Is this destiny?

~ Los Angeles, the Cliffside villa ~

Aiden called Ron to meet on the rooftop terrace and he hinted that it\'s related to Ron\'s stepmother (aka Mrs. Heine).

Aiden is surprised to see that Ron came with Zula. The two of them are standing in front of Aiden straight and holding hands, silently telling Aiden that they are in this together. 

"I heard that you want to get revenge on your stepmother.", Aiden started the conversation.

Ron nodded in confirmation.

Aiden gestured to the chairs by his side, indicating to Ron and Zula to sit. "Tell me about what you are planning."

Ron sat stiffly next to Aiden. Usually, he is not uncomfortable around Aiden, but this topic is not simple to talk about. Ron eased up when he felt Zula\'s hand over his.

"I want her to feel the pain. I want her to suffer.", Ron said after a long silence.

"Details, please. I want to know what you plan to do.", Aiden urged him.

Ron grimaced in displeasure. Does Aiden expect him to say details? "You know what she did to me. I want to return the favor."

Aiden rested his chin on his fist and observed Ron. He can see that Ron is serious and JoAnna explained to him (and to Sarah) that getting revenge will be therapeutic for Ron, but Aiden has his concerns.

"I want to understand what are you trying to accomplish, so can you be more specific than that?"

Ron frowned. "You don\'t approve?"

Aiden was getting irritated. Why is Ron not answering his questions? Ah, dealing with teenagers is troublesome. "Don\'t put words in my mouth and answer my question."

Ron noticed that Aiden is losing his patience. He told himself that arguing with Aiden won\'t benefit anyone. He took a deep breath and responded calmly: "I told you, I want to punish her. I want her to experience the same thing I went through."

"Do you think that will be a punishment for her?"

Ron paused. "What do you mean?"

Aiden gave Ron a knowing look. "If you hurt her, the pain and the embarrassment will be temporary, if any. And at the same time, you will make her a victim."

"Should I give up? Let her live her life while I struggle to forget?...", Ron stopped talking when he felt Zula squeezing his hand and reminding him to stay calm.

"No. You should not give up, but if you are already doing the work, I would like you to come up with a punishment which will make her suffer at least as much as you did. Otherwise, your efforts will be wasted. You said that you want her to feel the same pain, and that can\'t be measured or compared. However, the length of suffering is something we can work with."

Ron agrees with the point that his stepmother should suffer, but his thoughts didn\'t go beyond hurting her physically. "What do you suggest?"

"I don\'t think that you are the only one." Aiden saw Ron frown and he lifted his hand, indicating him to listen first. "People like her have a pattern of behavior. There is a possibility that you were not the first one, and once you left, the probability is high that she found someone else to take your place. Your stepmother enjoys putting her hands on young boys, like you. And she is able to do so because no one would believe that she would do such a thing. She is objectively an OK looking woman with a husband who has a good reputation and is earning enough to provide her with a comfortable lifestyle."

Aiden paused and allowed for Ron and Zula to think about his words before adding: "Under that perverted façade is a need to be in power. To punish her, we take that away from her: her status, her friends, her marriage, and everything that enables her to get close to young unsuspecting boys how you used to be."

Zula is the one who understood first. "You want us to expose her."

Aiden confirmed. "Here are my thoughts: Mr. Heine (aka Ron\'s father) has a good reputation in his town as an honest businessman and a family man. His first wife passed, and his son disappeared, but none of those is his fault, right? It\'s actually gathering him sympathy. Now try to think, how will his world change if there is evidence that Mrs. Heine is a devious predator, and that gets exposed? Mr. Heine will not stay by her side no matter how much he loves her if he does not want to risk his business going down. With or without his support, she will be ostracized, abandoned by everyone who does not want to go down with her. Society will punish her. And when she hits the rock bottom, that is the right timing for you to show up and deliver the final blow."

"If her filth gets exposed, my father will be caught in it as well, even if he abandons her.", Ron voiced his thoughts.

Aiden confirmed. "Do you care about him?"

Ron pressed his lips into a line and remembered how he told his father more than once what is going on, but his father didn\'t believe him. His father decided to believe his new wife because it\'s more convenient; because he would rather accept the story that his teenage son despises his stepmother and is acting out, than to face the fact that his wife is a snake. People are like that: they would rather believe a pleasant lie over the uncomfortable truth. Even if they know it\'s a lie. "No, I don\'t. He is one of the people who are enabling her. He should suffer as well."

Aiden approved. "We can make that happen. He lost you and he will lose his wife as well. The only thing left will be his business. After we take care of your stepmother, you can decide how far you want to go with your father. In my opinion, leaving him without anything will be enough, but it will be your call."

Ron realized that he was consumed in punishing that woman and he didn\'t think how his vengeance can be much more… complete. Ron smiled gratefully at Aiden and acknowledged silently that he has a lot to learn. He is happy that they are on the same side. "Sounds good. Where do we start?"

"First, we need to find out if you are the only one. If my guess is correct, you are not."

Ron\'s enthusiasm dwindled. "Exposing her will expose her victims as well."

"It depends on how we use that information. One definite proof will be enough to make people stop and pay attention. The rest can be strategically spread trail of crumbs which will cause others to reinforce their belief that she is no good."

Ron understood that the one providing the definite proof will be him. "I don\'t want to talk publicly about what she did to me."

Aiden frowned. "Do you want to stay out of this? I thought that you want to expose her."

"I do, but…"

"Let\'s talk about that later.", Aiden interrupted Ron. "I want you to think about how resolute you are to go through with this. Of course, we can hire a streetworker who looks young enough to pass as a teenager and who is willing to do a gig for the right amount of money. Regardless of which the second step we take, the first one is to find out her other victims. I will leave that to you and Zula. Give me a detailed report when you are done, and we will discuss what next."

Aiden was ready to stand up because the talk was over, when he heard Zula: "Can you provide further pointers?"

Aiden understood that this is the first time the two of them are doing something that is more than just swooping in and bashing people and he is happy that they are asking for his guidance.

"Come up with a list of boys she has access to without supervision and start digging. It will be someone close. A neighbor, a son of her friend, or maybe your friend. She will not be doing it in hotels or other places that she does not have access to normally. Her house definitely has security cameras, tap into those to see who is coming in and out when Mr. Heine is not around. You can also go in person if needed and talk to people…"

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