Is this destiny?

The moment Aiden showed up at the door of the conference room, Jarred and Suvedini knew that Sarah was up to something. Heck, they knew that Sarah will do something during this meeting even before she showed up. However, Aiden's entrance was unexpected because Sarah didn't reveal the details of her plan.

Suvedini and Jarred believed that Sarah knew what she was doing, or at least they hoped she was aware of how her actions could have devastating consequences.

Albert entered the conference room with his head lowered. His hair was messy and his shirt crumpled, it showed that he didn't pay attention to his appearance. He had more important things on his mind.

Albert's face was sullen, and his appearance changed like he aged ten years in the last few days.

Albert lost his money, a number of assets, and important documents, his allies were turning against him, his enemies became bolder, and the latest polls showed that the public opinion of him was dwindling. The news from the last few days are portraying him in a negative light, and the most popular daily magazine announced an explosive reveal about Albert in their Sunday edition.

Albert's whole world was collapsing, and he was happy that the Council had this meeting set up because he hoped that he can get these people to assist him. Somehow. After all, they are all part of the same organization and if he falls from grace, then the Council overall will be weakened as well, so it's in their interest to assist him. Yes. Albert was confident that this story will work. As a politician, he can definitely spin this and make other members see his point.

On the way to his seat, Albert mumbled something like an apology for being late.

He sat in his chair and placed his medallion in the groove in front of him.

Sarah silently counted. Four… Five… Six… Will he notice anytime soon?... Eight… Nine…

"Who is that?", Albert asked grumpily.

Aiden was sitting in the shadows, so he couldn't see the person, but it was obvious that someone was occupying the chair that was supposed to be empty. Others knew it was Aiden, because they saw him coming in with Sarah, but Albert was in the dark (pun intended).

Sarah's smile was hidden in the shadows. It took Albert ten seconds to notice. He must be distracted quite a bit.

"Who are you talking about?", Sarah asked, feigning ignorance.

She leaned forward, so that he can see her smile.

Other than the smile, Albert also noticed that Sarah and mystery person are holding hands.

Albert sneered. "Did you bring your people here?"

"Define, my people."

"The person beside you! Holding hands!", Albert hissed. He was not in a good mood to begin with, and Sarah was adding fuel to the already raging fire. "That is not a member. Only members are allowed here!"

Albert's gaze moved over other people in the room. "Why did you allow this breach of rules? Or are we all allowed to bring our assistants and…", Albert's voice trailed off when Aiden leaned forward, and Albert recognized him.

"This… you brought your husband?" His frown was so deep that his eyebrows came together.

"I am pregnant, and this is a hostile environment. Of course, I would love to have my husband with me.", Sarah said innocently.

"You said that you will explain when Albert arrives.", Rance said before Albert blew up with rage, or suffered a heart attack.

"Oh, yes. I owe you an explanation to why my husband is here.", Sarah spoke lazily. "He is not here as my husband, or as my bodyguard. He is here because he has the right to sit at this table."

Sarah's eyes sparkled as she glanced over the faces of people who believe that shadows are providing them with anonymity. Curiosity, confusion, disbelief, anticipation… it was all there, and Sarah enjoyed every spec of it. She even saw a flash of realization in Jarred's face when he got a hint of what they were up to.

"You should speak for yourself, hun.", Sarah said to Aiden.

Aiden gave a small nod to Sarah before speaking, "It is my understanding that this meeting and this room are for the members of the Council."

Without waiting for anyone to respond, Aiden extended his free hand and placed it over the groove that was shaped as the eight-pointed star.

Gasps were heard when he retracted his hand, revealing the golden medallion with an oval-shaped white jade in the middle.

It fit perfectly.

"How is this possible?", Sloan said under his breath. He leaned forward to get a better view and then he looked at Aiden. "How did you get this?"

Aiden was completely calm. "What do you think? Do you think I stole it? Or kill the previous owner in order to get my hands on it?"

Sarah saw Albert flinch when Aiden mentioned murder, confirming that Akter is not alive.

"Uhm…", Sloan cleared his throat. "That's not what I said. It's just that… we didn't see Akter for a long time and now you showed up with his medallion. It's normal that we have questions."

"My medallion.", Aiden corrected Sloan.

"Can you tell us how it became yours?", Sinet asked.

Just last week Sarah showed up with kolovrat-shaped medallion, and now Aiden produced another one. They were all shocked.

Why did it seem like these medallions are easy to get by? Can they be purchased in a mall?

Well, Jarred was not so shocked, but he still wanted to hear the explanation. He knew it will be a made-up story, but then… maybe it won't. If he learned anything while hanging out with Sarah and Aiden, that was to expect the unexpected.

Aiden cleared his throat and started talking… "A man named Akter Kim gave it to me about five years ago. He explained to me about the Council, but I was not ready to reveal myself until now. Akter advised me to ensure I am strong enough before I come to you, or I will risk being labeled as not worthy. If you look into my background, you will confirm that I spent my quite a bit of time during my teenage years in Eastern Europe and Asia. That is when I met Akter Kim…", Aiden reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and retrieved several photos. "This is me and Akter in his home in Cambodia. He introduced me to his…"

Aiden had a story for every photo, and he spoke with longing like he was remembering a pleasant memory.

The Council members were listening attentively while passing the photos among each other for everyone to see, and Albert was absolutely flabbergasted.

Albert was subconsciously gripping the hand rest of his chair as the whole room spun.

Of course, Albert knew that every word coming out of Aiden's mouth was a lie after Aiden's introduction how Akter gave him the medallion. But will he dare to expose him?

It was obvious that Aiden's story was leading to the conclusion how Akter made Aiden his heir in the Council.

'They know…', Albert cursed internally when he saw that Sarah was looking at him smugly while Aiden was narrating his made-up memories with Akter.

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