Chapter 44

• Dante’s boot slammed into her foot with the sickening crunch of breaking bone, and Aria’s scream echoed through the room. The pain shot through her like a bolt of lightning, searing and intense, stealing the breath from her lungs. She tried to push herself away from him, but his grip on her hair was unyielding, his strength too great for her to fight against. With another cruel twist of his foot, she felt the bone give way beneath the pressure, and she couldn’t hold back the tears that spilled down her cheeks.
• Her thoughts raced to Lena, whose life had ended at Dante’s hands. Aria had been forced to watch, unable to do anything but bear witness to the horror. Was this to be her fate as well? Would she too end up a lifeless body on the cold, hard floor?
• Her clothes were next to go, torn away from her body as if they were mere scraps of paper, leaving her naked and exposed to his hungry gaze. Each rip and tear was a violation, a reminder of the power he held over her. She felt the cool air on her bare skin, raising goosebumps that had nothing to do with the temperature in the room.