Wrath's Genesis

Chapter Fifty

***

I didn’t wait for him to say more.

Couldn’t.

All I could think about was my best friend. The nightmare faded back into my sub conscious, waiting for the right moment to burn through my body.

There is always a crash after this. That will never change. It has only been postponed.

Dwelling on the reason behind my recent appearance of nightmares and bad memories lurked beneath, the vault waiting to be opened but I couldn’t allow myself to linger on those thoughts.

Not when the massive screen before me portrayed a video message from my best friend. Tears sprung to my eyes instantly, my heart beating so fast, I thought it would burst right out of me.

“Is this...live?”

I whispered, unable to form a clearer sentence. My entire body trembled, longing for that to be true. For my best friend to really be standing in front of me.

“No, unfortunately not. We received the message a few minutes ago. A transmission was sent into our first line servers.”

Kenji stated, his voice bringing me back to the present as I turned to stare at him. His expression revealed nothing, as always, but his eyes were intense. Saddened.

They worried me, tripled the fear within me. Kenji wasn’t one to reveal his emotions so openly.

“Play it. Show me.”

Although I was petrified of what was to come, I was more interested in what Noah had to say. Our first communication after such a long time. Seeing him on the screen before me made me long for him more than I thought possible.

Soren simply nodded to Christian who was quick to press play. Noah’s voice filled the entire space of the room and the tears I had been holding back began to fall.

“Emilia Marie Navarro...or should I say Emilia Alexander? Christ, Em. You and your bleeding heart have, once again, performed the unthinkable. But I can’t get into that right now. What I can say is I am sorry. Sorry for abandoning you and Ash. I thought you would be safe if I kept my distance but I should have never underestimated your drive, how big your heart is.”

“You made a sacrifice, for me..and it kills me that you have, once again, put your life on hold just so you can protect the ones you love. Forgive me, Em. I can’t tell you what has been happening, that is if you don’t know everything already. The only thing I can do is to release you from my burdens.”

“Please, baby girl. Stop looking for me. Move on with your life, be it with Soren Alexander or not. Be happy. Love who you want to love and live to the best of your ability. Be safe and know that you are my greatest happiness. My friendship with you and Ash has been the highlight of my life. The mistakes I have made have come back to haunt me and now I must deal with them. Not you. Not Ash. Just me.”

I didn’t realise I was sobbing until Noah’s tears began to free fall in the video as his expression shifted into sadness and despair. I knew it all too well.

It was the same look he gave me after his father’s funeral before he tried to end his life.

He’s saying goodbye...

“I love you more than you will ever know and I am so grateful for everything you have done for me. Tell Ashley how much I love her and how much I’ll miss her and you. Thank you, Em, for being the best sister I could have ever asked for...”

“As for Soren, well, keep my girls safe until I end this mess. I have sent you a kill switch. A way to cripple your enemy before you begin your battle. This is the only way I can thank you for keeping my best friends safe so far. Use it wisely in your battle against him. Don’t underestimate his ability to adapt to situations. Should I fail, make sure you give it everything you’ve got. I know that the King of Sin is a formidable opponent. I’m glad that I was able to be on the other side, even if just for a moment.”

Noah’s smile was sad, wistful and filled with so much longing, it broke my heart. And just as quickly as the video started, it ended with a black screen and my heart shattering into pieces.

“Keith Cole’s hacking and encryption skills are as incredible as always. Not only did he access our first line servers to deposit this video but he also made sure that the kill switch info is inaccessible to anyone other than the top three hackers in the world, two of which are me and him.”

Christian explained after a beat, his words registering somewhat in my mind as did the name of the man who had been with Noah in the folder Diesel had recently brought to me.

“Who’s the third?”

My mind was a jumbled mess, unable to make sense of anything other than what I had just watched. And so I latched onto the conversation despite the shared looks amongst the people in the room.

They must think I’ve lost it...have I?

“Shizue, a skilled and deadly hacker whi belongs to one of the three ruling clans in the Yakuza. But she is allied with them, though, so this information would not be of any use to her.”

Kenji answered despite the silence that had reigned in the room at my question. I was grateful that he was treating me as a normal human being despite feeling like anything other than that.

The volatile emotions were lurking just beneath, waiting to be unleashed.

“I shall release an order to the agents we have on this to cease all movement and refocus their intentions into the battle.”

A woman I had never seen before spoke up, her words lighting the match of my anger and despair. She had created my tipping point.

“No! You will do no such thing! Find him! No matter what it takes, you find him before he makes a stupid f*****g decision!”

I seethed through clenched teeth, feeling all of my current frustrations build within me.

How dare Noah tell me to stop? After everything I had done so far? All the sacrifices, the sleepless nights and more? He can't leave. I won't let him leave.

You will not die before you face me, Noah Basset. I swear it on my life.

“We have no leads, ma’am. And he himself has made it clear that he does not want to be found. He has given us everything we needed from him. Looking for him will be a waste of resources in the upcoming war. Stop being selfish and think of the future.”

The woman stated, her voice rising on the last sentence before she regulated herself amidst the glares she was now receiving from not only Soren but Christian and Kenji as well.

But none is as lethal as mine. I will be the one to put this b***h in her place.

“Diamond...”

Soren began but I was quick to interrupt, going as far as to take a couple of steps towards her.

“And who the f**k are you to tell me what to do, hmm?”

Her cautious gaze followed me, an ounce of fear within as she followed the movement of the gun still in my hand closely. Scratching my hair with the silencer part of it, I refused to listen to Soren who silently muttered my name, almost as of trying to calm my rage.

Too late, husband. I’m too far gone now...

“Wasn’t it to you who failed in your mission? You were sent to find him and you failed every single damn time. And now, he has not only dropped off the radar but is about to do something that he will regret. Now, if you had focused on doing your job and not giving baseless f*****g opinions, then maybe we wouldn’t be here with me itching to put bullets in your damn kneecaps for your failure!”

Her breath hitched as I pointed the gun right at said kneecaps, letting the darkness rule over me for just a moment and the madness take over.

“Holy f**k. She looks and sounds just like Diesel...this is bad.”

Christian breathed, each of them now on their feet and ready for absolutely anything.

“You’re damn right I’m selfish. You wanna know why? Because I’m Emilia Marie Alexander, b***h. My last name and my status in this organization gives me all the rights and privileges to make you do whatever the f**k I want. s**t, I have the power to make you get on your knees and beg me for your life. I have the power to put this gun right here and kill you. I have the power to dispose of you and make sure no one ever remembers you. I can erase you, sweetheart. Make it such that you never walked this Earth. Now, with all that in mind, ask me again to abandon my best friend. Call me selfish again, Diamond.”

I urged, now only a breath away from her as I dug the gun right into her abdomen and released the safety.

“I’m sorry...”

She choked out, her eyes wide with fear as she looked into the depths of my own. What she saw in there was enough to terrify her into tears that slipped and made a path down her cheeks.

“Emilia...”

Soren warned, the sound of his footsteps breaking through my trance as I clutched the petrified woman’s neck and shoved the gun even deeper into her abdomen, causing her to wince.

“Come closer, Soren, and I will blast your little pawn into kingdom come. This is between me and her.”

I snarled, turning to glare at my husband whose unreadable expression irked me all the more. Releasing a small sigh, he took a step back despite the cry for her help wedged into Diamond’s eyes.

“No one is going to save you from this, little Diamond. You f****d with me. Now you have to pay.”

My finger hovered over the trigger and, for a moment, I was close. So damn close and so excited to pull it. To punish her for her insolence.

She wanted us to respect his wishes. To let him be but I can’t do that. I can’t let go of the only person who has ever been there for me.

I won’t survive.

“Enough, Emilia! This is not a line I shall allow you to cross. You are better than this. Don’t do it.”

Kenji’s words took me and everyone else by surprise. He was the last person I expected to speak up, let alone stop me. He had always kept his distance, engaging me only when it was absolutely necessary.

Never this. He has never shown the concern and fervour to stop me from making a massive mistake like I almost had.

His words jarred me, erased the rage somewhat and prompted me to take a step back. The pain, the anger, it still lurked but it was not enough to kill the petrified woman before me who collapsed onto her knees at my retreat.

“Do As I told you. Find him before he kills himself. Because if I lose Noah, I will finish this. And no one will be able to stop me. If they do, I’ll kill them too.”

I let my words sink in momentarily before walking away from the room and the eyes that were on me the entire time. I knew they had caught onto my silent message.

I meant it.

I will throw away my reservations and burn the world if it means avenging my best friend.

And the Sins will be my enemies as well.

***