Is this destiny?

~ Seattle ~

Later that afternoon, in an abandoned warehouse just outside Seattle, Stella was waiting for Owen.

"You are late!", her impatience was evident.

Owen showed his palms defensively while walking toward her with a smile, "Traffic…"

Owen stopped few steps away from Stella when he noticed her icy glare. He understood that she is not upset only because he is late, but there is something else. He didn't dare come closer.

"Why did you call me, Milena?" Owen decided to skip pleasantries and to ask for the reason of this meeting.

"I want to know how did you find apartment in Fairfield?" She spoke slowly while observing his behavior carefully.

Owen's eyes darted few times aimlessly. "Why are you asking that?"

His behavior betrayed that he is hiding something.

"Because I remember that I had a task for you to find an apartment in Fairfield for Sarah which is spacious, new or newly renovated, and NOT tied up with family." She emphasized 'not'.

Owen took a step back reflexively. "Why do you think it has ties with the family?"

In a split-second Stella crossed distance between them, and she was clutching his neck. Her eyes were burning with malice and she spoke through her teeth, "Because her neighbor's name is King! How many people call themselves with that name?"

"Must be a coincidence…", he weakly said.

She squeezed harder. "I don't believe in coincidences… SPEAK!"

Owen could not talk at this point. He weakly nodded gesturing that he will speak.

Stella released him and he coughed while holding onto his neck.

After a long coughing fit, he took few steps back, glanced at her and then looked down. "I didn't have a choice. I had to give him something…"

"You decided to give him my daughter?!!" Stella was doing her best not to break him in two right there on the spot.

Owen panicked. He waved his arms defensively. "No, no, no… Not give her… He just wanted to watch. He promised that he will only watch… to see her progress… and how she is doing…"

"How could you?" She glared at him.

"You don't understand! He can do things which I don't want to experience again…", Owen weakly said with a trembling voice.

Stella's eyes flashed with murderous intent. She closed the distance between them in less than a heartbeat and delivered few precise punches which were so fast that they were not visible by naked eye.

Owen was shocked. He fell to the ground in slow motion, his body limp.

Stella looked down at him, her eyes showing how much she hates him. "Oleg… do you think that just because I treat you well that I can't harm you? It seems you forgot who I am."

He was in full blown panic seeing that Stella is losing her temper. He was frantically thinking how to improve this situation. "Do you think this is the only time family got close to your daughters?"

Stella sneered. "Let's start with Sarah… how did King became her neighbor?"

Owen hesitated…

Stella reached for his hand, held the tip of his index finger and applied pressure.

Owen watched in horror as his nail snapped in half, and blood started oozing down his arm.

Stella showed a morbid smile. "This will hurt later, when I release your pressure point. And I will keep doing it until you tell me everything you know… or you run out of nails…"

"Oh, God… Oh, God…", he whimpered.

"God will not help you, Oleg… God helps the righteous ones. And you are a rat." She reached for his other finger and broke that nail in half, ignoring his pleas.

"Stop! Stop! …"

"I told you what will make me stop…", she didn't look at him while his third nail snapped.

"OK… OK… Family owned both apartments… under different names, untraceable… and he found out that you are looking for an apartment and told me to give you that one for Sarah. He promised that he will not approach her. Otherwise I would not do it. I swear…"

"What else? Don't make me ask more questions, Oleg! Tell me everything you know!"

After two seconds of silence she reached for fourth finger and that nail snapped as well.

He spoke with urgency: "There was someone in Franciscan Medical Center… watching Anna. Now that Anna moved, I don't know if they are watching her."

"What about Sophia?", Stella's chilling voice made him shiver.

"I don't know about her…" He shook his head vigorously.

Last finger on his right arm ended up with a broken nail.

"I swear! Do you think they tell me everything? I just know few things I overheard!" He saw Stella reaching for his left arm and he panicked… "Please, please… don't."

Several minutes later, all nails on both of his hands were snapped in half. His hands were covered in blood, which dripped on the floor.

Stella glared at him while contemplating what to do. Finally, she spoke: "You are lucky that I still have use of you. Betray me again, and I will make you feel so much pain that you will wish for death which will not come."

She inched closer, hitting few of his pressure points.

Owen screamed when he felt the pain of her previous actions. He thought that his fingers came off… or he wished for it. He could feel the pain but was still not able to move.

Stella walked out of the warehouse, leaving Owen sprawled on the ground… screaming.

…

Later in the evening, downtown Seattle, Isabella and Leah had dinner in a quiet restaurant.

They chatted about themselves, focused on getting to know each other.

Isabella talked about her past, starting from her business oriented father, kind mother, enjoying life of a pampered single child… mischiefs, piano lessons, ballet… how she wished to be a model, but was too short… how she wished to be a doctor, but could not handle blood and needles… how she wished to be a lawyer, but didn't like studying… how she wishes to be an artist, but has to focus on this business thing in order for her father not to force a marriage on her.

Leah felt that even though Isabella called herself pampered single child, she didn't get to make decisions for herself. Her parents, peers, circumstances always forced her to do things that need to be done. That made Leah sad.

Leah talked about her childhood as an oldest out of four siblings, her three younger brothers, her father who passed away when she was a teen… how she took care of her brothers while her mother worked two jobs… how she became friends with Sophia in high school, and they drifted away while Sophia was in college, but when she came back they reconnected and she became Sophia's assistant…

Isabella was sad when thinking that Leah had a difficult time growing up. Leah had to grow up early and take care of her siblings because her mom was busy… and when she needed someone, she was alone.

"Don't be so down…", Leah said when she noticed Isabella's troubled expression while listening to Leah's story. "All what happened made me the person I am now… and right now I am happy. I have a great job, I travel a lot, I'm working on my degree in business administration. I have no regrets."

"Travel? I wish to travel…", Isabella sighed. She never stepped outside continental United States.

Leah's eyes lit up. "Do you want us to go together? For my next adventure, I am thinking between hop-through-Europe or African experience which would include Egypt and a safari. I would love if you join me… What do you think?"

Isabella nodded and smiled. "I can't pick one… they both sound nice."

"Then we do both! But one at a time… so we need to pick which one first.", Leah laughed.

…

Leah dropped Isabella to her hotel. They are sitting in Leah's car, facing each other.

"I had fun…", Isabella shyly said.

"Me too. Thank you…" Leah felt her heart beating in the back of her head. She wanted to thank Isabella for giving her a chance to explain herself and that she forgave her initial rashness, when she jumped to her own assumptions… but she stopped herself from mentioning that unpleasant thing.

Isabella and Leah looked at each other for some time, while tension in the car was so thick that it was hard to breathe. Slowly they inched closer… closer… until their lips connected. They kissed for a long time. Gently, longingly, their tongues caressed each other.

After who knows how long, Isabella asked: "Do you want to come up?"

Leah hesitated. She wanted to come up, but she didn't want to rush things. This was new for her, and she was hoping to enjoy the feeling of getting close to someone, intimately. "How about we take it slow?"

"OK..", Isabella agreed and moved closer for another kiss.

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