Is this destiny?

About ten minutes before girly screams filled the hallway on the main floor…

Aiden is in the basement, opening boxes one by one and checking out the contents.

The boxes are stacked on top of each other, different in sizes and weight.

He found cash, antique statues, guns, and the latest box he opened contains betting tokens from the Aria casino in Las Vegas. Eve estimated ten thousand tokens, each worth $100, which makes it one million dollars.

One of the previous boxes which Aiden opened contained the same amount of tokens worth $100 each, from the Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas. 

The chips look legitimate, but they could be good imitations. Aiden guessed that Akmal is using these when gambling, or maybe he distributes them to his men, so they go and exchange them for money in small batches.

Other than Akmal's business of selling girls to his customers, these real-looking tokens can explain how he is supporting his current lifestyle. But also, there is a possibility that he is the middle-man in some larger scheme of underground trading, because the contents of the boxes are untouched, filled to the brim, like they are waiting for their buyers.

Aiden thought that if this is the case, this does not end here because buyers and suppliers will reach to Akmal soon and when Akmal does not respond, it will raise some flags. There is a chance that some people will come to check on him, especially if the goods stored here are already paid for.

Aiden decided to discuss this possibility with Sarah later. They have Akmal's phone and access to his email, so if anyone wants to get in touch with him and set up and appointment, Sarah and Aiden will know about it. 

Aiden paused his movements and glanced over his shoulder at Meili who is standing at the door. "Why are you here?"

He is aware that she is watching him for the last several minutes, but he waited for her to say or do something. Since she is just standing there in silence, he decided to expose her.

Meili bit her lower lip nervously and thought about her next move.

To understand why she is here, we need to look a bit earlier in the evening. It started when Meili and Akmal were left in Akmal's bedroom on the second floor by themselves…

Akmal was unable to move or make a sound, and no matter how much he grimaced, he could not get Meili's attention.

She was absentmindedly staring at the closed door after Sarah and Aiden left the room and Akmal was not sure if she is really so lost in her thoughts or if she is ignoring him. But he knows what he saw: Meili fell in love with Aiden and even thought Aiden warned her to stay away, the way Meili is looking at him is confirming that the girl didn't get the message.

After numerous unsuccessful attempts to get Meili's attention, Akmal remembered that he could whistle!

Meili turned to him apprehensively.

"You want something?", she guessed.

Akmal's eyes flashed in confirmation.

Meili sneered, emboldened by the fact that he is helpless. "After what you did, do you think that I want to have anything to do with you?"

Akmal frowned and his expression showed that he is thinking about something. In a desperate attempt to communicate with a stubborn girl, Akmal opened his mouth and forced himself to speak, but other than faint exhaling noises nothing came out. Or was it nothing? He realized that he can almost-whisper. Yes! When he really forces himself, there are faint sounds coming from the back of his throat!

The voice-paralysis was wearing off!

He whistled a few times and when Meili turned to look at him again he called her with frantic facial movements.

Meili stood up from the sofa and slowly inched toward him. "What do you want?"

"Help me get out from here…", Akmal pleaded in a barely audible voice.

Meili snorted. "You are kidding, right? Why would I do that?"

"I can help you get together with that man…"

Meili paused for a few seconds while thinking about his words, but then she shook her head, indicating that she does not agree with Akmal's statement. "He is the most impressive man I've ever laid my eyes on. He is a thousand times better than the action movie stars. But I also know that my feelings will not be returned so you can keep your promises to yourself."

"What if there is a way?", Akmal gave Meili a knowing look.

Meili pursed her lips and wanted to kick Akmal or just to ignore him, but then she thought that he is unable to move, and he can't hurt her, so at least she can hear him out. Who knows, maybe he has some good idea? "I am listening…"

Akmal was happy that he got her attention. He took a deep breath and forced his words to come out in a faint whisper: "I didn't touch you, but his woman kicked me fiercely and stood by your side. Without asking you anything, she defended you. Imagine what will she do if HE touches you?"

Meili looked at Akmal in disbelief. "Is your body the only thing paralyzed, or your brain as well? How can I make him touch me? Do you have some drug or hypnosis? Or do you plan to swap bodies with him? Because nothing else will work."

Akmal rolled his eyes. "Stupid. He does not need to touch you. It just needs to look like that…"

Akmal finished explaining his idea and he could see the change in Meili's expression. Unfortunately for him, before she could respond (or save him), two members of the Army of Chaos entered and informed Meili that the villa is safe and that she should move to the family room.

Meili was the first one out of thirty-nine girls in the family room. Soon, one by one, other girls trickled into the family room, and among them was Xiaohui.

Xiaohui and Meili met in the shipping container where they bonded over several weeks of their travel toward the coast of the United States.

Two girls shared their stories and spoke about their families and Meili found out that Xiaohui is an eighteen years old girl from China. Meili was surprised that the two of them go to the same boarding school! She never noticed Xiaohui before.

Xiaohui grew up with her Aunt and two younger cousins, her Uncle's work requires a lot of travel, so her Aunt is at home, raising the kids. Xiaohui's parents died in a car accident when she was two years old and at that time her Aunt took her in. Luckily, Xiaohui's parents left money behind and her Aunt decided to use that money to send Xiaohui to a Christian boarding school. At that time, her Aunt was pregnant with her first child. 

Back to (almost) present, to understand how Meili got into the basement...

As soon as Xiaohui's eyes landed on Meili in the family room, she rushed toward Meili and hugged her tightly.

"I was worried sick, thinking that they will hurt you...", Xiaohui sobbed.

"I'm OK. I was saved by a real-life superhero. You will not believe how awesome he is!", Meili swooned and started telling the story of what she went through. Her vivid talk attracted a few more girls who approached them and listened attentively.

Later, the girls got alerted that there is something going on outside and all of them went to the window to see for themselves. 

"That is Aiden. He saved me. He is my hero.", Meili said while pointing outside through the glass.

"He was here before, with Sarah.", Xiaohui voiced her thoughts. "And he said that they are here on their honeymoon."

"Yes, I know. Isn't his voice dreamy? Ah, you didn't see his moves! It's a prince who is a ninja.", Meili spoke excitedly.

Meili could not stop lingering in the hallway with a hope to see Aiden a bit more. And she overheard Aiden and Sarah talk about how he will go to the basement while Sarah will stay on the main level... and Meili got an idea.

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