Is this destiny?

~ Croatia, Split ~

In Nick\'s apartment…

8:34 PM

Nick is sitting on the sofa chair in the living room and looking at Marija with impatience obvious in his expression. And this is much more than impatience, Nick is angry.

He was having fun in the club, and he picked up two beautiful girls who were more than willing to please him, and then Marija showed up, acting like a jealous girlfriend, and those two girls left.

"You said that it\'s important." Nick reminded Marija of the only reason he didn\'t slap her when she made a scene that chased away his prey for the night. He wondered if he is too lenient toward Marija. He should teach her a lesson so that she knows her place.

"Why are you so unpleasant? I remember the times when you were happy to see me." Marija said in a soft voice while trying to ignore his hostility.

Nick snorted at her attempt to seduce him. He\'s been there and done that and after he tasted her, he saw that Marija is nothing special. And he knows that she is latching onto him because of his computer skills. Over time, he learned Marija\'s techniques and merged them with his, and he is faster and more knowledgeable than Marija ever was.

It\'s three years how they started cooperating and Marija always said that she has a plan, without revealing what it is, but now Nick is running out of patience. After all, Marija does not have anything else to offer, why would he tolerate her? But she usually does not cause a fuss unless she has some bit of information, so Nick told himself not to kick her out until he finds out what she has. What if it\'s something important related to Sarah?

"Our next meeting is in two weeks. You came early. This better be important."

Marija smiled while swallowing her pride. "Are you really upset that you missed on those two hussies?"

Nick sneered. "Guess."

Nick\'s face contorted in an unpleasant grimace and he was about to snap at Marija when he noticed that she is holding a USB memory stick in her hand and her smug expression told him that it\'s something that will interest him.

"What is that?" Nick asked while his eyes flashed in greed.

Marija smirked and gestured toward the study room. "Let me show you…"

In the study room, Marija did her best not to comment on all the photos of Sarah which are overwhelming the space. Of course, Aiden is cropped out of them, so it looks like it\'s only Sarah, and on a few photos, Nick added himself. \'How childish\', Marija thought. But Nick\'s obsession with Sarah is working in Marija\'s favor because that is the way how she can control him. And she needs him. Other than crazy computer skills, Nick is loaded, and his family has a good standing, so getting access to events and the latest hardware was never a problem.

Thanks to Nick, Marija managed to penetrate into a society where she obtained the information she is about to share.

"What am I looking at?" Nick asked when he plugged in the memory stick in his PC.

"While you were learning new algorithms, I was doing my own research…" Marija said smugly. "Since we revealed to the public that Sarah and Aiden are behind the Ceresc Solutions, they are making appearances on many events. I cross-referenced people who were seated with them and with whom they interacted the most, and I narrowed down the list of people from families that are close to them."

Nick looked at the list and his eyes moved over names from various families: White, Kiani, Smith, Long, Young, Ronin, Sanders, De Luca, Harper, Price… Below was the list of names from each of those families, and the current standing of the person listed, as well as the estimate on the power that person is controlling. Nick observed that Marija put notes next to people who have no power, but he had no patience to read what those notes are.

"What is the point of this?" Nick asked.

"No matter how good your hacking is, there is a limit on how much you can do on your own. Sarah and Aiden are like a mountain and taking them down is something we can\'t do on our own, and we need allies."

Nick didn\'t like the \'taking them down\' term, but there was something else… "You decided to search for allies among people who are close to them?"

Marija nodded confidently. "These people have power and that means internal struggles within their families. Because Sarah and Aiden are close to them, and we know that they like to meddle, they will not allow their friends to suffer and that means that they made enemies."

Nick thought about Marija\'s words for some time before speaking. "I see… so, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Is that your logic?"

Marija was happy that Nick understood. "Of course."

Nick frowned in disapproval. He knows how those rich families work, he is part of one. They will rip each other apart for some money and benefits and he has no intention of hurting Sarah. He wants her safe and happy and the only problem Nick has is that Sarah is not by his side. But even with that, there is no way that he would put Sarah in danger.

"But you made one miscalculation. Sarah is not my enemy." Nick said sternly.

"Can you say the same for Aiden?" Marija smirked when she saw the change in Nick\'s expression. She knows how to push his buttons.

Nick exhaled forcibly. "You want us to collaborate with people who have a grudge against Sarah and Aiden. And then what?"

"I have a contact from Eastern Europe who has a drug that can alter memories." Marija said and directed a meaningful look at Nick.

Nick looked at Marija in disbelief. "I think that you are watching too many movies. But, let\'s assume that you are not spouting nonsense… You want to alter Aiden\'s memory?"

Marija rolled her eyes. "Not him. I am talking about Sarah." Marija saw that Nick looked at her dangerously and she quickly added: "Imagine, the girl from your dreams ends up waking up in a hospital, not knowing who she is or how she got there… and she sees you by her side. You can be whoever you wish. Her brother, lover, husband... As long as you stay out of the public eye, no one will know where she is. And she can be all yours, willingly, just how you always wanted."

Nick paused. The idea of Sarah waking up and seeing Nick as her savior sounds fantastic. And he can come up with a story that they are married already. Nick\'s mind was working a million thoughts a second. He will buy the rings and fabricate photos as a proof of their loving relationship and wedding… he will tell her that she is an orphan, that will prevent her from looking for her family… The plan was forming into his mind, but before that, he needs to get Sarah by his side.

"Keep on talking…" Nick demanded impatiently.

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