Hearing that Vasily (aka King) is asking Ste about Sarah''s birthday, Ste''s alertness went up by few levels, but she kept her cool fa?ade while responding: "If I can make it, I will go there."


    "When are you leaving? I will send her a present.", Vasily said like he didn''t notice Ste''s cool attitude.


    "No need to send her presents. You should know that you are one of the people she does not want to see."


    Vasily chuckled. "People change, Milena. She does not want to see me one day, and tomorrow I might be her favorite Uncle. You are the proof that with the right motivation, people WILL change."


    Ste was cold so far, but after hearing his words she became icy. "You are wrong. I didn''t change. I was forced into something. There is a difference, but you would not know that even if I draw it for you."


    "Milena… Soon, you will realize that we are both doing what we believe is the best for the family."


    "And I wish that you realize how our understanding of what a family is, is different."


    Ste saw that Vasily paused like he is actually thinking about what she said. She exhaled. Ste does not have any hopes that he will change, because Vasily was always doing his own thing and being unpredictable. His cunning personality and a knack for fighting put him into a position of power early without anyone to control him, which is… dangerous. Other than his fighting, Vasily is also very intelligent, and Ste guesses that he is bored of these usual power-games in the family and that is one of the reasons why he is trying to stir things up. For him, it''s fun. Of course, he is wrapping all that in a package with abel: <em>''It''s all for the benefit of the family''</em>, but no one really knows what his agenda is.


    "If there is nothing else Elder Vasily, I''m heading out, because I need to pack."


    Ste entered a side room where assistants are waiting for their bosses. Each Elder has at least one assistant, and they are not allowed in the meeting room, so they wait here.


    Ste''s sight moved over the few people still present in the room and stopped on Ivan. "You are back."


    "Yes, Elder Milena.", Ivan responded politely with a deep bow.


    "Did your injuries heal well?"


    "Yes, Elder Milena. Thank you for your concern.", Ivan answered without lifting his head up.


    Ste sighed while thinking that even with their creams and advanced medical treatments, he still took more than two months to return to his duty as Vasily''s assistant. Part of her is surprised that Vasily didn''t rece him.


    She turned to Owen who was already by her side. "Let''s go."


    …


    In the car, on the way to the vi where Ste and Edward are staying…


    Owen pressed a control button which lifted a divider between the back seat and the driver and made sure that it''s fully up before giving a USB drive to Ste.


    "What'' is this?", Ste asked.


    Owen shrugged, indicating that he is not sure. "Ivan gave it to me secretly while you were in the meeting. He said that it''s the information rted to when they were holding Sarah and Aiden. He copied it from their backup storage. It''s encrypted, and he was unable to see what information is there."


    Ste''s grip on the USB drive tightened. She clearly remembers that when they stormed the location where they held Sarah and Aiden, all the data was wiped out, and even Edward was unable to restore it. That left a painful gap in what happened with their kids in the hands of King''s men, because they returned unconscious, hurt and Aiden was in aa for three months.


    It took Ste few minutes to calm her raging emotions and to think about this. "Why would he give you this?"


    Owen leaned closer to Ste and hesitated before answering: "It seems that King wants Sarah to be the next Grand Elder."


    Ste frowned and her eyes darted aimlessly while Owen''s words sank in. "Is Ivan supporting that n?"


    Owen gestured toward Ste''s hand which is holding onto the USB. "It depends on what is there. Maybe he hopes that you will support his boss, or maybe this is a warning so that you can prepare counter-measures. Konstantin has loyal people under him, but he is not getting any younger, and it''s inevitable that he will be reced. If King gets Sarah to challenge the position of the Grand Elder, many will be against it. They know her as your daughter, and other than that she isbeled as an outsider."


    Ste snorted. "Vasily knows that I don''t want any of my daughters here at all, and even less as Elders… I never thought that he will be that ambitious."


    She slumped back into her seat and sighed.


    "What do you want me to do while you are out?", Owen asked.


    "You areing with us."


    Owen blinked, obviously surprised. "You don''t want me to stay for information gathering?"


    "No. Without me here, you will be in danger. You can join us or stay in one of your locations. Treat it like a holiday. I will let you know our schedule and you decide if you want to apany us or do your own thing. I know that Sarah will be d if you can be present for her big event. My three girls are aware that you are not their Uncle by blood, but you are the only Uncle they acknowledge."


    Owen smiled and responded with a nod. Ste can be ruthless, and she hurt (and tortured) him more than once, but it was always because he betrayed her and put her daughters in danger. He never did that out of malicious intentions, it all happened because he is weak, but he made sure not to leak anything important.


    No matter what he did, Ste forgave him and gave him another chance. And regardless of the past, he can see that she is concerned for his wellbeing and she treats him well, as long as he stays loyal to her.


    When Ste returned to the vi, the wedding party was still ongoing on the TV in the living room.


    "What did I miss?", Ste asked.


    Edward weed her with a big smile and a summary on the updates: "Dancing and nothing much… That woman in red changed her dress two times… I admire that guy in a green tux. It takes courage to wear such a pattern… They just took their seats for dinner… Aiden and Sarah stood up. I think they will give a speech…"


    "I look forward to seeing the cake."


    Edward chuckled. He knows that Ste would rather eat the cake.


    "How did your meeting go?", Edward asked when he saw that Ste has no intention to talk about it.


    "Meeting was fine. We are all set to leave." Ste responded and gestured toward the TV: "After they are done with the speech, we can head out and watch the rest from the ne."


    Edward smiled brightly. He can''t wait to leave this ce which is suffocating him.


    His eyebrows shoot up questionably when Ste ced a USB drive in his palm with an exnation: "It has data rted to Sarah and Aiden. It''s from one of King''s men."


    "Urgent?"


    "It''s from the October,st year."


    Edward understood that if it''s from October, it''s not urgent. He can look at it during the flight, orter. It took Edward few seconds to connect the hints: "When they were missing?"


    Ste nodded and focused on the TV. "The speech is starting…"


    Just like Edward, Ste is anxious to find out what are the contents of that drive, but at the same time she is not sure if she wants to find out, fearing the information it contains. If it''s not something sensitive, it would not be wiped out in such a thorough manner. But, why would Ivan risk to give it secretly? Is it possible that there is no risk because he did that under Vasily''s orders?


    Ste told herself to stop thinking about it and to focus on the happy event on the screen. Once Edward unlocks the files on the USB drive and they get to see what is on it, they will think about it then.


    ---


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