Is this destiny?

~ Los Angeles, the Cliffside Villa ~

In the study…

"We can talk here.", Sarah announced when they all took their seats.

Ellie glanced around, confirming that doors and windows are closed and that no one else is present.

Jasper looked at Ellie expectantly, and Sarah and Aiden understood that Ellie is the one who wanted this meeting.

Ellie took a deep breath and said: "I had a series of talks with Melissa where she told me about the Kiani family, and she asked me to be Madam Kiani."

Aiden and Sarah exchanged glances and then looked at Ellie, waiting for her to say more.

Ellie observed Sarah and Aiden and nodded while voicing her thoughts. "I see that you have no questions, and you don't seem to be surprised in the slightest, which confirms my guess that you know about this."

Sarah responded: "We know about the Kiani family and the Madam Kiani position. But we don't know why are you telling us this."

"As you can guess, I never faced anything like this. I am not sure what to do and I wanted to consult with someone, so I called my dad. And he told me to talk to you."

Aiden remembered that Mathew spoke with them when they were in Chicago for Ellie's and Jasper's wedding and he expressed his desire that they guide Ellie. "What did he tell you about us?"

"He told me that you have an understanding of what it means to be the boss and that you can help answer my questions."

Both Sarah and Aiden exhaled in relief. If Mathew told Ellie about the Army of Chaos, they would give him some hard time.

"What are your questions?", Sarah asked.

Ellie shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know even from where to start. I thought about what Melissa told me, and I thought about what Mathew told me. I wondered why would he advise me to talk to the two of you instead of Jeff? Jeff is the CEO of White corp. and also the Master of the White family. And he had an option to tell me to talk to Jasper, or maybe Charlie, each of them is managing a company and a lot of employees, but he chooses the two of you. My conclusion is that the two of you must be involved in something shady, illegal probably. And that is why he directed me your way and here I am."

Sarah stifled a laugh. "Ellie, if you suspect that someone is involved in shady and illegal things, you don't call it out."

Ellie nodded in understanding. "Sorry about my poor choice of words. Can you tell us something about what you are into?"

Sarah was not willing to answer Ellie's question. Who comes and says, 'I know you are into something shady, tell me about it...'?

Sarah decided to ask her own questions: "How much I know, Mathew wants you to take over his organization for a long time and you are refusing. You are here, which tells me that you are considering the Madam Kiani position. How is that different?"

Ellie had this response ready: "Kiani forces can help me protect Jasper and everything he has."

"Mathew's organization can do the same.", Aiden added.

Ellie frowned. "It's not the same."

Sarah disagreed. "Are you sure? The only difference is that one is from your father while the other one is from your mother-in-law. If I remove your stubbornness and the fact that your relationship with Mathew is strained, they are the same. Actually, they complement each other. Kianis are more into acquiring information and not attracting attention, something like secret service, while Mathew's people are fighting in the open. However, both organizations have people of different skillsets who listen to their boss. One will listen to you because you are Matthew's daughter, and the other one because you are a female in the Kiani family. If you combine them, you will have people who can do things for you in the Northern United States and in Northern Europe. If you give them the orders to protect Jasper, they will do so."

Ellie sighed. How come Sarah knows this much and she is in the dark? "I see that you know about both sides."

"Of course, we do. We are in the business of information.", Sarah responded. She is not willing to talk about the Army of Chaos, but she can reveal some other things. "Who do you think found the data related to Jasper's assets which Norman seized?"

Ellie widened her eyes. "It was you?"

Aiden smiled and looked at Sarah. He approves that she decided to reveal this bit of information versus talking about the Army of Chaos. They can always reveal that later if there is a need to do so. The fewer people know, the better.

Aiden gestured toward Jasper. "Jasper reached out to Jeff more than once to get the information on his competitors, and he knows that we are the ones behind it."

Ellie glanced at Jasper and Jasper gave her a nod of confirmation. Actually, Ellie knew that Sarah is good with computers, but she didn't know to what extent.

"You are talking like it's not just the two of you, but there are more people. An organization.", Ellie hoped to find out more.

Sarah lifted her hand toward Ellie, indicating that she does not want to talk about it. "It does not matter how big we are. Just how you are keeping your identity behind EY brand a secret, it is important in our line of business to stay undetected. You already know too much for our comfort and we hope that you will not investigate this further."

Aiden saw that Ellie is uncomfortable, she came here for answers, and Sarah told her not to ask any further questions. He decided to get back to the topic of why she is here. "You said that current Madam Kiani made you an offer. We can be your allies if our agendas match. Just how you will not reveal details of the Kiani organization, we can't talk about ours either. Jasper is Jeff's friend for many years, and he knows how things work. We can do a lot to support you if you decide to take that role. We can't do everything, but we know people who can."

"With a condition that our agendas need to match.", Ellie added for clarification.

Aiden confirmed. "Allying yourself with someone without conditions is dangerous. Don't make promises you are unable to keep. Over time, we made friends, but we made enemies as well. As our ally, you will get both. That is why until you establish yourself, don't announce your favorable or hostile stance toward anyone." 

Ellie didn't understand. "But we are friends and I trust you. Why can't we be allied?"

"No one said that we can't rely on each other. But don't make it public. It is up to you to decide who will have your trust. However, think about priorities." Aiden gestured toward Jasper and continued talking to Ellie: "You have your family and your organization, and then everyone else. There might be a time when you need to choose." 

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