Is this destiny?

~ Eastern Europe, the base of the Lebedev family ~

June 4th

8:49 AM

In the villa of Elder Milena…

Sarah grabbed a small bread from the table in the dining room and headed out.

"Aren't you going to sit and eat?" Stella asked Sarah.

"I don't have the time. I need to check out my new place in ten minutes." Sarah said without halting her steps.

"Did she eat anything?" Stella asked JoAnna.

JoAnna had a troubled expression. "Since Aiden went missing, she barely ate and I'm not sure how much she slept."

"Her body will not last long at this rate." Sophia said what everyone was thinking.

Stella glanced at Owen. "You should go with Sarah."

"I think that we should all go." Sophia said as he stood up.

"I will stay here." Edward told Stella and gave her a meaningful look.

Stella nodded and went out. She knows that Edward is trying to find clues about Aiden. Edward is going through security footage from around the port where Aiden went missing and is following various vehicles with a goal to figure out which one the kidnappers used to take him away. Unfortunately, so far, there are no leads.

Sarah said how they checked the area and saw hundreds of vehicles, because that is a busy port close to the highway. Doing this manually will take a long time and probably yield no results, because other than with a car, the kidnappers could have taken a boat or a helicopter, but Edward has to do something, and this is the only thing he can think of. Actually, he can do one more thing... He decided to call Oscar and to find out what are he and Elanor doing about this situation.

Outside…

"There is no need to see me off." Sarah said to JoAnna and Sophia.

"We are going with you." Sophia retorted.

Sarah rejected. "No need. Last night I enabled some of the features for drones, and I can control up to twenty of them without a problem. Even if there are one hundred guys brave enough to make a move, the drones will take care of them easily."

JoAnna was no willing to let Sarah go on her own. "That is not the point. This is where we show that the three of us are together and that they can't mess with us. You can't chase us away."

"Come on, girls…" Stella called from the van. She is in the front passenger's seat, and Owen is driving.

Sarah exhaled. It seems that she is not going on her own. She whistled and two seconds later, Kitty was by her side.

"Come, Kitty. Since everyone is going, you might join as well."

…

In front of Elder Sarah's villa (ex-Nikolai's villa) …

"Why are you here?" Stella asked Vasily when she exited the van.

Vasily shrugged. "Do you think I will miss this? Sarah is here and I want her to know that she has my support."

Sarah wanted to ignore him, but he called out…

"Aren't you going to greet your Uncle? Yesterday, the mood was official, but now it's just us."

Sarah forced a smile while reminding herself to focus on her goal: take over resources needed and find Aiden. And no matter how much she hates Vasily, he might be useful and she does not need an open confrontation at this point. Nothing is more important than finding Aiden.

Sarah suppressed anger which was bubbling at the memory from three years ago. Sarah knows that Aiden and she were kidnapped without Vasily's knowledge, however… what happened in the hospital after that was under his orders. They injected Aiden with some unknown drug that put him into a coma, and she lost her baby! Sarah will never forgive that but for now, she needs to smile.

"Good morning." 

Vasily showed an expression that conveyed that he is not impressed by Sarah's attitude. "You will warm up to me and call me 'Uncle', soon… Hi girls. I believe that you know who I am so formal introductions are not necessary…" He greeted JoAnna and Sophia before walking after Sarah.

Ivan was two seconds behind Vasily, and he reminded himself to stay silent. He can't believe that Sarah is here. How is that possible? She is not qualified to be an Elder and she is definitely NOT qualified to be the Grand Elder!

Sarah observed the villa and it was obvious that she is impressed by the size.

They walked through the main entrance, straight down the hallway, and exited at the back where about fifty people were gathered.

Sarah observed them until they quieted down.

Sarah with Sophia, JoAnna, and Kitty by her side and Vasily, Ivan, Stella, and Owen in the back, were a powerful sight, but most of the men who faced them saw three ladies, young enough to be their daughters, and a black panther who is enjoying head scratches.

"Good morning…" Sarah greeted the people. "As you heard, Elder Nikolai is out, and I am the new Elder who took over his position, assets, and resources. Which also means: you. I am aware that he had two assistants, and also that many of you are working here for many years and that you established some level of loyalty to Elder Nikolai. I will be brief… I don't need any of you. You have twenty-four hours to pack your things and leave. You can join ranks of any other Elder or leave. I will not pursue this further. Thank you for your attention."

Sarah moved to leave, and someone from the crowd shouted: "You are abandoning us?"

Sarah met the eyes of the middle-aged man who asked that question. "Just by looking at you, I can see that you don't think that I should be here. Why would I trust you? You are supposed to be my helpers, my guardians… considering the current situation, that is not acceptable. However, if you want to stay, I will welcome you under one condition: prove your loyalty to me and I will find you a spot under my administration. You have twenty-four hours."

"How can we prove our loyalty?" Someone asked.

Sarah shrugged. "Show me that you will be useful. Show me that you believe in me as an Elder and that you will support me. After all, I will be someone who will guarantee your paycheck. How can you do that? I will leave that to you."

One man stepped out and pointed his finger at Sarah angrily. "You are arrogant!"

"Of course, I am arrogant. If I am not, I would not challenge Elder Nikolai. Anything else?"

Another man stepped out. "You won with a lucky shot!"

Sarah sneered. "Lucky shot? Everyone who thinks that way can step forward. This is your chance to test my strength without me killing you for failing."

A second later, four more men stepped out.

Sarah looked at six of them. "No one else? OK…"

Sarah moved her fingers in the air and those six fell on the ground silently.

All other men gasped and looked at Sarah in disbelief.

"What did you do?" One man from the crowd asked.

Sarah's eyes swept over men who looked at her in horror. "Whoever tries to doubt me will end like that. If you try to win me over now so that you can backstab me later, think again. You will not know when I see you. You will not know when I hear you. You will just die… without a chance to retaliate. You will not see it coming. Is that understood?" She saw that most of them nodded. "Good. Your twenty-four hours starts now. I will be back tomorrow at this time, and by then I want you out of here, or I will expect to see a reason why I should keep you. Have a nice day…"

Sarah walked back toward the main entrance through the villa, and Owen caught up with her.

"They are not dead, are they?" Owen asked Sarah in a half-whisper.

"No. Make sure they are out of here before others find that out. They will wake up in about four hours…"

Vasily chuckled behind Sarah. He truly enjoyed this. 

---

If you are not reading this at 'W e b n o v e l .. c o m', then the content you're reading is stolen! Please support the author by reading this novel from the original source.