Is this destiny?

Albert was stressed, sleep deprived, and his mind was clouded with confusion.

How did that medallion get into Aiden's hands? Are Sarah and Aiden behind robberies on his homes? That means they have in their possession much more than just valuables and that damned medallion. There are other documents, evidence. They are behind all the mess that is happening to him in the last few days!

That's it! When Albert exposes them, all these people at the table will spare no resources to attack Sarah and Aiden and get rid of them once for all! Proving that they robbed Albert will also be indirect evidence that Sarah and Aiden are behind looting Rance's residences as well.

Albert bit the inside of his cheek harshly, using the sharp pain to bring himself to reality.

He chanted internally that he can't talk recklessly. Not now. If he exposes that the medallion came from him, then he will also expose he is behind Akter's disappearance. Surely a murder is a graver offense than robberies. 

Sarah's gaze was fixed on Albert while Aiden was looking at every shadow around the table.

When Aiden looked toward Albert, Aiden's expression changed slightly, and Albert wondered if Aiden can see his scowl. Not possible. Albert was confident that Aiden was bluffing and acting like that only to provoke him.

What are Albert's options?

If he says that medallion was stolen, Aiden will be punished and maybe Sarah as well. But Albert will also reveal his misdeed.

If he keeps quiet, that will give Aiden an unobstructed access to the Council, and with that, other than facing Sarah, Albert will need to deal with Aiden as well.

It's well known that Suvedini and Jarred are supporting Sarah, and he could assume that they will support Aiden. Sinet is also swaying to support Sarah. That already gives Sarah five out of nine votes, and the control over the Council.

Albert panicked. How will anyone help him if Sarah is in charge? How did she end up in charge the moment she joined the Council? Why is everyone supporting her? She is just a greenhorn, surely others can see that.

Albert's mind was spinning while he tried to make sense of the current situation. How can he prevent this madness without self-destructing?

"Can I see your medallion?", Sinet asked Aiden, breaking the tension in the room that became tangible.

"Of course…", Aiden responded with a charming smile and handed his medallion to Sinet.

"You said that you didn't reveal yourself because you wanted to get enough power…", Sloan said. "What makes you believe that your power is sufficient now?"

"I believe that you looked into Sarah's background and some information about me should be in those reports as well. I am coming from the White family. Other than controlling the forces of the White foundation, I am an Elder in the Voronin family."

"And he is sharing the same position as I am in the Army of Chaos.", Sarah added.

"That is something you grew. I'm just standing in your light.", Aiden spoke to Sarah dotingly.

"You can stand in my light anytime, love…", Sarah said dreamily.

Jarred cleared his throat, interrupting the couple. He had a feeling that if he allows this to go further, they will start making out.

"I believe that his qualifications are solid. The network of the Voronins is global.", Jarred said with a smile.

"What's the point of discussing if he has the power or not?", Ksenia asked and shot an ambiguous gaze at Aiden. "He already has the medallion. As long as we confirm that the medallion is the real thing, he is here to stay."

Sarah's lips twitched in annoyance. She caught the way Ksenia got all flustered at the mention that Aiden is an Elder in the Voronin family. She took a mental note to talk to Maksim and get more information on this woman.

Sarah and Aiden investigated all members of the Council, Ksenia included. They also know that Ksenia was in touch with Maksim since Jarred brought Sarah the first time to the meeting of the Council. Also, Because of that, Sarah asked Maksim if he can influence Ksenia to support her in the Council, which Ksenia did last time, but none of that explains why Ksenia was eyeing Aiden.

Sarah's attention was drawn to her hand which got a gentle squeeze from Aiden.

She scolded herself internally. No matter how Ksenia or any other woman is looking at Aiden, he will not succumb to the temptation. Aiden proved his loyalty to Sarah more than once, and she should not waste her energy on women who are eyeing her husband because he is hers.

Sarah reminded herself to play it cool. If Aiden gets a hint that Sarah is jealous, she was sure that he will have a blast and tease her while his ego inflates further.

"The medallion is the real thing.", Sinet said while returning the medallion to Aiden. "Welcome to the Council."

"Wait a minute…", Rance objected. He looked at Albert for support, but he couldn't see him in the dark.

Rance knew very well that Sarah and Aiden are owning those mines together. If Aiden is accepted into the council, Rance will never get his hands on those mines. He was afraid to attack one member of the Council, and he will definitely not dare to act against two of them.

Now that everyone's attention was on him, Rance regretted speaking up rashly, but he had to say something.

"How can he be accepted just like that?", Rance asked.

"Is there a process that we need to follow? A ceremony?", Suvedini chimed in. "Let's not make this complicated. We discussed more than once how we need to fill all the seats because the gaps are making us weaker."

Sinet nodded while Suvedini was talking, "There is no point in discussing this because the medallion is confirming his membership." 

Sinet turned to Aiden. "Can you tell us what is Akter up to? Why did he decide to retire?"

Aiden's expression was troubled as he responded, "I don't believe that Akter retired. It was about five years ago. Akter had a meeting with someone from the Council." Aiden glanced at Albert who was sweating since Sinet asked about Akter. "That was the last time I saw him. About two weeks later, I received this medallion as a special delivery..."

"Liar!", Albert shouted. He was already on the edge and when Aiden spoke about Akter meeting with someone from the Council while looking at Albert, he was confident that Aiden is hinting how he was the culprit.

"Do you have something to add, Albert?", Jarred was quick to ask.

Albert shifted nervously. "I was close to Akter. He never mentioned an heir and he definitely never mentioned Aiden."

"You were close to Akter? Can you tell us details? How come you didn't mention this when we discussed how Akter stopped answering the summons from the Council?", Sloan questioned Albert.

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