1.1 | The Yakuza Bride

Chapter 63

Wind whistled into the porch, picking up the edges of her scarf and strands of her hair. Snow was falling steadily and quickly to add onto the ever-growing layer on the lawn. She could barely see, yet alone feel her face with the wind blowing in their direction.

In the distance, shrouded by trees and snow, were a row of lights, car lights to be exact. She could only guess them to be Leon's people. Why weren't they taking action though? Could they not see them out here?

They seemed to be waiting as well. But for what? If Leon's men were to fire, she knew her uncle would come down on them.

Hana felt the cool handle of a blade being pushed into her right hand. Her frozen fingers instinctively closed around it and she gripped it tightly, scared that it would fall from her grasp. Her mind was now a blank; as blank as the snowdrifts that lined the path up to the porch. Now? Really?

Kill him and I'll get you out. Really?

Kill him now and your uncle gets New York.

Kill him now and Stanislav Federov will come down on New York like a hound from hell.

Kill him now and you can leave.

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, trying to dispel the white noise in her head. Shut up, shut up, shut up...I know how to do this, I was trained...I know how...

She was aware of a gun barrel surreptitiously nudging her back. So the guards are in on this too, she realised. Of course they are...seems like he'll kill me if I don't do it, eh?

What the older generation started, the younger generation has to end. Have we come to this, Leonidas Federov? Standing side by side on a killing field?

She waited.

She was afraid.

Hana didn't want to admit it, but her palms were sweating, her pulse racing, and her head was unable to wrap itself around her current predicament.

How did one go about doing this?

She counted the exact moment to strike because there was only one chance to carry it out perfectly.

You know I'm doing this for you. Right?

~

Two things happened at once.

Her uncle cocked his pistol, then slowly turned to stomp towards them.

"The show will go on!", he announced in a booming voice.

She had turned her head to see the pistol pointed at Leon. She wanted to scream, push him aside, make him look, but she had to keep her wits together.

Why wasn't he doing anything? Why wasn't he protecting himself? Did he really want to...die?

When Hana saw the gun, she raised her hand that was holding the knife. With a shout, she plunged the blade into Leon's torso, her eyes following every movement of her hand.

She didn't want to watch herself hurt him, but she had to make sure that the knife got into the right place.

~

The world stood still for a moment.

He let out a grunt and his eyes immediately flicked down to see that a handle was sticking out of his abdomen.

So she really did it.

He sucked in a bout of cold air to control the pain, but he was slowly losing footing, and the pain was spreading. Ichiro Yazumi had chosen this moment to lower his weapon, surprised at the sudden turn of events.