~ Eastern Europe, the base of the Lebedev family ~


    June 11


    Sarah and Aiden returnedte that morning and met with Michael, Oni, Ste, and the others to discuss what they found from interrogations.


    After that, Sarah and Aiden went to discuss the current situation rted to Eve. Aiden wanted to know what features Sarah brought back online and what is pending. Aiden promised Sarah that he will help her get Eve back, and he is ready to fulfill that promise.


    Sophia, Zack, and nor had until lunch toe up with various possibilities to deal with the Voronin family. They agreed that Voronins are a threat and they can''t be left as-is. Options are to take over or to destroy them. Of course, nor was navigating toward the <em>''take over''</em> option.


    By lunchtime, almost everyone noticed Aiden''s unusual behavior.


    Aiden was sticking to Sarah all the time and he didn''t let her lift anything heavier than a spoon. He would fetch things for her, make sure she does not walk too fast, and no one was allowed too close to her. Dogs included.


    At lunchtime…


    "Only Damien and Smita are missing, and the whole family is here.", Ste said with a smile while looking at the people gathered at the table.


    Hill sisters were at the table with their husbands, kids, parents, and inws. Sylvie does not count, so Felix''s father with his family was missing. Owen was present as well.


    "It''s too bad that we can''t gather like this more often.", nor said. She looked at Jeff who was still sulking and pretending that Oscar and she are not present… and then her gaze moved to Aiden who was focused on Sarah like they are the only two people in the room. And he was feeding her.


    His smile told her that he is in a good mood, and she decided to talk to him.


    "Den-den… did Sarah hurt her hands?", nor asked. "Why don''t you let her eat in peace? Any closer and you will sit on her chair."


    Aiden pretended not to hear his mother.


    "Am I smothering you?", Aiden asked Sarah in a half-whisper.


    "No. You can never be too close.", Sarah responded and leaned on him.


    Aiden''s smile widened and he continued feeding Sarah.


    JoAnna narrowed her eyes at the extra lovey-dovey scene. "You told him?"


    Sarah responded with a small nod. Her mouth was full, so she couldn''t speak.


    Sophia was curious. "Told him, what?"


    Sarah nced at Aiden and gave him eye-signals to tell everyone.


    Aiden put his hand around Sarah''s shoulders, cleared his throat, and spoke in an official tone: "We are pregnant."


    "Waah!", Sophia eximed. "Congrattions!"


    Ste covered her mouth, and Edward bobbed his head.


    "How far along are you?", nor asked Sarah while patting Oscar''s shoulder with the goal to pull him out of his daze.


    Jeff and Felix stood up to congratte and Aiden was not delighted that they pulled him up into a man-hug, but he didn''t resist either.


    "I''m not sure...", Sarah responded to nor while giggling at the sight of stiff Aiden who was engulfed in Jeff''s hug. "...but it can''t be more than two months. We will go for a checkup when we return home."


    Ste frowned. "You are going home?"


    Sarah confirmed. "We all are. We want toe up with a n to handle Voronins, and other than that, there is not much going on, so our physical presence is not mandatory. Kids have internships and we still need to fix the damage done to us during the attacks. Everyone here has jobs, and we can''t neglect our other responsibilities. In my absence, Konstantin agreed to be my proxy as the Grand Elder, and Zack will be my proxy as the eighth Elder who is managing rtionships with other forces. They will contact me anytime. Also, a number of kids expressed their desire to stay here…"


    Ste agreed that it makes sense, but she was not happy that her daughters are leaving. Thest week was lively like someone breathed in new life into this ce. If everyone leaves, it will be back to boring and stiff.


    "Can you leave my grandkids here?" Ste had to try. "It will be like a summer vacation."


    JoAnna''s eyes shed. There is no way she is leaving her kids with Lebedevs. Did Ste forget that until recently they were at risk of being kidnapped? "No. They areing with us."


    Ste nced at Sophia whose stern gaze told her that she should not even try to keep Lia, Adam, and Valentin here.


    After lunch, grown-ups were joined by Zack, Masika, Michael, Oni, Haru, and N to discuss the n going forward.


    "Here is a list of kids who want to stay here.", Michael said while giving the paper to Sarah and Aiden. "Some want to stay at the Ceresc Solutions, where they can do their internships and be close by in case any backup is needed."


    "Ron can''t stay.", Aiden said while looking at the list. "He is a director now, with responsibilities of managing more than a thousand employees. Who will take care of Heinelurgy?"


    "He said that hispany will be taken care of by Colin, Jason, and Marshal. And his father can help as well.", Michael exined.


    "I will talk to him.", Aiden said.


    Sarah looked at the list and she was surprised by one name. "Hong wants to stay?"


    Michael shrugged.


    Sarah exhaled helplessly. "OK. We will talk to each of them and make sure they understand what they are getting themselves into. As of now, I approve that Zack and Masika will stay, and also Bo, Francisca, Wing, Azra, Souta, and Cam as well."


    Sarah looked at Zack and Masika. "We will leave you twenty army members as security. If you need more, contact Aaron and he will make the necessary arrangements."


    Zack and Masika agreed that is enough. They are not in enemy territory. Hopefully.


    Sophia took over. "We all believe that in order to get the real picture of the current situation in the Voronin family, we need to infiltrate it, and the best way is for Aiden to join in thepetition. Today, Natalia will register her fighter. Aiden will go as Alex, whose memories were tampered with, and Sarah will go as his partner; with Sarah''s fluency in the Russiannguage, no one will suspect that she is not someone from Natalia''s camp. For everything else, we will prepare how much we can in advance, and adjust our strategy as we gather more information about the Voronins. Thepetition starts in nine days, so until then we can spend time on preparations…"


    Ste was conflicted. "Sarah, honey… are you sure you want to go?"


    Sarah saw that Ste is looking at her stomach. "I am not going to be separated from Aiden."


    Ste nodded in understanding, but she still didn''t like the idea of Sarah going.


    …


    Ste called Sarah for a chat.


    "Are you trying to convince me not to go?", Sarah guessed.


    "No. I can tell that you made up your mind, and I would do the same thing if I''m in your ce."


    Sarah was happy to hear this. "So... why are we here?"


    "Do you want to visit your grandparents?"


    Sarah understood that Ste is asking about Sarah''s maternal grandparents. "They are dead."


    "I meant… at the graveyard."


    "Why?"


    Ste was not sure why Sarah is asking for rification, but she will give it to her. "You are pregnant, and I thought that you can go and visit them. I took Lia, Adam, Valentin, Alice, and Jayden yesterday and they saw the gravestone and how their great-grandparents looked like. We brought fresh flowers and I told the kids a few stories from my childhood. It''s nearby so it won''t take long."


    "I know how they looked like. I saw the photos."


    "Going to the grave to pay respects is different."


    Sarah sneered. "Respects? Do you think they can see me, or hear me?"


    Ste didn''t know how to answer this. "No one knows that for sure, but…"


    "Then, what''s the point? If they can hear me, I would go there and give them a piece of my mind. They caused you to leave your family and fend for yourself while they watched from the side, waiting for an opportunity to snatch your children. Family sticks together, even when they have disagreements. They talk about family prospering together, yet they don''t cherish their own flesh and blood because, for them, power and influence are more important." Sarah snorted. "I have no respect for such people, and even less for ghosts."


    Ste looked after Sarah and she realized that Sarah was not talking only about her grandparents, but about the Lebedev family in general. Ste was concerned, what will Sarah do, now that she is the Grand Elder of the family she despises?


    ---


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