Operation: One percent

Chapter 86

Ace

I came too late. I never should have left her out of my sight. 

And I left her for what? To be as despicable and monstrous as I possibly could? I don't know if I could ever forgive myself. 

If I could...I would have turned the clock back, and tried to come sooner, but for now, all I could do was caress Margaret's back.

"Ace...I can't go through losing her again. "

She spoke softly into her palms.

"You won't. I will do whatever I can. I will pull connections. .. "

"I really hope...Please god please.. "

She was praying and I was praying with her in my soul.

"If you didn't come when you did...I don't know what I would have done... "

"I just tried to undo some damage my company and I have caused. But, I don't know if I can ever be redeemed. I guess I truly am a monster. "

"He tried to make me force you to proceed with some project... "

Scum of the earth.

"Yeah well. I gave it up. "

She gazed at me as if she was proud of me. I would have spit in my face if I was her.

"I understand that you had to go through a battle with yourself to decide that."

I scoffed at that.

"It shameful to admit that there was a battle within me in the first place. Never have I thought of myself that I would be pushed to be the worst human that I could be but there I was. And when I needed to do it, I couldn't go through with it so I only caused trauma to the people. It was wrong, and I am fucked up for even agreeing to the project. And please, not deciding to be a war criminal isn't something to be proud of. So, I tracked Juht down and it turns out he is an agent that is employed by the country of Akobetar which was on SierraTechs ass since the beginning of its creation. Basically, he was looking for a reason to tear SierraTech down, but couldn't do anything since Rintalis was limited to our country. Only if the corporation was committing obvious crimes against humanity outside of its borders, was he able to act. "

She remained quiet waiting for me to continue.

"In exchange for sanctuary in Akobetar, I gave them everything, every record, and every proof. SierraTech is not existing anymore. "

Her eyes opened in surprise and her mouth was agape.

"So...Lilith is no longer functioning? "

"Not quite. It will take some time to shut it down, but it will be shut down eventually. "

She hugged me suddenly, surprising me and catching me off guard, as she always did.

"You are right, Ace. It was a horrible thing that you even thought of doing it, I will not lie. I was taken aback by what Vice President told me about the project that you went on. In fact, I wanted to strangle you for that. I guess I felt like you did when you learned that I didn't call you during my rehabilitation. I wished that you talked to me about that, so maybe I could talk you out of it and support you in giving up on the project. But, I also saw the news about you providing them with years worth of food and necessities. You also prevented another place from becoming Rintalis, and maybe it all seems little to you, but to me, it means the world, because I know nobody will go through what I did. "

She placed a hand on my cheek.

"After all, there were people before you that didn't even bat an eye at implementing this system and were completely content with the way Rintalis worked, simply because they are a part of that world of elites, and you were too. So, you are not a monster. You could have been but you aren't, because you have chosen a different path for yourself."

Margaret pressed her forehead against mine. 

"I love you Ace. I am glad I believed in you."