The Devil’s Ceo Wife : Can I Not Kill You - Chapter 1 Her Death

Characters:

(1) Iana /I-yana/ – FL

(2) Mikhael – Iana’s brother

(3) Damien – her father

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St. Petersburg, Russia

The woman kept a beady eye of her surroundings for abnormality before moving forward. She sighted all sorts of people on that busy sidewalk. There were men in a suit heading to meetings, shoppers weighed down by bags and students with backpacks chasing the time before the school gates would close.

It’s not only her visual reception that was busy, but even her auditory senses were also paying attention to every little thing.

The sound of moving cars, people talking on their cellphones, heels clacking on the concrete pavement and air tools jittering and whining were passing to her ears while she dashed using whatever energy left in her body.

It was only autumn but the temperature has dropped down below 5 degrees making the residents of the second largest city in Russia– be dressed in thick coats and boots.

A gust of cold wind carrying dust from a nearby construction site slapped her grimy face. Before, the scent of impending downpour hung in the air.

In a split second, a light rain started to fall, bringing out that earthy smell from the ground. People suddenly scamper for shelter while some took out their umbrellas and continued to where they were going.

But unlike them, Iana was running away not in fear of getting drenched, but she was in for her life.

Her strength has been tapped out, her badly beat legs were shaking, making her stumble and stagger every time she made progress of 3-5 steps on that crowded, busy avenue. Her right hand was clutching her bleeding stomach while the other had a gun with only two bullets left.

Yet, everything was no hindrance to her. In her mind, there was only one thing.

Escape.

She knew in her head that the semi-automatic pistol that she wrestled from one of the bad guys– is nothing. It won’t save her at all.

People gawked at her bloody clothes but nobody bothered to help. Except for that beggar who noticed her limping gait and tried to stop her.

However, the escapee was relentless and advanced while she kept a constant eye on her back and front.

Nobody can stop her.

Her cracking lips crooked with a simper at the incredulity of her situation. It wasn’t too long ago when she was chasing her target but now, it’s been reversed.

Halting to catch her breath, she leaned on the wall marred by graffiti and let the cold drizzle of rain slide down her collar. The charcoal soiled clothes on her were already drenched with the shower and sweat. The room where she fleed from was like a cremation chamber. The temperature was more than 60 degrees Celsius.

The sharp but fleeting pain in her leg and stomach was starting to trouble her.

“Don’t think about it for now.” she murmured to herself and turned left to the street, that will lead her to the back street of the red light district. From there, she can hide in one of those dingy rooms. No one will expect that someone like her will ever stay in one of those dirty places.

When she spun behind, the two men chasing her were no longer in her periphery.

Relief flooded her face.

But like how fast a flash of lightning can electrocute an unknowing person, she never saw the bullet that pierced through her scapula (a) and lodged somewhere in her ribs.

She staggered but forced herself to be rooted on the ground. The Glock 34 dropped on the pavement.

“Give up Iana. There’s no way to run.” a very familiar voice sounded behind her.

Her blue eyes widened. It gave her goosebumps when a conjecture crossed her mind.

‘No, impossible.’ she denied.

Iana pivoted and her eyes met her own.

It belonged to Mikhael, her 24-year-old brother. Out of her seven siblings, she’s closest to him.

The tall and lanky man with short, shaggy hair framing his high cheekbones was staring at her with all the hatred in the world.

At that moment, her world came crashing down.

Her face went slack and paled, her lips pressed tightly and her posture hunched, not for the pain but for the disappointment that started swamping her. There was a tight clenching in her stomach adding to that dull pain coming from her wound.

It was hardly surprising if someone in her clan would be brazen to kill her as she evaded all assassination attempts the other branches planned against her.

But, it was too shocking to find that the person who will send her to death was him. The biological brother that she’d chosen to save instead of her love. The person she’d fought for against the cruelty of their own family.

How could he?

“Just die,” he muttered when he raised his gun and pointed it to her chest.

Iana looked at him and asked in a cracking voice “Why?”

“You are on my way. No matter what I do, you never die.”

The coldness of his voice and his answer thoroughly shattered the remaining hope she had in her core.

Her heart tightened.

Gathering the courage that was left in her, she sprinted to the opposite direction, aiming for the car to take cover. However, the shot was faster. It hit her directly to the chest, where that tiny fist-sized organ was nestled at.

As her steps faltered, she never saw a car moving towards her direction, speeding over the limit at that busy crossroad during the rush hour.

There was a loud bang that startled everyone and a body of a woman being thrown in the air before it fell and got run over by another car.

Screeching tires, blaring horns and screaming people were heard simultaneously.

The moment her body touched the watery concrete road, a mixture of that strong smoky, smell from the asphalt and the rusty and metallic scent of blood, permeated to her nose.

Her body went limp. The excruciating pain was radiating from different directions.

Out of the 206 bones in the human body, probably a hundred of hers were broken, if not bruised.

Her heart rate was decreasing and her organs were shutting down.

While Iana assessed her own injury, her life for the last 25 years suddenly flashed in front of her.

Born as the first daughter of the Polniaczek’s, she was trained to take the helms of the family. As an assassin clan, the killings were an everyday training. At 5, her first kill was a 40 year old pedophile marked by his own victims. The experience was revolting and she even puked over the dead body — invoking anger from her father. She was punished badly and was drilled to exterminate the last ounce of sympathy in her if not, her sickly sibling will take on the consequences.

Like her father said, everything was for him. Her brother was her greatest weakness. She can’t oppose Damien Polniaczek once Mikhael ‘s name was put forth. She vowed to protect him on their mother’s deathbed.

Years later, the brother she safeguarded was the same person who killed her. She should have known that all death threats she circumvented were instigated by him. There were subtle signs that she ignored and never connected each dot.

As the heavy raindrops tickled her skin, she saw her brother standing not far from where she was and there was a grin of triumphant on his face.

The feeling of being betrayed was unbearable, numbing and sickening.

Because of that, a mocking arc formed on her lips as her gaze landed on her palms.

These capable hands could have taken a different track yet shackled with familial responsibility, it never soared. It killed hundreds. Or perhaps more than that. She’d lost count since she was 15.

Then, when she thought she’s devoid of any emotion, she met the most wonderful man.

Disregarding her own father’s words –‘Anyone man will do, but never a Shen.’— she fell in love with one. It was so magical that she never wanted to wake up.

But like a cursed fruit in the Garden of Eden, you should never take a bite of that forbidden apple.

She got tempted and never recovered from the repercussion of her own actions.

In the end, killing him was the only way.

A pained expression due to regret appeared on her face.

“I’m sorry, Shen Wei.”

She berated herself for her own choices.

She was stupid.

All along, every single thing she decided on was a mistake.

Seconds later, she breathed “I will always love you.”

Yet, all of these are useless.

She’s dying.

This is her retribution.

At the same time, an inner longing inside her wished she’d be given another chance.

Then, she’ll tread the path leading to him.

As her body becomes weaker every second and her mind was entering that unconscious state, she whispered in a very soft voice.

“God, let me right all the wrongs I did.”

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(a) scapula – is the bone that connects the upper arm bone with the clavicle. It’s that wing-like bone on your back.

other names: shoulder bone, wing bone, blade bone or shoulder blade