Chapter 20

• Mariselle, her face streaked with dirt and tears, her hair dishevelled, stumbled into the room, two of Carlo’s guards clinging desperately to her arms. Her eyes, wide and desperate, immediately found Carlo. With a sudden, surprising burst of strength, she wrenched herself free from the guards’ grasp, sending them sprawling. She ran towards Carlo, her voice raw with anguish.
• “Carlo!” she cried, her voice echoing shrilly in the stunned silence of the room. “Please! I’ll do anything! Anything you want! Just… just release my father! Please, I beg you!” Her eyes were wild, pleading, filled with a desperate terror that eclipsed all her previous defiance.
• Giselle, who had been about to speak, paused, her gaze sweeping over Mariselle. Her eyes, sharp and assessing, took in Mariselle’s dishevelled appearance, her pregnancy, and the raw desperation in her plea. A slow, cruel smile spread across Giselle’s lips.