and Sarah to like him. He didn't ask for anything in return, only to be accepted and even for that, he was ready to wait. If he came out with this information in any other circumstances, I would doubt if he has any ulterior motives, but like this… We all misjudged him."

Jeff nodded faintly. "It's too late for apologies now."

"I am sure that Sophia feels horrible.", Felix said. "She blamed Vasily for many things and now… It will take time to grieve his death and all the regrets combined."

"It will be the same with all three of them.", Jeff said and pinched the roof of his nose. "I can't believe that Vasily knew about the Voronins in our organization and I didn't. What else are our parents hiding from us? Do we have any of our people among the Voronins? Or was this a relationship where they get to use us without us getting anything in return? Dad was telling me about the White family, but he forgot to mention details about the Voronins. I thought that maybe, just maybe, he didn't know and that Voronins infiltrated our ranks on their own… but now I realize that everyone knew except for me. What kind of the Master I am if I have no idea what is going on in my own house?"

"How is Sarah holding on?", Felix asked Aiden, ignoring Jeff's fuming about Elanor, Oscar, and the Voronins.

"She is better than I expected, considering the circumstances. I am glad that Anna and Sophia are with her. Once they cry it out, they will be looking for blood."

Felix nodded in agreement with Aiden's words. "I will go and get more drones ready. We will need them in order to avoid sacrifices."

Felix called Nico and Beck to join him in his underground lab.

Thanks to Eve getting access to the data from the Voronin family, Felix figured out the technicalities on how to get drones to fully ignore signal-jammers from the main base of the Voronin family, and it does not take a lot of time to modify them, but it's a manual work that needs to be done one-by-one.

When the kids heard what is going on, they joined in the lab. Everyone wanted to keep busy. They were suffocated by the heavy atmosphere that lingered in the air.

Michael, Oni, and Noah brought with them hundreds of drones, and the underground lab was buzzing from activity.

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