Is this destiny?

~ Romania, the Ceresc Solutions ~

June 15

Sarah and Aiden arrived at the Ceresc Solutions with their six fur-babies.

They left most of the kids at the Cliffside Villa, for now.

JoAnna, Sophia, Hong, Corey, Merve, Imani, and Jamari will join them in a few days at the base of the Lebedev family. Depending on the duration of the mission, Jeff and Felix will join them as well with the little ones.

Michael and Oni are in charge of manpower for the White Foundation and the Army of Chaos, while Haru and Nala are managing businesses and the workforce.

Of course, Michael, Oni, Haru, and Nala as well as many other kids wanted to come with Sarah and Aiden, but they rejected them.

"The most important thing now is to maintain our cover…", Sarah explained. "We know that there is a big chance Voronins are watching us, and everything needs to run smoothly so that they don't suspect we are not home. We will depend on you to make it appear like that…"

Sarah and Aiden promised that if there is any danger, they will send an SOS signal and the kids can come to their rescue.

The competition at the Voronin family starts in five days, and Sarah and Aiden decided to deal with a few more pending issues before that.

They handled the prisoners who were kept in Los Angeles, and next on the list are Nick and Marija who are kept as captives at the Ceresc Solutions.

…

Nick was pleasantly surprised to see Sarah entering his cell, assuming that his punishment is over. After all, she hit him more than once and his right hand is ruined. That should be enough, right?

A moment later, Nick's mood worsened when he saw Aiden.

"You are not happy to see me?", Aiden asked.

Nick didn't respond.

Aiden was frustrated that Nick is staring at Sarah expectantly.

Aiden grabbed Nick's jaw and forced him to look at him. "Get your eyes away from my wife before I gouge them out."

"Sarah will not let you hurt me.", Nick said confidently.

Aiden snorted and pushed Nick's head backward, releasing Nick from his hold. "Think again."

Nick's eyes shifted from Sarah to Aiden and he realized that he is in trouble.

"Sarah!", Nick cried. "You can't let him bully me. We were together for a long time… way before he showed up. That should mean something!"

"It means a lot.", Sarah responded. "Every day we spent together increases the pain of what you did."

'SLAM!'

Aiden's fist landed on Nick's jaw.

"I told you not to look at my wife!", Aiden said angrily.

Nick held his jaw and spat a mouthful of blood on the floor. "Sarah is kind. She would never hurt anyone."

"Sarah is kind. Me… not so much.", Aiden responded. "You had many chances to accept the reality and move on while Sarah was nice to you, but you returned her kindness by colluding with the enemy. Sarah is done, and it's my turn to teach you a lesson you will never forget."

Nick's eyes shifted in panic. "What will you do?"

"I hear that you were part of a plot to kidnap Sarah and feed her medicine to forget about me and to think that you are her partner…", Aiden said in an icy tone. "I will do the same to you."

Nick was not sure if he heard Aiden right, because his ears were buzzing from the punch he received earlier. "What?"

"I will pump you with drugs until you forget about Sarah and everything related to her. And when I'm sure that you forgot, I will dump your ass on the same street where she found you… It will be like the last eight years never happened. You will forget about your family, your skills… and about Sarah."

"You can't do that!", Nick shouted.

Aiden sneered. "Watch me. The only negative is that after it's done, you will forget that I was the one who punished you."

"No! Sarah! You can't let him do that! The last eight years are everything! Before I met you, I was nothing! I was a miserable orphan everyone kicked around!"

Nick scrambled closer to Sarah and Aiden grabbed his neck. There is no way he will let Nick get close to Sarah. In a way, this situation reminded them of the first time when Nick and Aiden met, in the underground hideout of the Sigma army.

Sarah placed her hand on Aiden's shoulder, indicating to him to let go of Nick and that she will take it over from there.

Aiden released his hold and pushed Nick backward.

While Nick was rubbing his neck, Sarah spoke: "You should have thought about the consequences before agreeing to work with Marija. What goes around, comes around. Your skills, your family, your money… everything is thanks to me. I taught you how to use a computer, I helped you find your family. Is this how you show gratitude? I never expected to hear you say, 'thank you', or to repay me in any way, but I didn't see you backstabbing me. You wanted to take away my everything, we will get you to taste your own medicine. Literally."

While Sarah spoke, tears started pooling in Nick's eyes. He remembered Sarah approaching him on the street and talking and smiling and she gave him a sandwich and an ice-cream while he would give her sour candies and he was happy. He saw her using a computer and he asked her if she would teach him and she did… Sarah found his family and from an unwanted boy, Nick became the young master of a rich family. She was his angel and he dreamed of her seeing him as a man and this… she is looking at him like he is an enemy and it hurts more than his mangled right hand or anything else he experienced before. Taking away those happy memories with Sarah is taking away the brightest light he has in his life.

"No… You can't do that…", Nick sobbed.

Sarah chanted internally that she needs to stay firm. "When it comes to protecting my family, I will do anything. You hacked into my security, Nick. What did you think will happen? Armed people invaded my properties! Is that how you repay me for everything I did for you?"

"Kill me! I will be better off dead!"

"Maybe, but then… that would be letting you off easily."

Nick could not believe that Sarah would do that. "You are not so cruel."

"If that is what you think, then you don't know me very well. Goodbye, Nick. If we see each other again, you will not recognize me."

Sarah and Aiden left the room and the sounds of Nick's cries subsided when Aiden closed the door behind them.

"How are you doing?", Aiden asked Sarah.

"It will be better."

Aiden exhaled. "You know that this is the only way for him to live. If we let him go like this, he will attack again. He is not a child, and he will manage. And his parents will find him after we release him. This is the best solution."

Sarah leaned into Aiden's embrace, feeling low on energy. "I know."

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