Is this destiny?

~ the main base of the Voronin family ~

8:01 AM

Maksim entered the tallest building at the core of the main base of the Voronin family and made his way to his father's office which is on the fifth floor.

He ignored people who greeted him as he passed by. They are used to Maksim's cocky attitude of the young master who treats them as not important. 

Maksim was not happy that his father called him this early, but he can't show his displeasure openly.

Maksim is aware that he gets to enjoy his freedom and privileges as long as his father is pleased, and showing disobedience openly is not an option. However, Maksim can't be submissive either. First, that is not how he was raised, and second, if he is submissive, his father might disown him. After all, he can't be the heir of the Voronin family if he does not have a backbone.

It's a delicate balance Maksim is learning to achieve since he is aware of his existence, but as he grew and proved himself, the number of people he needed to listen to diminished, and now he only needs to obey his father while everyone else is reduced to the status of irrelevant.

After a quick knock on the door, Maksim let himself in, without waiting to hear the response.

Two men who were in the study left without a word as soon as they saw Maksim enter.

"You called?", Maksim asked casually to the striking man who was sitting behind a massive black executive desk.

Simeon lifted his gaze from the document he was reading and narrowed his silvery-bluish eyes at Maksim. "I called you one hour ago."

"You know I'm not a morning person, so if it's anything in the morning, call me one hour before you need me."

Simeon snorted. "You need to always be ready. What if it's an emergency?"

Maksim snorted, in the same way his father did only a few seconds ago. "If it's an emergency, you will not call me. You have your dogs to take care of it.", Maksim gestured toward the door, indicating that the 'dogs' he mentioned are men who are guarding the hallway.

Maksim smiled and sat on the chair opposite his father. "Good morning. To what do I owe this pleasure of an early morning meeting? Don't tell me that I am here only because you wanted to cut my sleep short."

Simeon pinched the roof of his nose. "I spoiled you too much."

"No, father. You were too busy with the rest of the family, and the environment spoiled me. But that is not diminishing the fact that I am the best there is.", Maksim ended with a big grin which irritated his father.

"Tone down that confidence, boy.", Simeon said and pushed one folder toward Maksim. "I believe this is the girl you are interested in."

Maksim likes that his father does not beat around the bush and goes straight for the topic, but this time, he was nervous, and he hoped that his father didn't pick that up.

Maksim looked at his father questionably without reaching for the folder. "Since when am I interested in a girl?"

Simeon smiled knowingly. "You think that I don't know you have people watching over a girl? The one from Natalia's camp. You overrode my order that no one leaves and personally approved them to leave for two days."

Maksim licked his lips slowly before opening the folder. He paused when he saw a photo of Sarah smiling brightly at the camera. With his index finger, he moved the photo on the side and revealed several others: Sarah on the streets of Los Angeles eating an ice cream, Sarah strutting the catwalk on one of the EY fashion shows, Sarah on the stage giving a presentation during the White corp. annual meeting, Sarah participating in a poker tournament in Las Vegas…

Sarah had different outfits and hairstyles, but it was definitely her and in every photo, the focus was on Sarah with others fading into the background to the point of looking like blurs.

"What do you know about her?", Simeon asked Maksim, and when Maksim frowned in response, Simeon said: "I can't believe that you would follow a girl without a reason. She is pretty, but not that pretty to make you waste so many people only for a dinner-date. And I hear that she didn't stay the night. I wonder… what makes her so special?"

Maksim's eyes stirred for a moment, and then he responded casually: "I met her in Moscow a few weeks back, and then here. I was curious if that was accidental or not. That's it."

Maksim saw that his father is scrutinizing him, and he decided to throw the ball back into the other side of the court. "It seems to me that you know about her more than I do."

Simeon nodded in confirmation. "I looked her up. She is not Olga from Natalia's base because there is no Olga in Natalia's base. In addition to that, Natalia's base is gone."

This was news for Maksim. "Gone?"

"It's a ghost town. Someone burned it to the ground. There is nothing left. It was completely emptied and burned, and no one told us about it. The last official communication we had from that base is about one month ago."

"One month?", Maksim asked and narrowed his eyes while thinking. "Natalia was here for the registration."

"Did you see her?"

"No. But for registration, the base leader or a proxy was necessary. In person.", Maksim said and paused. "I'm sure you checked this."

Simeon nodded in confirmation. "I checked the video. Natalia was here for the registration, and then her fighter and two more stayed behind. And I accidentally found out that you looked at that same video as well."

Maksim shrugged, indicating that it's not a big deal. "If you know about that one, then you also know that I also checked many other videos. You know I'm watching Olga, and there is a chance that Natalia was there as well, but I didn't pay attention." Maksim was not sure if his father believed him or not, but he decided to guide the conversation further, possibly away from Sarah. "Are you saying that Natalia was here after her base was destroyed? And she didn't report it?"

Simeon shrugged. "It's that, or the base was destroyed after she left."

"Why don't you ask her?"

Simeon's eyes flashed in annoyance. "You were not listening, Maksim… That base is a ghost town. Things and people disappeared without a trace. Other than the three people we have right here."

Maksim understood that Simeon can't locate Natalia or anyone else and the fact that Maksim is interested in Sarah is exposed. This is probably his father testing him again.

In the next moment, Maksim panicked internally. If his father knows that his Divna is not who she pretends to be, isn't she in danger? Are they imprisoned already? Maksim told himself to calm down and investigate. 

"There must be a reason why you are talking to me and not to those three people."

Simeon smiled at his son and gestured with his chin toward Sarah's photos on his desk. "I got some information."

"And?"

"The information came from Lebedevs and the source says that she is one of them."

Maksim didn't like that the topic was back on Sarah. Damn it! The moment he found a woman that is interesting, his father wants to take her away!

Maksim flipped through about one dozen photos on the desk and confirmed that only Sarah is there and not Aiden or Hong.

"Only her? What about the other two?"

Simeon shrugged. "The information is only about the girl. The other two are either cooperating with her or are being deceived."

"What did that source want in return for the information?"

"To warn us."

Maksim didn't think it makes sense and he saw this as a ray of hope for his Divna. "Why would Lebedevs send their own here and then sell her out without asking for anything in return?"

Simeon smiled. He likes that Maksim is smart to figure out that something is off. Simeon can guess that his son is set on that girl, but as long as their interests overlap, he will let Maksim have some fun. "My thoughts exactly. I want to know how can Lebedevs profit from having her out of the picture. Do you have any thoughts on this?"

Maksim was happy that his father is discussing this with him, instead of with one of his advisors (aka Elders) who are more than eager to spill blood in order to prove themselves. At the same time, Maksim knew that he is walking on thin ice. He needs to thread this carefully or he will lose Sarah.

"Are you sure that your source is loyal to Lebedevs? It will make more sense if he is from one of the opposing camps."

Simeon nodded in agreement, however… "I am quite positive that this one is a Lebedev rat."

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