Luce

"Angelo, please…" I begged. "Angelo!" But my pleas fell on deaf ears.

He sent for his men to tie me up despite all my tears. Every time I tried to relax, the rope dragged my wrists toward the floor, forcing my spine into a rigid, aching position. I was kneeling on the cold marble floor, exposed and shaking from fear and cold, while Angelo sat ten feet away.

He didn't look at me. He didn't acknowledge the sound of my ragged breathing. He simply sat behind his desk, methodically cleaning a ...