Is this destiny?

Sarah and Aiden waited in the bushes next to the villa for the right timing and used waterspout and windowsills to swiftly reach the open window on the second floor.

When they got inside, Sarah and Aiden observed that they are in a bedroom. It\'s not too big, so it\'s probably a guest bedroom. And the layer of dust on the side table told them that it was not used for a long time.

Glancing outside, they can see two smaller houses and they guessed that one is for the staff and the other one is for the bodyguards because they looked too plain to be guesthouses. It\'s early evening, and the sun is setting, but they can still see well even without Eve-vision.

"Why are you keeping your gun away?", Aiden asked in disapproval when he saw Sarah pushing the pistol inside her pants at the back and hooking the handle on the belt at her waist.

"Without silencer, if I use it, it will just alert everyone.", Sarah explained.

Sarah\'s fingers moved, selecting different options on Eve-lens to check out the villa and where people are. Now that they are inside, the sensors have fewer distractions.

Aiden was by her side, doing the same.

"We should go to the basement.", Sarah said after some time.

Aiden smirked. Sarah\'s affection for basements is well known. "Why the basement?"

Sarah can see that Aiden is ready to tease her, but this time, she has facts to support her statement. "There are two people on this floor, five on the main level, and the basement is a blur of heat signatures, and unless they are keeping something warm down there, the basement has many people. I\'m sure they are guarding \'the goods\'

."

Aiden connected to the security feed and frowned. "The video surveillance here sucks. He only has cameras pointing outside."

Sarah wanted to tell Aiden that even they don\'t have cameras in every corner of the Cliffside villa, but she decided to keep that to herself. It\'s not important. They will work with what they have.

"Since we are here, let\'s find the study. If Akmal has a safe, it will be in the study. But my vote is that we go to the basement first."

Sarah glanced at her right and through two walls she saw silhouettes of two people who are on the same floor. One is in a seated position, and the other one is slowly advancing toward it.

"What are you looking at?", Aiden asked Sarah.

Sarah frowned. "Something does not seem right."

The figures shown are fuzzy (due to two layers of walls), but she could clearly see that the standing figure reached for the head of the sitting one, who moved backward, avoiding the touch. In the next instant, the standing person raised a hand and slapped the sitting person. 

Alarms in Sarah\'s head were screaming. This does not look like two allies, and if they are enemies, why would they slap each other? Isn\'t a punch or a kick more effective?

Sarah couldn\'t put her finger on it, but she knew that something is wrong. "We need to go there."

Aiden closed his eyes and exhaled. "Which way?"

Sarah understood that he is asking if they are taking the door or the window. She walked to the door and cracked it open. She frowned at the sight of the completely lit up hallway, and she could see through the gaps in the handrail guards in the lobby below.

"If we go out, they will see us. If we turn off the lights, they will know that something is not right."

Sarah\'s words meant that the door is not an option. 

She moved toward the window and Aiden held her hand to stop her. "You are wearing their clothes. As long as they don\'t see your face, they will think you are one of them. I will go through the window."

Aiden went to the window and observed the guards below, waiting for his chance to move without being noticed.

Without any delay, Sarah took the door and walked as close as possible to the wall.

Sarah got in the second room and closed the door behind her. The room was dimly lit, but she could see a man towering over the second person who is sprawled on the bed.

"Bastard…", Sarah squeezed through her teeth and kicked the man off the bed.

She swiftly went to the window and opened it for Aiden who leaped in one second later.

The man on the ground came out of his shock and started getting up. Before he could turn to see his surroundings, Aiden stepped on his back, forcing the man to stay down.

Sarah and Aiden turned to the bed and saw an Asian young woman whose top is messed up, and she is staring at them in shock with a tear-stained face.

"Are you OK?", Aiden\'s question made her jolt to the side, away from him and she fell off the bed.

Sarah waved to Aiden to focus on the man on the floor who was grunting while struggling to stand up.

"Don\'t worry. We are not here to hurt you…", Sarah said softly while looking at the petrified young woman. "Do you understand what I am saying?"

The woman nodded.

Sarah smiled. "Good. What is your name?"

"Meili.", she responded weakly.

"Hi Meili, my name is Sarah and that is my husband, Aiden.", Sarah waited for Meili to nod in acknowledgment before asking: "How did you find yourself here?"

Meili looked at Sarah and she saw concern in Sarah\'s gaze. For what seems like forever, she is being moved from one place to another, and they are treating her like a thing, worse than an animal. And Sarah is looking at her like a person. Meili told herself that she needs to put her trust in Sarah because there is no one else.

Meili took a deep breath and started talking: "I went on a three day trip to Taiwan with my high school. I remember that we had dinner in a restaurant on our second day. That was April 14. The next thing I know is that I was inside a shipping crate with twenty-seven other girls. Based on the swaying and the sounds coming from the outside whenever they opened the door to give us food and water, I knew that we are on a ship. They covered our heads while moving us so other than the inside of the shipping crates and two rooms without windows, I didn\'t see anything else. And I reached here today."

Meili gestured toward the man who is grunting under Aiden\'s foot. "Earlier tonight, he came to see us. The men who guarded us call him the boss. He said that he wants to talk to me, and he brought me here. I didn\'t want to come. I saw how he is looking at me. But the people pointed guns… And he wanted to…", Meili dissolved into sobs.

Sarah squatted and hugged Meili. "It\'s OK. You are safe now. He can\'t hurt you."

Sarah glanced at Meili\'s bottom and saw that other than two undone buttons, her pants are intact. She exhaled in relief, they arrived on time.

Sarah thought that Meili can\'t be more than eighteen years old, considering that she is a high schooler. And she is missing for more than two months!

"Is that Akmal?", Sarah asked Aiden.

Aiden lifted his foot and craned his neck to see. A second later he nodded in confirmation.

When Meili stopped sobbing, Aiden asked. "You said that he came to see you. Are there more girls?"

Meili nodded.

"Are they in this place?", Aiden continued probing.

"I think it\'s the basement. Two levels down.", Meili responded.

Sarah gave Aiden the \'I-told-you-so\' look. "A basement." A second later, she froze when she remembered Akmal\'s phone call on which they eavesdropped. "Uhm… the top quality goods which arrived from all over the world… That can\'t be…?"

Aiden ended Sarah\'s sentence and answered her question: "Girls."

Sarah exhaled in frustration and looked at Aiden.

Aiden understood her silent request and gave his approval. "Summon the forces of Chaos."

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