Seventy Eight

Isabella

Clean and modern, Marco's beach home is the complete opposite of the castello. The property stretches out along the Gulf of Naples, each room boasting a magnificent view of the water and Vesuvius. Alessia lives here, while Marco's wife and children are somewhere else, and he has the luxury of going back and forth, the cheating bastard.

Even though Marco is hardly around, his guards are always present, as is Alessia, which means I ay never alone, and I am exhausted from it. Most of my time is spent wondering if this is the day I will be tortured or raped in revenge against Dante. Or worse, the day Marco realizes I am of no use to him and puts a bullet in my brain.

I hardly sleep. I eat to keep my stomach settled, but I worry that each bite of food is poisoned. Every noise makes me jump, and my nerves feel stretched to the breaking point. How much more of this can I take?

The possibilities are too terrifying to contemplate.