Is this destiny?

Aiden followed Sarah to the elevator, and they emerged on the lowest floor.

Sarah led the way into the vault where she started rummaging through one large box.

That is the box where Sarah keeps her personal valuables. Things in there are not necessarily valuable in terms of money, but they are mementos of the memories she doesn't want to forget.

Other than various Eve-enhanced security features, the vault has a strictly controlled temperature and humidity, so it is a perfect place to preserve things that should not be ruined by the passage of time.

"Got it!", Sarah exclaimed and pulled a palm-sized flat velvet box. She smiled mysteriously as she opened it.

Aiden looked at the medallion shaped as a kolovrat with a swan in the middle that was made out of one big sapphire. He blinked twice before his eyes widened in realization. "Isn't that just like the token that Council members had?"

Sarah grinned, happy that he figured it out.

"How did you get your hands on this?"

Aiden's first thought was that the medallion came from one of the numerous swiping missions that Sarah participated in. A second later, Aiden realized that he was wrong. Everything they swiped is either sold or in various warehouses, and not in this vault. Also, this is where Sarah keeps her personal items.

"Mom gave it to me as a birthday present a few years back. She said that it belonged to her grandmother and that I should keep it for when times get tough. I didn't think much of it at that time, so I just kept it here but now…"

Aiden's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Is that why you were asking Jarred about the purpose of medallions?"

"My husband is wise.", Sarah said with a big grin on her face.

She observed the medallion before flipping it to see the backside. "Jarred said that this will unlock a vault and grant access to safe deposit boxes. I wonder if this is the key itself or if it has some other use… it has some grooves at the back…"

Aiden saw Sarah sticking her nail in the medallion roughly and he snatched the medallion away from her hands.

"I think we should leave this to the professionals.", Aiden said to Sarah who was frowning at him. "Felix has the equipment and skills to examine this thing without damaging it. You might break it accidentally."

Sarah looked at her left hand and nodded in agreement. "Let's go to their place. It's not late yet. We can even stay for dinner. Uh, let's invite Anna and Jeff because we will need their help to deal with the Council. But first, let's check on Vasily…"

Aiden was happy that Sarah agreed to give the medallion to Felix.

"Assuming that the medallion is the key and that it's still valid…", Aiden said as they were leaving the vault and heading to the elevator. "We don't know where the Council keeps things that can be unlocked with this."

"I know.", Sarah admitted. "But if I asked Jarred about the location, it would be too obvious. We will need to use Eve and figure out potential places."

Aiden chuckled. "Since the beginning, you were thinking of swiping their things?"

"Why are you making it sound like it's a bad thing?", Sarah asked innocently.

Aiden laughed. Sarah didn't change this mischievous side of her, and he didn't mind. Not even a little bit. Considering how those people treated Sarah during the meeting, emptying the vault of the Council is the least Sarah can do to punish them.

…

~ Los Angeles, the Tuscan style villa ~

Sophia and Felix hosted Sarah, Aiden, JoAnna, and Jeff for dinner.

Because big people had grown up things to discuss, after the meal was done, Alice and Jayden went to the kids' room to play with Lia, Adam, and Valentin, under the watchful eyes of their nannies. Valentin is too small to play in a group, but he loves to sit and observe bigger kids while chewing on his toys.

Sarah and Aiden brought with them summarized reports which contained information on the Council members and their area of influence, and after dinner, the Hill sisters and their husbands moved to the study room to discuss the situation.

Sophia and JoAnna were not happy to hear about the Council. They shared Sarah's sentiments; with Voronins and Lebedevs under control, they hoped for some peaceful time, yet another threat showed up.

All of them were in an agreement that with Sarah knowing about the Council, unless she joins them, they will see her as a threat, and her family in extension as well. Actually, even if Sarah joins them, her friends and family will be watched as a way to control Sarah.

While all of them engaged in a heated discussion, Felix was sitting on the side, visually inspecting the medallion that Sarah gave him. Felix was mentally not present and within minutes he pulled various gadgets from his pockets and started probing the medallion.

"I knew that Jarred is not a simple weapons dealer, but this…", Jeff said and shook his head. "It's not uncommon that powerful individuals join forces in an effort to increase their influence. However, the idea of shaping the world and making others bend to their will is on a level of supervillains."

"Supervillains?", Sophia was amused by Jeff's choice of words. "If we oppose them does that make us superheroes?"

Sophia smiled while imagining Felix in a tight body-fitting suit with a cape fluttering behind him.

Aiden cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. He looked at Sophia. "In this group of superheroes, you would be the mastermind." He pointed at JoAnna. "Next, we have a mad scientist…" He pointed at Felix who was not paying attention to the conversation. "A crazy inventor…" He glanced at Jeff. "An overbearing tycoon…" Aiden glanced at Sarah. "A thief…"

"Hey, hey!", Sarah protested. "I can be a hacker or a fighter, not a thief."

"Pft!", JoAnna burst into laughter. "No, no… Aiden is a hacker, and his fighting skill is above yours. You steal things and that makes you a thief."

"My fighting skill degraded only because of pregnancy!", Sarah exclaimed. She didn't want to bicker about hacking levels because between her and Aiden was never a clear winner, but in terms of fighting, she was at a temporary disadvantage, and JoAnna calling it out was not right.

JoAnna snickered, amused by Sarah's exaggerated reaction. "Fine. You are a pregnant thief!"

Sophia shook her head in disapproval. With a mad scientist, an overbearing tycoon, a crazy inventor, and a thief (pregnant or not), she had to correct herself. "My bad, my bad… I said superheroes. We are just another band of villains."

They all laughed. Felix included.

"Why are you laughing?", Sophia called Felix out. She knew that he was immersed completely in investigating that medallion and oblivious to what they were talking about.

Felix looked at Sophia and blinked. "You were laughing, and I agree with you so… I laughed."

"Aww… you always know what to say." Sophia thought how he is adorable, and Felix smiled smugly.

"Did you find out something?", Sarah asked Felix while eyeing the medallion in his hand.

"It's not a simple slab of metal. There is something inside, but for more than that, I need to take it into my lab or I might risk damaging the mechanism, assuming there is one…"

Sarah's eyes lit up. She knew it! There must be a hidden compartment with a key or some other thing that can unlock a vault and safety deposit boxes. But it can't be technologically advanced because even if Stella is not familiar with its background, that medallion is not very recent. Will it open up like a 3D puzzle? The more Sarah thought about it, the more her lips lifted into a smile.

"A thief…", Aiden muttered while observing changes in Sarah's expression. The greed flashed in her eyes and he had a good idea what she was thinking. 

Sarah's head snapped toward Aiden and she glared at him.

Within a second, Aiden wrapped Sarah into a tight hug and coaxed her: "A beautiful thief. You stole my heart, so you are my thief."

Sarah's expression softened. "And you are my sweet talker…"

Aiden hummed and gave her a kiss… and another one, and another… and they didn't stop when JoAnna told them to get a room.

---

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