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Vieri's voice is steady as he looks at me, but I can hear the underlying command. "What's your name?"

My heart hammers in my chest, and my throat feels too tight to speak, but the words fall from my lips.

“Lunetta... Sofia Fiore,” I whisper, the fear in my voice barely audible, but the shame clawing at my chest feels so raw. So real.

Vieri nods slowly, the cigarette dangling from his lips. “Well, Lunetta,” he says softly, the cruelty in his voice seeping into every word, “you’ll be with me for a while.”

My body shakes violently as I stare at him in shock, my hands clutching at my chest as I sob harder, shaking my head. "No... no, I can't. Nonna and Bea will be so worried. I can't—"

He steps closer. I feel his eyes fall on me, traveling down my body, his gaze so heavy that I instinctively curl my arms tighter around myself, trying to shield my chest.

“You’ll be fine,” he says, voice smooth like silk. “You belong to me now.”

“Let me go. Please, let me go...”

He chuckles. "But you just got here."

“No!” I scream. “Let me go—”

He slaps me across the face and I gasp. The shock of it is instant. My body jerks back, my vision spinning as I fall to the floor. The taste of blood floods my mouth where my lip has split. I tremble, face hot from the sting, as my body crumples into the ground.

I push my hands against the floor, trying to lift myself, my chest heaving with each sob. “Please... just let me go. I can’t—I can’t be here, please...”

“Be good, I’ll be back to see you,” he says, turning his back to me.

Something snaps in me.

I jump to my feet, lunge at him and throw myself at him with all the force I have left, my hands gripping his coat, my nails digging into his chest as I shove him backward, knocking him down onto the cold floor.

My heart races in my chest, the adrenaline rushing through me like fire. I grab his hair, fistfuls of it in my hands, yanking his head back, forcing him to look at me as I scream—scream for all the pain, for all the terror, for all the helplessness he’s caused me.

“Let me go!” I roar, my voice breaking with pure desperation.

He smiles and I know I am done for.

The other man is already on me, pulling me off him with brutal force. His grip tightens around my wrist, yanking me away from Vieri, but I won’t go down without a fight.

I lunge at the other man, biting down hard on his hand, my teeth sinking into his flesh with a sickening crunch. I feel the blood pour from his wound as I yank back, pulling, ripping at his skin like Bea did.

“Fucking bitch!” he screams. I hold on to his shirt, biting into him harder and harder until I feel his blood splatter across my face.

Then Vieri’s hand grabs the back of my head, his fingers digging into my scalp, and he slams me into the ground.

The air is knocked out of me and before I can push myself to my feet, Vieri’s boots come down, connecting with my ribs with a sickening crunch.

The pain is immediate. White-hot, blinding. I gasp, my mouth opening in a silent scream. Blood wells up in my throat from the impact of his kick, and I cough violently, spitting it out.

I can’t breathe. My vision spins. I try to crawl away, try to push myself up, but my arms are too weak, my legs too numb. His boot lands on my back and I cry out in pain, falling to the floor. I can feel the blood spilling from my mouth.

Vieri steps back, his boot still resting on the edge of my body for a moment longer, before he finally turns away, opens the door and walks out, mumbling under his breath. Bugatti follows behind him, his hand still dripping blood and the door shuts behind them.

I should scream. I should scream until I can’t breathe anymore, but I don’t. I just… I just lay there, unable to move.

I close my eyes, my hands trembling as I press them to my chest. I whisper the words softly, as though speaking them out loud might ease the suffocating weight in my soul.

“Ave Maria, piena di grazia, il Signore è con te…”

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee...