Is this destiny?

"Did you think about your entry points?" Emir asked.

"I did. All entry points are for friendly devices and they are all accounted for."

Emir was not happy with this answer. He was confident that they are missing something. "Are you sure? Someone found out how to get in and you said that it was your biggest secret. It was something small because you would notice if it was bigger. This script is minimal, and it could be uploaded in less than a few seconds through the simplest channels, like a heartbeat."

Sarah took a sip of coffee and wished that her mind clears up. Emir is right. It can be something small, something insignificant, and it had to get in through somewhere, but she could not think of anything. "Sorry, everyone… my mind is a mess. I know that I should think and give you directions, but…"

"It's OK, Sarah." Tereza interrupted her. "Aiden is missing, and I can't imagine what you are going through. You have a good family and friends. Rely on us. We will help you with how much we can, and I hope you know that we are available anytime. Just ping us and we will answer your call."

Petar nodded in agreement. "Yes. Don't think about the time or anything else. We will come to your rescue. Just how you help us anytime we send an SOS signal, we will do the same."

Sarah forced a smile. "Thanks, guys I…" Sarah's smile dropped.

"You thought of something." Emir said what everyone on the video call noticed.

"The SOS signal... Drachmas I gave you. They are a way in." Sarah said robotically. "All signals go through a number of jumps and checks, but the SOS signal is as straightforward as it gets."

Emir was pleased that his idea made sense. Now there is only one question: "Who all has the coins?"

Sarah exhaled. "Many people."

"Can you verify the locations of the coins, and which one was used?" Mishi asked.

"The system is down. It would need to be done manually, and I relied on the system to keep track of the coins I gave." Sarah said dejectedly.

"Is everything down? There must be something we can work with." Petar said.

Sarah remembered one thing... "The last server where the signal bounces is online!" She mumbled while thinking: "Assuming that the virus was planted in the last few weeks, I can check the logs. If the virus is so small, it will not have the logic to erase traces... Unless it was done manually... but that would expose the hacker more..."

"Sarah, let us check this." Lucija requested.

Sarah wanted to do it herself, but she realized that she is exhausted and that her mind is fuzzy. "OK. I will send you information about the server…"

Sarah sent the information and leaned back in the chair. It might be a long shot that someone used an SOS signal from one of her drachmas, but it fits.

Sarah went to the planning room and stared at the notes about the current situation. No matter how she looked at the information, it all pointed to Eastern Europe, just as Sophia said, and somehow… Sarah was not surprised.

There is only one thing to do... and the only question is: how?

10:22 AM

JoAnna and Sophia joined Sarah in the planning room.

"You have a plan?" Sophia guessed.

Sarah's expression was grave. "I thought that if I get strong enough, we can enjoy our lives. No matter how much I wanted to pretend that they will not dare to come after us, I was wrong. The reality is that we know that both Lebedev and Voronin families are after us. We are too big of a threat for them to leave us alone."

Sophia knew that this is coming. From early into this mess of attacks she suspected that the Lebedev family is behind it and everything they discovered, confirmed that theory.

Sophia told herself not to panic because it will not help. They came for Sarah, and Aiden ended up kidnapped. It seems that the team who took Aiden does not know who he is; they were looking for females. They were looking for Sarah, and Sophia is painfully aware that JoAnna and she are next. There is no place to hide, and if they delay, their husbands and children might get caught in the crossfire, just like Aiden.

Sophia firmed her resolve. "Lebedevs would not leave us alone even if we are not a threat. We knew this is coming. It was only a matter of time before they made their move. What's the plan?"

"Lebedev family, as our maternal family, is more interested in having us join. I will use that and take over." Sarah reluctantly looked at both of her sisters. "I can't do this alone. I hope that you will take this risk and join me."

JoAnna and Sophia glanced at each other and faced Sarah.

"You can count on us.", they responded confidently in unison.

Sarah looked at them gratefully. "We need to remove elders from power and take command of their forces. This will be extremely dangerous. Talk about this with your husbands before making the decision."

"We will talk with them." JoAnna confirmed. "I'm confident that they will want to be part of this. The fact is that we are all in the same danger. With the six of us working together, we are unbeatable."

Sarah lowered her head and pressed her lips into a line firmly, to suppress her chin from trembling while her gaze rested on the black ring on her left ring finger.

JoAnna realized that she said too much. It can't be six of them when one is missing.

"Any news of Aiden?", Sophia asked in a quiet voice. She knew that Sarah returned from a meeting, and she hoped that there is something. Anything.

Sarah shook her head in response and took a deep breath, trying to compose herself before facing her sisters again with eyes full of determination. "Make the calls you need, and let's start. I'm sure that we will find out something about Aiden soon. I swear, whoever is behind this... I will make them burn."

"This is the right thing to do." Sophia said. "Once we get in, we will find out where they are keeping Aiden. Let's not delay, but we should not rush recklessly either. They need him in one piece, and he will not be harmed."

"I assume we are leaving today?" JoAnna asked Sarah.

"I want us on the plane by end of the day. We will make a stop at the Ceresc Solutions to regroup. The Army of Chaos will be on standby because I don't know what to expect when we reach there…"

Sophia thought of something. "Should we call mom?"

"Let's wait with that until we have a plan in place. Once we are on the plane, we will let her know that we are coming. I am going to talk to the kids, to inform them what is going on…"

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