Diabolus

BEVERLY GREENE

I watch my father walking around his office with his usual serious facial expression on. Only this time his dark eyes are glancing at me with his eyebrows furrowed. He doesn’t talk anymore and neither do I. I have to cope with the news. With the news that I’m getting married.

“It’s just business, sweetheart. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices.” My father glances at me.

“What are you sacrificing, dad?”

It was always business. My father, one of the most powerful men in Chicago, is CEO of Greenenterprises, a real estate company. I know he’s worked really hard to be where he is today. To be a billionaire and the highest class tyrant. It’s still not fair that I have to be the one to sacrifice her life for a business I don’t even care about.

“Don’t act like a child, Beverly.” He stops by his desk and sits down on his big boss leather chair.

I used to adore everything about him. He’s the one that raised me and my younger sister Brooklyn, after our mom died giving birth to her. He is the strongest man I know, raising two little girls alone and building a real estate empire at the same time. But now.. now he cares about nothing but his job. This kind of change in him makes me feel disgusted. Angry. Disappointed.

Still, I respect him. Even after what he’s done . After selling me like an object to another CEO, Adrian Morado.

He’s a cold, ruthless, and heartless real estate tycoon. Adrian Morado is soon to be retired and the only person who can take his place is his son Leonardo. He wouldn’t be a respected CEO, based off his reputation as a player, a person who cares only about parties and drugs. That’s the person I have to sell my life to, who I haven’t even met yet.

“You have to understand that this is for your own good. For the family. If you marry Leonardo I’ll get three buildings from Morado’s company, for free.”

“So that’s why I’m doing this? So you could get a few buildings?”

Dad just keeps staring at me, not arguing anymore. I notice his clenched jaw and little drops of sweat on his wrinkled forehead. His deep emerald eyes, that used to be so happy and caring, are now cold and full of disappointment and anger.

That’s what money does to people.

“You want to be the CEO one day. Don’t make me take this opportunity away from you.”

“Well, you’re taking my life away from me. You’re taking the freedom of choice away from me.”

“You’re getting married, Beverly. Period.”

Still, I can’t say no to him. I’m powerless. In fact, I’m even scared of my own father. I’m not like my younger sister Brooklyn. She’s independent and she never does anything she doesn’t want to do. She’s like my dad, and, well, I’m like my mom. 19 years have already passed since she’s been gone, but I still remember her doing everything that dad wanted her to do. Being his slave. Being an obedient, good wife.

For a few moments, he keeps looking at me. It seems like he’s not even breathing, until he takes something out of his expensive jacket pocket.

It’s a diamond ring. So shiny and sparkly that my eyes start to hurt. It’s square shaped with smaller full cut diamonds around it, which makes it even more fancy and expensive. I don’t think I ever saw something more beautiful in my life. The meaning of it scares the crap out of me.

“Congratulations on your engagement, darling.” For the first time, my father puts a smile on his angry face.

It’s been a week since I became engaged to someone I never saw before. Not in person anyways. I googled him because my curiosity won. Of course I wanted to know what the person that I’m going to marry, looks like. A tall, handsome, and hot man. Although not everything consists about how a person looks.

Tonight I’m going to meet him for the first time. I’m going on a date with my fiancé, set up by our fathers. Of course it’s in a fancy restaurant, a public place where the paparazzi could see us; could see Leonardo, so solid and in love with me.

He stands by the bar, no smile on his handsome face, sculpted with a ginger colored beard. Based on his muscles that are visible under his tight, expensive suit, I bet he spends his free time at the gym. Otherwise he’s probably drinking and partying. He’s even taller than he looks in the pictures. Standing by his side, I look like a damn Thumbelina.

“Beverly.” Leonardo tries to put an honest, happy smile on his face, but I can see that he’s irritated as much as I am. Wow, this is going to be even worse than I thought.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Leonardo.”

“Don’t talk like that. No one is supposed to know that the marriage isn’t based on our feelings.” His eyebrows furrow and the fake smile disappears from his pretty face.

With no words, he places his hand on my spine and leads me to the table that’s reserved for us. I was expecting his touch to send chills down my body, but I don’t feel anything.

You can feel butterflies with the man that’s right for you, when you see him and he touches you for the first time, but I don’t feel anything. It’s like the feel of cold wind that makes you want nothing but to go inside and hide from it.

“What do you want to drink?” He pops the question the moment we take our seats but his eyes aren’t even on me. They’re traveling around the restaurant, like he’s looking for an escape.

“We could have some red wine-”

“I don’t drink wine.” Leonardo doesn’t even let me finish my sentence before interrupting me.

He’s not even interested in us trying to get to know each other, even though we’re going to be spending a few years as a married couple. Lately I’ve been thinking so much about this, about giving us a chance. Wondering if maybe, just maybe, it could work out for us. Now I feel nothing but disappointment.

“Suit yourself. I’ll have some wine.”

“Whatever.”

As the waitress comes, we both order our drinks and food. I bet the waitress can tell that neither of us wants to be here, since we don’t even look at each other. It would be so much easier if Leonardo showed some interest or hope of this marriage working out. What he does show, is his interest in a few girls drinking by the bar with short dresses on.

“Nice ring.” He turned to me, knocking me out with only two icy cold words coming from his lips.

“I thought you were the one who bought me this.”

“I don’t have time to search and buy an engagement ring. My personal assistant did.”

With every second spent with him, I get more and more surprised. He’s not only cold and impolite. He also doesn’t even try to show respect to a woman.

It’s like I’m on a date with my father.

“I guess I’ll thank her, then.”

“Let’s not pretend like you’re offended, Beverly. We don’t have feelings for each other and we don’t have to act like we do.”

“We’re getting married, Leonardo. We should at least respect each other.”

“I don’t want to marry you either, honey. I’ll find a way to become a CEO without marrying you.” He’s serious. There’s no sign that he’s joking. His eyes are serious and cold; letting me know that he’ll still be a player, no matter what his father wants him to do. How will he achieve it? How can he possibly get rid of me?

“Have you started packing your stuff yet?” The question is as unexpected as Leonardo’s suddenly polite tone of voice.

“What?”

I remember my father told me that I have to move into Leonardo’s mansion outside the city. It’s nice to finally leave my dad’s house but that’s not how I imagined it to happen.

Before he can answer, our waitress comes back and stumbles on something, she sways and spills a little of my wine on Leonardo’s jacket.

“What the fuck!?” He yells and spreads his hands to the side.

“Oh my God, sir, I’m so sorry...”

“You ruined my jacket, you fucking idiot!”

He takes a napkin and starts cleaning the stain of wine while still yelling at the poor waitress.

“Watch what you’re doing!”

“Leonardo, calm down. I can’t even see the stain.” Surprised by his reaction, I try to calm everyone down.

“Shut the fuck up!”

His dispassionate attitude becomes angry at me. His narrowed eyes are rigid, cold, and hard. I don’t think I ever saw a look that angry before. If he gets like that over a waitress’s mistake, what will he do when we get into a real argument?

“I’m so sorry, sir, let me help you..” The waitress takes the napkin and tries to reach for the stain to clean it, but to everyone’s surprise, Leonardo slaps her hand away.

“Don’t you fucking touch me. You can’t even do your job right. You’re nothing!”

Leonardo. Don’t be rude. She didn’t do this on purpose.” I try to reach for his hand, but he slaps mine as well.

“She’s nothing. A fucking waitress that can’t even bring us our drinks properly.”

The waitress stands there shocked and so am I. He’s even worse than my father. Impolite, heartless and disrespectful. The girl works hard to make money and he throws those kind of insults at her like it was nothing.

This is the kind of man I’m forced to marry.

DAVID PIERCE

We’re called The Satan’s Blade, a secret group of four assassins, who can get rid of anyone if the payment is good. We don’t question our targets, and we’re never gentle with the person we have to kill.

Every one of us has their own specialty. Rebecca Miller, or Bex, as we like to call her, is our so-called Robin Hood, who can’t go anywhere without her arrows. Max Porter is the best at using guns, traveling with a whole collection of them. Aaron Davis is the youngest, but also the most clever, he kills people with poison. Then there’s me.. I have my own ways, depending on the situation. Most of all, I prefer tortures and knives.

“Our next stop is Chicago.” Max throws a picture of the person on the table that we’re sitting by, in one of our apartments in Springfield. No one seems to be interested. Bex is polishing her arrow, cleaning the blood off from her last target. Aaron just sits there and plays with little bottles of poison.

“What information do you have?” I cross my arms by my chest.

“It’s a woman. Some rich ass jerk wants her dead so he doesn’t have to marry her.”

“Such a loving husband.”

I take the picture, turning it to me. It’s a woman. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever saw before.

Her tall frame and slender body is like a Victoria’s Secret model. Her blue eyes, like the sea, so deep that you could drown in them. Long wavy blonde hair, so smooth and silky, almost as if it was tailored from gold fabric.

No, I don’t question myself. Just seeing this woman’s picture is something else though.

“Gorgeous, isn’t she?” Max puts a curved smile on his face.

“Who? Show me.” Aaron, the biggest player of us all, grabs the picture out of my hand and licks his lips looking at the woman. Bex still doesn’t care about anything that’s going on, like we aren’t even here.

“What’s her name?” I turn to Max, who’s studying the picture with Aaron.

“Beverly Greene. A daughter of one of the most powerful CEO’s in Chicago.”

“Delightful.”

One thing I’m different than from my group, is, I always like to know who I’m dealing with. I like to watch my target, to know who they actually are, to see what kind of person I’m about to kill.

To watch Beverly will be more than a pleasure.

“I suppose our Diabolus will take the job.” We all turn to Bex, who’s not paying attention, but always hears everything around her.

They started calling me Diabolus when I became very cruel with my targets; torturing them in the most brutal and painful way, then killing them without any mercy. As the years passed, I started liking that nickname they gave me.

“You’re more than right, Bex.”

I grab the picture from Aaron’s fingers, placing it in my wallet. Right beside Camille’s wrinkled old picture that’s been in my wallet for so many years, that I lost count.

“Let’s go. We have to visit our little Beverly.”