Chapter 48
The road was empty, but my chest felt full enough to explode with his loss. I watched my contact drive away with my son, knowing I would never see him again.
This is for him. Not me.
I couldn’t let my heart cloud my judgment.
His existence was fatal, and my involvement in his life was the beacon leading them right to him.
I let him disappear around the bend in the road, watching through tear-filled eyes as shadows swallowed the little red taillights. My hands clenched, and I pressed them to my thighs until the sting cut through the tension.
He was safe. That was all that mattered.
Everything else, everything I’d done to get him here, all the lies, deceit, using my body to gain access, it all had to be worth it.
He will survive my sacrifice.
I let myself pour my soul into the wet concrete. I gave myself that moment to feel it all. After I stood up, I had to let go of my past life and everything in it.
I was born anew.
I had one final task to complete before I surrendered myself to the devil and finally accepted his embrace.
I wiped my tears and composed my broken sobs.
The faint hum of the compound lights buzzed around me.
The Crimson Carrion slept in their arrogance, believing the walls and cameras kept them safe.
They didn’t notice the small gaps I had memorized over the weeks, or the fact that The Black Onyx could see the same that they could.
The guard who always paused at the east wall to smoke was easily swayed to look the other way. He requested more cigarettes, and that was the easiest bribe I’d given since beginning this.
The cameras blinked in half-second intervals, and at any time, I could be seen on the feed when I wasn’t supposed to be, and my footsteps were wiped from the feed. This was all high-tech and unknown to me, but I trusted The Black Onyx contact to be loyal, at least until they got what they wanted.
The sound of boots hesitated for exactly three beats before I moved back to the opposite wall, and when I got there, I slipped through unobstructed. I didn’t have any hesitation anymore, no fear, only the silent calculation of my every step and what it now meant.
I have to do this.
When I reached my bed, the tears threatened to fall when the full extent of Jujiro’s absence hit me. I couldn’t breathe. I had to keep my composure. But…
I couldn’t breathe.
I needed a new tactic, one that was believable, and as I stared at my tear-stained cheeks, I knew.
Dropping to my knees, I held his stuffed animal and let out the loudest scream of pain and anguish. My entire body sagged as the guards rushed me and Kaito burst through the door.
“What happened?”
I held the stuffed animal out to Kaito.
“He’s gone…”
It had been a week since Jujiro was taken in the night. I knew he was safe, but Kaito didn’t. He ravaged the cities, and his recklessness made me almost believe he cared for his bloodied son.
Men were ripped apart in his rage, limbs severed when they didn’t say the answers he demanded.
It was all a ruse.
It had to be.
The number of threats to keep me docile wasn’t imagined. And if they weren’t false tears and combat resistance to give up…
That meant Kaito loved Jujiro, and he used him to hurt me, but his threats were never real.
All this time, the only threat to Jujiro…was the fact that he was born.
I left the compound, hearing angry cries in the hall as Kaito spoke to his guards about starting a new search in a different location.
You deserve this pain, monster.
The streets outside the compound were quiet, and the town lay under a heavy coat of darkness that made this deal feel even more ominous. Streetlights flickered overhead like warning signs, but the church waited at the edge of it.
The irony of going to a church after all this time was not lost on me.
I tried to contain my exasperated laugh as I looked at the hunched, broken-down holy place.
It was like a sentinel that had long ago given up on watching over anyone and succumbed to its own hell.
The steeple leaned like it was forced into submission, and the windows clouded with age and grime, along with graffiti from troubled teenagers.
There was no cross on the door, as in Monticello, no markings or warmth. It was simply stone and shadows waiting, quiet and unwelcoming.
I could do this.
I pushed the door open, and the cold, dusty air wrapped around me like a warning of itself. Inside, the church smelled of debris, mildew, and wax so old it molded. Someone lit three candles that burned near the altar, leading to the confessional booth.
Memories flooded me, and I shook my head to rid them.
Someone was here. Move your feet and complete this.
It was done.
I slid into the confessional, trying to see the person on the other side, but they covered their body from head to toe. It was like a black cloak preventing me from knowing a single thing about the spy.
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned…I need atonement.”
“You’re late, Yakuza Queen,” a deep voice said. It was calm, deliberate, and male.
The sound rolled over me, echoing against the high ceiling, but I didn’t flinch.
“I…there is distress in the compound,” I replied, focusing on the tone and dialect. “The Crimson Carrion’s leader searches for something stolen. This has to happen soon. You came alone?”
“Yes. That was the agreement.”
“You could’ve brought protection. How can I be sure this isn’t a trap?”
He laughed, and it felt bitter. “I don’t bring witnesses to conversations meant to remain buried. You should know that your life means very little to either side. If I wanted you dead, there are a number of ways to see that you are taken out.”
That didn’t make me feel better, but the arrogance in his voice told me it was truthful.
Silence.
“Are you alone, Sayuri?”
I cleared my throat. “Yes. As per the agreement. You’ve ensured my movements will go unnoticed, yes?”
There was a pause.
“Yes, you are sleeping in your bed. The video footage has been looped. As far as Kaito is concerned, you are just as you have been. Docile and loyal.”
I bit my lip. I needed to know who this man was. He knew too much about me. If this went sideways…
He noticed my silence and continued.
“You’ve been careful,” he said finally. “Weeks of messages to me through our covert means. No names. No faces. You destroyed Kaito’s leverage before asking for this meeting.”
“The package was not leverage,” I said sharply. “It is never being used again for either side.”
“You may refuse to tell me what it was, but everything is leverage in a war,” he countered. “You just grew attached to him, it seems.”
I didn’t answer. He was right, and the acknowledgment did not need words. If I argued, he’d know it was not simply favored guns or drugs. I had to keep Jujiro a secret. The Onyx can never know of his existence.
“And where do you fall in this war? You play both sides, but are you not worried you will find yourself at the end of each?”
“You want to know who you were speaking to,” he continued. “The Crimson Carrion assumes I belong to them. The Black Onyx thinks I’m useful. The truth lies somewhere in between.”
“Who do you truly have loyalties to?” I said.
“Both and neither. I am a survivor like you,” he replied.
I leaned closer to the lattice. Shadows from the candles danced across the cracked walls and reflected on the black cloak.
“I am not hiding my identity. We are not the same. I’m not a survivor, I am a prisoner of this war that has never been mine. If you wish to do business with me, I need reciprocation.”
“For?”
I held my breath for just a heartbeat. “If you do not wish to show me your identity. Show me I can trust you.”
The air shifted.
“You are wise, child. I can honor that request.”
I waited for him to continue, but instead, the figure beside me got up from the confession and stepped outside of my booth.
“Open the door.”
My heartbeat out of my chest, and I reached for the handle.
When I was in front of the man, the power radiating off of him was alarming.
“Some answers have always been close enough to grasp, Sayuri,” he said. “You need only to reach out.”
I nodded once and studied the black covering on his face, revealing nothing but his eyes.
“Fine.”
Before I could stop myself, I reached out, grabbed the fabric, and pulled it down.
A gasp echoed throughout the church, and the Bishop smiled at my surprise. “As I said. Everything is leverage.”
I tried to wipe away my shock and took a deep breath.
Who cares. This changes nothing.
“Listen carefully,” I said. My voice sharpened, and I let the authority run in my blood. “This is why I’m here.”
I outlined the plan: the drop and the location.
Kaito’s habits, the arrogance that always preceded mistakes when he’s angry, and the lax security as they searched for ‘the package.’
I spoke as if I were giving him a map, and every step had been memorized to a fault. Each risk I faced was calculated. Every opportunity I thought of for six weeks was laid bare.
The church, the shadows, the smell of wax and old dust, all of it pressed against me right now. It felt like they were alive, witnessing my choice and placing the final nail in my own coffin.
“Kaito will be exposed,” I said. “Limited guarding while we meet with this new buyer on Monday. He’s clouded with grief and overconfidence in finding what he lost through threats and violence.
You’ll have one clean window to get the shot.
One. If The Black Onyx fails, he will not make himself vulnerable again, and I will be the first person he’ll interrogate. ”
“Understood. And what do you get out of this treason? What do you demand in exchange?” he said.
“You tell The Black Onyx this comes from me,” I said. “Not as a plea for my life but as an offering of my loyalty. I want to be free from this war. I want my papers burned and to belong to no one but myself.”
Silence.
“You’re offering your leader to The Black Onyx,” he said slowly. “To ensure your freedom from both clans? Do you not know your value as the Yakuza Queen?”
“I’m offering you the end of The Crimson Carrion,” I corrected. “The Black Onyx will be unrivaled and can do whatever they please. My freedom is a humble ask for my service to them.”
Another pause, and he walked closer to me. I could now see the glint of his black jeweled cane.
“This would make you a traitor,” he said. “A liability to The Onyx to let you go free. Are you sure you trust them to decide your fate?”
I opened my eyes and stared into the dark eyes before me. “I already am a traitor. I’ve already dug the grave and now wait in my coffin for the nails. I’m just choosing who to give the hammer to.”
The air grew heavy, almost alive with anticipation, and my pulse thrummed in my ears. I could feel every tiny movement in the church, every flicker of candlelight reflecting off the stone walls, and the echoes of my own words bouncing back like a warning.
“You have not yet shown your hand, Sayuri. This is your first open act against Kaito,” he said, slow and deliberate.
“Once this is done, there is no neutral ground left for you. You are choosing death by default. Why? Am I to believe that you intend to gift the ruler’s head on a platter while offering your own? ”
I thought of my son’s small hand, pressed against the glass of the van as it drove away, and Jedidiah’s blood dipping into the crease of the concrete. I thought of all the years stolen from me since I was sold as a slave to Jayce, all the fear endured, and the time wasted.
“I’m not neutral. I haven’t been for a long time,” I said. “I’m choosing the direction of the damage I can cause. There is nothing left for me to live for, so the risk of my death is not enough to prevent me from trying the only thing left I have to offer.”
I watched him lost in thought, and then a low exhale left him.
“It is done, Yakuza Queen.”
The title fell over me like a crown forged of thorned wire and shadows.
“But understand,” he continued, his voice sharp. “Your safety is not the only thing at risk. The Black Onyx values results, not sentiment. There is a possibility they will seize what they view as an asset.”
I smiled, slow and humorless. “I’ve been considered property. My life and comfort have never been guaranteed, but now neither is my captor’s.”
I walked toward the doors, blowing out the candles as I walked past them. I didn’t look back.
“One last thing before I go,” he said.
I froze, my hand on the handle.
“Your priest? Jedidiah Franklin, a traitor to The Black Onyx Clan.”
I held my breath. I didn’t want to hear of his demise.
“He lives.”
Outside, the night stretched around me, and I tried to catch my breath.
Alive?
He was alive?
That meant Jedidiah had Jujiro.
I sent him to Jerry, but my son would grow up with Jedidiah, and he’d be loved and safe. Tears of joy streamed down my cheeks.
The air smelled of damp earth and concrete, with smoke rising from nearby fires. Every step I took was a promise to myself that nothing would deter me. I knew my son would be happy. I knew the man I loved would not fail me.
Nothing could stop me from ending this war now, not men, not bullets, and not even the ghosts of my past.
This wasn’t about survival anymore.
I didn’t care anymore.
This was my mark and my final gift to them both.
Every movement back to the compound, and each steady breath, made me feel my humanity, and I carried it all like armor.
Something changed inside me in that church, not the world, the Bishop, the men…not Kaito, not even the war…
Me.
I was no longer waiting to survive.
I was waiting to make my last strike count.
When the strike comes, it will be perfect. I’ll walk through the chaos I created, knowing the two people I always wanted to save are hidden and alive.
I did it.
I’d saved the only things that mattered to me.
They will live…because I’ll spill my blood to save them.
I approached the compound feeling alive for the first time in so long, but when I reached the doors, Kaito was there.
“E tu, Sayuri? Ya know that hurts.”
“Kaito…”
No…why? They could have Kaito. They could finally end the war. Why betray me like this?
“Sayuri, you’re brave. I’ll give you that. Takes some serious lady balls to sell out your master. But you forget one thing.”
I bristled as the men surrounded me, and my hope dissipated.
“You have and will always be, my bitch, and I am the one holding your collar.”
I tried to respond, but the men grabbed me.
“I don’t care what you do, Kaito. I only wanted to witness your demise! I have no qualms with dying.”
Kaito smiled so wickedly that I felt my blood run cold in my veins.
It was all too fast.
The dark words were spoken the second I felt the back of my head explode with searing pain, and the blackness took over my body.
“Good.”