Is this destiny?

~ Los Angeles, Cliffside villa ~

Emma arrived at the Cliffside villa and before she rang the doorbell, her attention got pulled to the noise coming from the garden.

Emma was surprised to see Sarah arguing with the kids. Sarah was saying \'no\', but the teenagers (and three pre-teens) were not budging.

"Boss, you need to take us with you!", Zula protested.

"No. You are too young.", Sarah rejected.

Ade\'s small boyish face frowned. "You always say that! We want to go with you now! Not in ten years!"

"It\'s not fair that Jesse and Haru can go! If they are going, so are we!", Imani lifted her chin defiantly.

Sarah sighed helplessly. "Listen… some things are not for kids. You are young. I don\'t want to risk you getting traumatized."

"Traumatized? From what? Don\'t you know from what kind of a hell you rescued us?", Nala asked.

Oni spoke before Sarah could respond: "We were beaten and threatened daily. We have seen more than one girl assaulted right in front of us. The only reason they didn\'t touch us is because they planned to sell us, and virgins are worth more money."

Since their boy-girl talks the kids understood more what was happening when they were held captive and now have labels for things like \'sexual assault\'

and \'virgins\'.

Sarah shook her head weakly. "I am very sorry you went through that. Aiden\'s and my goal is to give you a better life. A life where you can make your own choices."

"And we chose to go with you!", Ade exclaimed.

Sarah sighed and looked at the kids in front of her. They all were looking back at her with determination. Sarah extended her arms, and it all turned into a big group hug.

"You are growing up too fast.", Sarah told them. "I wish that you stay kids longer."

Imani spoke for everyone: "We can\'t stay here and pretend that everything is fine when we know that you are in danger."

"Yeah…", Jamari confirmed. "Let\'s take care of the bad guys by the time boss Aiden wakes up and then all of us can relax and enjoy the good times. Together."

Emma watched the touching scene in front of her for some time until her presence was noticed.

"Good that you are here.", Sarah told Emma. "It seems that all of us are going to run an errand. Together."

The kids smiled widely at Sarah\'s words. She is taking them with her!

Sarah shook her head. "Go and get dressed into uniforms. You have ten minutes before we head out."

The kids swiftly dashed to get ready.

"Uniforms?", Emma asked but spoke again before Sarah could respond: "No need to explain."

"It\'s nothing secretive. You will see them in few minutes. I like to dress them up in matching clothes.", Sarah explained.

Sarah and Emma went to the master bedroom where Aiden is.

Sarah kissed Aiden and spoke softly: "I will be back in a bit. Until then, Emma will take care of you."

Emma felt emotions gush out of her and suppressed them with difficulty. No amount of training to stay calm in various situations prepared Emma for the heartbreaking scene in front of her.

Kitty was on the bed, next to Aiden. She rubbed her head against Sarah\'s hip, demanding cuddles.

Sarah scratched Kitty\'s head. "Watch over daddy, but don\'t get into Emma\'s way. OK?"

The cub blinked.

"Is Kitty in your way? If she is, I will get someone to keep her busy until I\'m back."

Emma shook her head. "No need. Kitty and I get along great."

"Sarah? Is it OK if I move in earlier?", Emma asked reluctantly.

Sarah shrugged indicating that she does not mind. "The room you picked is ready. You can move in immediately if you want."

Emma exhaled in relief. "Thanks. If not today, I will come tomorrow."

"Sure, anytime. You don\'t need to announce your arrival. If I\'m not here, Genie knows that you are coming, and she will help you out."

…

In a safe house owned by the White family…

Evalina is sitting in a dimly lit room. No windows, only door. One hard bed, toilet and a sink. There is nothing else in the room.

She does not know how long she is in here. Days? Weeks? Who knows…

The guards in black suits come in occasionally to bring food and water, and they are not responding to her questions. She thought that she can measure time by the frequency of meals, but she observed that mealtimes are random. Sometimes they come too close, and sometimes she is practically starving until the next one arrives. It didn\'t take her long to realize that they are doing this on purpose.

Sarah brought her here. With those two men.

Evalina is aware that Sarah wants revenge. After all, she killed Aiden, and there is no way that Sarah will let it go. But… what place is this? She saw those two men and all these bodyguards obey Sarah. How is that possible? Isn\'t Sarah just a software developer who joined their team? No matter how much Evalina thinks about this, nothing makes sense, and she is not finding any answers.

The bright light turned on, blinding Evalina for few moments. By the time she adjusted her eyes, Sarah and nine others were in the room. All of them are dressed in completely black outfits. Evalina recognized two young men by Sarah\'s side as the ones who were in her apartment. Who are the others? They look like kids. Based on their posture, it seems that they are trained. Do all of these people follow Sarah? Why? Who is she?

"Are you enjoying your new accommodation?", Sarah asked Evalina.

Evalina narrowed her eyes at Sarah.

Sarah didn\'t miss Evalina\'s sneer. "I see that your spirit is not diminished. Good. It would not be fun otherwise."

"Why did you bring me here?", Evalina finally asked.

"Why? Because you are in my way. Over and over again you are meddling in my life, and not understanding that you should back off."

"Who are you to tell me to back off?", Evalina sneered. "You think that because Aiden looked at you differently you won? Ha! I had him for three years. You will never have that. I took him away from you!"

"You are delusional. You had him for three years? He was never interested in you. And what makes you think that you took him away from me?", Sarah did her best to suppress her emotions.

"I shot him. He is dead." Evalina\'s eyes darted over faces of people present, like she is trying to get a confirmation for her statement.

"He is not dead."

"I don\'t believe you. Let me see him!"

"What makes you think that you are worthy of seeing him?" Sarah took a step closer to Evalina and spoke in an icy tone: "Let me tell you what is coming… You will stay here for a long time and suffer for everything you did."

Sarah\'s face was only few inches away from Evalina\'s when she switched to Russian: "You will learn that your biggest mistake was not realizing who I am. Didn\'t they teach you that a lowly branch family member is not a match for a Lebedev?"

Sarah does not care about her connection with Lebedev family, but the horror in Evalina\'s expression was priceless.

…

That evening, Sarah was next to Aiden in the oversized hospital bed, telling him about her day while holding his hand in hers.

"…she screamed until she lost voice. We didn\'t leave a single nail intact, and when she fainted we woke her up... kids helped pulling her teeth out. Our kids grew up and are determined to fight. If you saw them, you would be proud… I changed Evalina\'s diet to only hard foods. She will need to choose between her hunger and aching gums… Do you think I overdid it? I was thinking of doing her nails now, and teeth in a week, but I don\'t know if I will be able to visit her next week due to my upcoming surgery. I am excited about the surgery. If all goes as planned, my power will get a boost. I can\'t wait to spar with you again. As soon as my arm allows me, I will start with the rest of the plan. I got it all figured out, and Eve helped with simulations so… you don\'t need to worry about me. You focus on getting out from wherever you are and come back to me…"

Sarah snuggled closer to Aiden, kissed his cheek and slept off.

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