Is this destiny?

Elder Sergey frowned deeply and Simeon also didn't like this.

Elder Sergey is the biggest supporter of Simeon and the two of them are backing up each other since Simeon became the Grand Master.

Sergey helped Simeon get rid of many disciples of the previous Grand Master in order to thin out the competition and remove anyone who might challenge one of the impactful positions.

Of course, Sarah knew all this because of the information Maksim provided on the Elders.

Elder Sergey looked at Simeon pleadingly, silently asking him to find a way out of this.

Just like Lebedevs, the Elders and seniors of the Voronin family were corrupted and not willing to give up their spots, and for a long time, they are using underhanded methods to remove any potential challengers while forgetting to keep themselves ready to fight in the arena. After all, they removed or reassigned many capable people of the younger generation, and the ones who survived internal strife ended up meeting the Army of Chaos over the last few years.

The corruption of the Voronin family started long ago. 

Many were involved in schemes for gaining power, even before the previous Grand Elder (aka Hong's father, aka Feodor) passed. Feodor witnessed the disappearance of his son (aka Hong), and he buried his daughter-in-law, and he was aware that the family is going to collapse on itself, but he didn't know how to fix things as it all spiraled out of control.

Elders and seniors were fighting for power, and only the scheming ones remained because the ones who relied on the rules were removed silently.

Feodor was helpless and dejected, and then he decided to teach an outsider the techniques that might give him the right to contend for the position of an Elder. That is how Aiden ended up learning moves that put a target on his back because Feodor himself let out a leak that there is an outsider who is a threat. Of course, Feodor had no intention of turning Aiden into an Elder, but Feodor hoped that his family will stop infighting and unite when they realize that there are so many external threats they should focus on. Unfortunately for Feodor, it didn't work.

When Hong left, Simeon saw that as an opportunity to seize power and he was gathering allies and chipping away power from Feodor gradually. The last few years that Feodor was alive, he was merely a puppet while Simeon was the one running the show.

Back to the present…

If this is normal business, Simeon would ignore the challenge and just kill them all, however, this is being streamed to the Voronin family for everyone to see and Simeon can't blatantly avoid the rules that are allowing him to stay in the position of power.

Sergey is a good ally to Simeon, however, he is only one out of many. If someone succeeds and takes Sergey's place, Simeon will take care of him silently, when the cameras are off. That will be easy.

"And who is the challenger?", Simeon asked while suspiciously eyeing the people who came, and Sergey's brows came together in a frown.

Aiden stood up. "I am."

Elder Sergey swallowed hard. "What? You can't!", he shouted, and his eyes darted nervously. "Qualified candidates need to know techniques that only our family members know. You don't qualify."

Aiden arched an eyebrow smugly. "How about you test me?"

Elder Sergey understood that Aiden's confidence is coming either because he has the skills or because he is good at bluffing. But if this is a bluff, Aiden would not be here with a delegation from the Lebedev family.

Elder Sergey looked at Simeon, silently asking for help and Simeon understood that Sergey has no chance against Aiden, but there is nothing much Simeon can do when everyone is watching them. They all saw Aiden fight and Sergey as well as other Elders are all from the older generation who are not actively participating in fights or missions, but there is one person who might tip the scales in their favor.

Simeon looked at his right. "Maksim will test the candidate."

Maksim kept on his poker face while scowling internally. Simeon and Sergey are happy to rub each other's backs when it comes to power and assets, but when it's time to fight, they call out Maksim.

Also, another thing bothered Maksim. Did Simeon forget that in the last two days Maksim was being severely beaten because Sarah escaped? Simeon blamed Maksim for the escape and for the explosion, like Maksim orchestrated everything.

Maksim stood up. "Sure."

"No…", Elder Sergey said weakly, but no one paid any attention to him.

"Well, then…", Simeon's voice trailed. "We should take this to the training grounds."

Sarah's eyebrow arched. Why is the old man talking about the training grounds when they have a perfectly good fighting arena in this same building? Is he trying to delay the fight by moving it to a different place? Or is he trying to sabotage them on the way there? So many options.

"You wanted to say, to the fighting arena that is designed for challenging Elders, right?"

Sarah's question made Simeon narrow his eyes and he cleared his throat.

"Yes. That is what I meant."

Sarah smiled. "Lead the way."

The arena reminded Sarah of their fighting clubs where the center of the space is separated by the wire and it looks like a circular cage. Seats for Elders are perched above so that they can get a good view, and senior people from the family have separated seating, while others can stand in the area around the fighting cage as they see fit.

For this occasion, Sarah and others from the Lebedev family got to sit in seats that are higher than others. Those seats are usually reserved for the senior people, but this time they let guests sit there because they didn't want to risk Lebedevs mixing with the Voronins and using this chance to sneak in or cause a commotion bigger than it already is.

Simeon looked at the screens that are hanging above the fighting cage and he frowned when he saw that everything is being shown there, and the image is definitely not from their cameras. A smug smile on Sarah's face told him that this is their doing, but he could not figure out how they are doing it. On his way here, he told his men to investigate, but so far they didn't find anything. At this rate, they will need to proceed with this challenge or risk losing their reputation. How troublesome.

One Elder spoke into the microphone. "Elder Sergey Voronin received a challenge for his position. Maksim Voronin will test the skills of the challenger to ensure that he is qualified."

Aiden removed his suit jacket and loosened his necktie which Sarah held, to remove it completely.

"Don't be too harsh on him.", Sarah told Aiden.

Aiden narrowed his eyes at Sarah. "Are you defending Maksim?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "The guy has internal injuries, and if he collapses, it will not be good for the plan. Can you please stay focused and don't allow him to provoke you?" Sarah cupped Aiden's cheeks with her palms and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Now go and do your thing, husband."

Aiden's lips lifted into a smile and he pecked her lips one more time before heading down to the fighting cage where Maksim waited for him.

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