Is this destiny?

On the plane back to Romania…

Sarah sat next to Aiden who is staring at the screen of his laptop which showed various files they found on servers of Shadow Ravens.

She observed his expression. He is slightly stiff, and she can see that he is concerned.

"Are you worried about the information we found related to you and Voronins?", Sarah guessed.

Aiden turned to face her. "You are not?"

Sarah shrugged. "Remember the photos which Anna brought from gran and gramps? The ones which showed us that King was sneaking in and out of our lives?" Sarah saw that Aiden nodded and she continued: "I was being watched since I was born. It should not be a surprise that you were watched as well."

Aiden didn\'t like what he heard. Why would they watch him? It is one thing that Evalina and Alexander were at the White corp. How he sees it, those two were just trying to find out if he is the one who learned moves from Master Voronin, they were shooting in the dark. However, the information they found on the servers owned by the Shadow Ravens points out that Voronins were specifically targeting him, even before he met Master Voronin. And this came from the organization lead by the Whites!

"You are related to Lebedev family, and I have no relationship with Voronins.", Aiden voiced his reasoning why it does not make sense that someone is watching him.

Sarah didn\'t agree with his statement (the part that he is not related to Voronins). "Are you sure? The fact that you don\'t know about it, does not mean it does not exist. It doesn\'t need to be a blood relationship. Maybe your grandfather was a buddy with Master Voronin when they were kids, or maybe their goal is to take over the White foundation and you got caught in it. We know that the Lebedev family is hungry for power and that Voronins are the same." Sarah paused and touched her chin while thinking. "I would not be surprised if Voronins are watching you and Jeff and trying to get closer to you and that this camp was just one of the many occasions they got close to you. What if their intention was only to observe you, maybe to get you to make friends with one of their people, and Master Voronin came in unexpectedly…?"

"Why would he do that?"

"Who knows? He was an old man, probably in that position for a long time. Maybe he was bored and decided to mess around. Or maybe he taught you those skills with a goal for you to claim the position of an Elder. Did you think about the possibility that he wanted you to take over Voronins and in that way merge them with Whites? The White foundation has a big presence in the Southern United States where Voronins don\'t have bases. What if that is not a coincidence, but Master Voronin planned that after you combine two organizations, Voronins will get access to everything Whites have?"

Aiden exhaled. Sarah\'s ideas are wild, as usually, but at least there are no zombies and aliens. But even if he removes all the craziness, the fact is that someone wanted him to attend that camp, and they succeeded.

"This idea that someone is watching me and manipulating from the shadows is… unsettling."

"Now you know how I feel…", Sarah said and yawned. "When I found out about King and Lebedevs I was wondering which decisions I made on my own, and how much was the influence of Lebedevs…"

Aiden saw that Sarah is sleepy (as usually in the plane) and he kept his laptop on the side. "Let\'s go to the back. You can sleep better in the bed and I will hold you…"

Sarah didn\'t object. "You should sleep also. When we reach, it will be close to the opening ceremony…"

Aiden forced a smile. With all the thoughts racing through his mind, it does not seem that he will be able to sleep.

…

~ Los Angeles, Mediterranean villa ~

Jeff and JoAnna finished their dinner, and JoAnna noticed that Jeff is absentminded.

"Will you tell me what is going on?"

"This morning I had a chat with Aiden, and he found a proof that Voronins influenced Oscar to get Aiden into that camp where he met Master Voronin." Jeff saw that JoAnna is slightly confused. "Let me start from the beginning…"

JoAnna listened attentively to what Aiden told Jeff and Jeff\'s thoughts about it. When he finished, she asked: "So, what will you do about it?"

"I will talk to Oscar and see what he will do about it."

JoAnna was surprised to hear that Jeff plans to dump this on Oscar. "Do you think he will do anything?"

"I know that he is retired, but someone manipulated him. And there is a chance that was not an isolated case. Even if he is not the one to investigate, he should be involved. After he...", Jeff stopped talking when he saw that JoAnna lifted her hand.

"Oscar\'s retirement is not the reason why I asked you if he will act on it."

Jeff frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Your story about what happened fourteen years ago does not mention that Oscar was deceived or manipulated. It just says that someone from the Voronin family suggested Orosia summer camp to Mr. Reebus and he conveyed that message to Oscar."

"Are you saying that Oscar knows about Voronins and their interest in Aiden?"

JoAnna shrugged, indicating that she is not sure. "Are you saying that is not a possibility? I lived with my parents for two decades, and only when Sarah started poking around we found out about Lebedevs. If she didn\'t, we would keep on living without knowing that they are watching us while waiting for their chance to pull us in."

"This…", Jeff was not sure what to say about this theory.

"I still think that you should talk to Oscar. But be ready that he might be aware of this. Maybe it\'s not Oscar…", JoAnna mused. "Both Whites and Voronins are families who are in power for many generations. Maybe your grandfather or the Master before him had a deal."

"As allies?", Jeff guessed.

"That is a possibility. You remember what Sarah and Aiden told us, that four years ago Master Voronin passed and since then his disciples are fighting for power. Voronins are divided into fractions and unstable. There is also a chance that Master Voronin was honoring that deal and that his successor has different ideas."

JoAnna saw that Jeff\'s mouth is half-open. She cupped his cheeks with her palms and nudged his nose with hers. "I am not trying to confuse you. I am only giving you various possibilities. If I learned anything in the last two years, that is how things are not what they seem."

Jeff leaned his forehead on JoAnna\'s and sighed. "I know… It\'s just… These are my parents. Since I was born, I was told that I should study hard and inherit the company and the family, and I never doubted my father or my mother that they have a hidden agenda. And they insisted that I should get along with Aiden. Why would they send him into the place owned by Voronins knowingly?"

"Don\'t act like all hopes are gone. There is a possibility that Oscar collaborated with Voronins as a way to make the two of you stronger. Or maybe Oscar was deceived, and he is not aware of what Voronins are trying to accomplish… The best case is that Oscar has nothing to do with Voronins and the worst case is that he is in this scheme to get Aiden and possibly you as well entangled with them. But the truth is usually somewhere in between."

Jeff showed a small smile. He knows that JoAnna is trying to comfort him. And what she said makes sense, but the idea that his father was talking about stock markets and business deals to him while setting up Aiden to get closer to Voronins is difficult to accept.

Jeff jolted when JoAnna suddenly moved away and slapped both of his cheeks at the same time.

"Why are you moping?!", JoAnna scolded him. "You are the Master of the White family. Find out what happened and if there are Voronins in your ranks, weed them out! Even if Oscar is part of this, he retired, and he has no say in any of this! You always said that you want to protect your family, this is your chance to protect your brother! Use the fact that you found out about this to your advantage…"

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