Is this destiny?

Arthur's brows furrowed deeper the more Sarah spoke. Aiden was about to agree to the deal, and now there is a chance for the deal to fall through because his daughter is snappy?

Arthur's eyes flashed at Darlene, urging her to respond.

"What do you want?", Darlene squeezed through her teeth while her eyes moved between her father and Sarah.

Sarah pursed her lips while thinking. After some time, Sarah extended her arm toward Darlene, showing three fingers. "There are three people you disturbed so… three hundred."

Darlene didn't understand. "Three hundred what?"

"Three hundred thousand dollars, each.", Sarah responded.

Darlene's face contorted into an ugly scowl. "What? You want almost a million dollars?"

Sarah's eyes flashed and her lips curved up, forming a bewitching smile. "I agree with you! It does not sound right. It should be a nice round number… Let's make it a million."

"You are insane!", Darlene screamed and moved toward Sarah.

At the same time, Kitty lifted her head and let out a low growl. And before Darlene reached the coffee table, Noah and Zack were holding onto her arms, preventing her from moving forward.

Darlene realized that she can't get out of their grip and she glanced nervously at Zack and Noah.

Zack was serious and threatening, but Noah looked like he is about to snap her neck. She didn't dare to move a muscle.

"Mr. Payne…", Aiden spoke in an icy tone. "No one tried to hurt my family and lived to talk about it. I can tell my men to take care of your daughter. That will save you five million dollars."

A complete silence blanketed the room.

Arthur felt cold sweat on his back. He stared at Aiden and he could not understand the change in Aiden's behavior. Isn't he an ignorant youth? Why does he have a murderous aura? Is he really going to kill Darlene? Knowing that Marcus and Lukas just disappeared, anything is possible. Arthur swallowed hard.

"That… will not be necessary.", Arthur stuttered. "I apologize for my daughter's outburst. I can assure you that you will get your money from Darlene by the end of the day. We will leave now, and I will get back to you about the deal we discussed shortly."

"Make that by six o'clock.", Aiden said casually.

Arthur paused. "By six?"

"We are leaving tonight, so whatever deal you decide on, it needs to be done by six o'clock."

Arthur exhaled and nodded in agreement. "I can assure you that I will get back to you before that."

Aiden gestured to Zack and Noah to release Darlene and spoke to Arthur: "One more thing…"

Arthur tensed. He wondered if this will ever end. Can't they just leave? "Yes?"

"It's not that I don't believe that you have the money, but just in case… what will you offer me as collateral?"

Arthur opened his mouth to object, but then he realized that Aiden has a point. Who will agree to do a job worth millions of dollars without some insurance that the payment will be made?

"What do you want?", Arthur asked weakly.

Aiden shrugged. "I don't know what you have… other than your property next door."

Arthur frowned. "That is worth much more than ten million."

Aiden chuckled. "I see that you already decided to cut off your two most important women… but that is none of my business. Even if it's one million, I want something as collateral…" Aiden paused and narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Or do you plan to skip on paying me?"

Arthur widened his eyes in horror. Is Aiden going to kill him? "No, no… of course, not!"

"Then, we have a deal. We will need only a few minutes to get the contract…"

Arthur inhaled sharply. Why is this getting more complicated by the minute? "Contract?"

"About the collateral.", Aiden explained and told Zack to get Michael and Oni.

About five minutes later…

Arthur read the document while clenching his teeth. Everything looks in order, but why does he feel that he is making a deal he shouldn't make?

He wanted to ensure he is not missing anything: "This contract states that you will clean up the online mess for us, and I am giving my house and property as collateral. If I don't give you money for your services by Friday, the property is yours."

Aiden confirmed. "Correct. You will tell me how much of a mess you want me to clean up and that will determine the amount you need to pay. I will start my part as soon as I hear from you, and I expect money by end of the week. It is Tuesday morning, and four workdays are enough for you to arrange money transfers."

"It does not say what happens if I don't stick to my part of the contract."

Aiden stifled a laugh. "What happens? Mr. Payne, you don't want to know what will happen in that case. But good point, I will get my people to draft another clause..."

Arthur signed the contract with a shaky hand.

Noah and Gabriella signed as witnesses.

"It's nice doing business with you, Mr. Payne.", Aiden said while giving one copy to Mr. Payne and the other one to Michael.

Arthur's eyes didn't leave the copy in Michael's hands as he asked Aiden: "You will destroy it when I pay you, right?"

Aiden nodded. "As soon as you make a payment, I will make sure that this document disappears." His eyes moved to Darlene. "We will need collateral from you as well."

Darlene's eyes darted nervously. "What?"

"You are giving to my wife and kids one million dollars. What is your collateral?", Aiden said flatly.

"I don't have that much money.", Darlene admitted.

Aiden indicated how that is not a problem. "That is fine. We can accept stocks, or any type of assets, as long as the value matches…"

"This…", Darlene looked at her father for help.

Arthur exhaled. "You have two apartments on your name. Put them as collateral and we will talk in detail when we reach home…"

About fifteen minutes later…

Noah and Zack escorted the Payne family out. Kitty was right behind them like she wants to make sure that the troubling trio leaves the house.

Michael and Oni left the room with signed contracts in their hands after Sarah told them to notify Sophia that it's time for her to talk with the district prosecutor for the Dallas county. His part starts soon.

Sarah jumped into Aiden's lap and hooked her arms around his neck. "You are a-ma-zing! I got goosebumps more than once."

Aiden smiled smugly. "You like it?"

"I love it. I love you. You could be an actor easily and…", Sarah paused. "Scratch that. I don't want you to be an actor, then I will need to share you with your fangirls."

Aiden pecked her chin. "As long as my wife is my fangirl, that is all I need."

Sarah smiled. "This was fun."

Aiden tapped her nose. "It's your plan, enjoy it."

"My plan, but you are the main actor. And I don't mind supporting you. I will always support you." Sarah said dreamily and giggled while remembering the plan: "Hehehe… they are paying us to save them from us… with the money they don't have… so everything they signed as collateral is already ours. Ah, I can't wait to see their faces when they realize that they made a deal with the devil!"

Aiden was amused by Sarah's choice of words. "Deal with the devil?"

Sarah nodded earnestly. "It's the deal that looks good, but the truth is that you can't win, and you lose everything."

Aiden gave her a side-glance. "I almost thought that you are calling me the devil."

Sarah burst into giggles. "I do that sometimes, but not at loud. You are my devil. That is the only explanation why my body and soul belong to you."

Aiden enjoys her playfulness. It's a long time since he saw her this happy. "I didn't know that you are so scheming."

Sarah denied it. "I'm not scheming... Life is busy, I don't have time to play games…"

"So, you are playing with people?"

"Only with the ones who want to spoil our happiness."

Aiden laughed. "That is called scheming."

Sarah pinched his cheeks. "Why are you making it sound like I am the only one? You are enjoying it as well. I can see it in your eyes."

Aiden will not deny that he is having fun. No matter what he does, as long as it's with Sarah, it's fun. He remembered one point… "What about giving the old man a way out?"

Sarah shook her head, indicating that it's not going to happen. "Arthur Payne would sacrifice his wife and daughter for a bit of money while saving his ass and business. He does not deserve my kindness."

Aiden gazed at Sarah with admiration. The fact that Sarah would do anything to protect them and would not allow anyone to suffer any grievances, made him appreciate her more (if that is possible).

Aiden's hand landed at the back of Sarah's head and he planted a kiss on her lips. And another one, and another… And his left hand moved down to her knee and then a bit higher…

"Mmm…", Aiden hummed in approval. "You are wearing a dress…", he murmured into her lips before claiming them with his in a fiery kiss.

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