Chapter 1478 - 3-monthiversary

~ Romania, the Ceresc Solutions ~

Wednesday

September 9

7:49 PM

The opening of the Ceresc Solutions was a grand event.

They had a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3 PM, which was streamed live.

More than two hundred guests were in attendance, and among them, about a quarter were reporters while the rest were prominent people from the European Union.

Other than the marketing campaign which Lucija was driving, Jeff, Ellie, Charlie, and Jasper helped to invite a number of their business associates from Europe to the event.

The employees of the Ceresc Solutions were present, and there were food and drinks and areas where high-tech displays were set up.

The guests loved that only with a few inputs, they could create their own personalized palm-sized hologram. And the 3D printer would make them a figurine of their hologram, with the logo of the Ceresc Solutions on the bottom.

Another interactive setup was that a person could stand on a spot and the screen would show him in a different outfit in the desired setting.

"Can this one make me skinny?", one businessman asked Mishi with a laugh which increased when Mishi confirmed: "Skinny, fat, pretty, younger, older, we can do anything for your marketing needs."

Sarah and Aiden watched the event from the side. They wanted to give their support to Mishi, Emir, Tereza, Petar, and Lucija, but they didn't want to risk being exposed. With so many reporters, it would be difficult to avoid being photographed and they didn't want to put on disguises.

Sarah and Aiden watched feeds from security cameras while following up on several other things related to the family and the army of Chaos.

Oni and Michael are doing well, everyone in the house is motivated to help them out. 

Noah is busy supervising the training of new recruits. They need more manpower pronto because new bases in Europe came unexpectedly.

Aaron joined the opening event for about ten minutes, and then he returned to checking and cataloging all the goods which arrived from the warehouses of the Shadow Ravens, and deciding what will stay here and what will be sent to the warehouse in Milan.

The massive underground storage is now packed with boxes and various containers. There is everything, from gold to precious gems, ancient vases, property deeds, and even some very-very old liquor. The assumption is that this is what Shadow Ravens collected as payments for their services, either instead of money or maybe from the customers who refused to pay.

Several large boxes were full of cash. Crip bills, obviously never used. Mostly euros, but there were dollars, rubles, and yens as well. Aaron asked Sarah what to do with it.

"Check if the money is real. If it's real, it's ours. If it's not, then we will keep it."

Aaron didn't get it. "What's the difference?"

"We will not use fake money. Let's not risk exposing ourselves to the world for this."

Sarah's explanation increased Aaron's confusion.

"Why keep it then?"

"We can use it to set up someone…"

Aaron's eyes lit up in understanding. Sarah's scheming mind is bewitching.

The opening party for the Ceresc Solutions ended at 7 PM with many guests staying until the end. Based on everything Sarah and Aiden have seen, the company is off to a promising start.

For dinner, the Sigma army members decided to celebrate with a barbecue by the lake. The weather is perfect, and it will help them all unwind and relax. From tomorrow, they can start with their normal work schedule without worrying about the upcoming event and the stress which comes included.

Back to the present…

Sarah and Aiden are in the helicopter, Aiden is piloting it.

"You are not going to tell me where we are going?", Sarah asked in disbelief.

"Nope.", Aiden responded with a sly smile.

"It must be important if we are skipping on barbecue…", Sarah said and eyed Aiden to see if he will reveal something but the only thing she achieved is that his smile widened. And it was a beautiful smile.

Close to 9 PM, Aiden landed the silent helicopter in a small clearing in the middle of a forest.

When he got a blanket and a large basket from the back, Sarah guessed: "We are having a picnic in the forest?"

As a response, Aiden handed her a blanket. "You carry this. I will take the basket."

They made their way through the forest, with Aiden deciding when they need to take a turn and Sarah followed. She would follow him anywhere.

After about twenty minutes, they stopped in front of a tall wall made out of stones and Sarah guessed that this is their destination.

They used a window opening to slip inside.

Sarah observed the walls with ancient rugs and unlit torches, and the sunset rays seeping in through occasional window openings made her feel like she went back into the past. Many centuries back into the past.

They reached one of the towers and made their way up the stone steps which crumbled slightly if you apply weight on the edge.

"Careful…", Aiden warned Sarah to watch where she puts her leg.

Her heart expanded. It's been a long time since someone told her to be careful. And she knows that he means it.

The top of the stairs revealed that they are on the roof of one of the buildings inside the castle walls. There are mountains and forest all around them without any sign of civilization, and the view of the sunset is breathtaking.

Sarah helped Aiden with spreading the blanket and arranging the food from the basket.

She thought that it will be sandwiches or some cold dinner, but when she saw that he got portable burners, she reminded herself that this is Aiden and he does not compromise on the food.

They started with a soup and cold appetizers, while the rest of their dinner heated up.

"Where are we?", Sarah asked finally.

"Thank you for not asking Eve to check.", Aiden responded. He knows that if Sarah wanted, she could ask Eve to confirm their location, but he asked her not to and she listened. "Did you hear about Vlad the Impaler?"

Sarah blinked. "Dracula?"

She saw that Aiden gave her a meaningful look and her eyes darted around like she is searching for some information in moss-covered stones which didn't move in a long time.

"Is this his castle?", Sarah guessed.

"One of them.", Aiden confirmed.

"Are we allowed to be here?", Sarah asked in a whisper.

Aiden chuckled. "Didn't you notice that we got in through the window?"

Sarah took that as a 'no'. But this makes it exciting! "Do you think there is some treasure here waiting for us to find it?"

Aiden shrugged. "After food, we can go and explore it."

Sarah's eyes lit up. They spent the rest of the dinner chatting about the possibilities of hidden passages and secret rooms.

Sarah munched happily on the dessert: vanilla cake with fresh strawberries. Her favorite.

She thought about how this is very nice, but at the same time suspicious. He obviously did a lot of planning to come here and that is not unusual other than the part, why now? It's the opening day of the Ceresc Solutions. Why not tomorrow? Why this Wednesday? Why September 9?

Sarah froze and stared at Aiden. 

"Is something wrong with the cake?", Aiden asked when he noticed that Sarah is not moving.

She kept her plate to the side and threw herself on him.

"Are you OK?" Aiden was barely breathing from the force of the impact and how she was squeezing him.

"I am sorry. I was so busy with everything, that I forgot. You are the best husband in the world…", Sarah mumbled in his chest.

Aiden smiled. It took her a while, but the day is still not over, and she remembered that today is their 3-monthiversary of how they got married.

And he knows that she is busy. This Shadow Ravens business came unexpectedly and the fact that Oni and Michael got hurt is weighing on Sarah's mind. He watched her through the day, helping with the preparations for the event, and then navigating with Noah and Aaron, and she spent some time online with Felix discussing signal jammers and how to avoid them, so that no one else falls in a trap again, and her serious expression is enchanting. But he is happy that they spent the day together and that she remembered.

Aiden ran his hand through Sarah's hair and hugged her. This feeling of Sarah's body pressing against his is the best feeling in the world. Well, it might get a bit better… Aiden touched her chin and his lips found hers.

They kissed for a long time, and then they made love under the stars at the top of Dracula's castle.

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