ELEANOR
Armando dragged me out of the car, gripping my wrist so tightly I thought my bones would snap. The pain shot up my arm, but I was too exhausted to fight back. My ankle throbbed, my wrists burned from the ropes, and every part of me ached from the blows I had taken. I tried to pull away, but it was useless. His grip only tightened.
“Please, Armando, let me go! You’re hurting me!” I begged, my voice barely above a whisper.
But my words seemed to fuel his anger. He yanked me harder, dragging me across the gravelled floor like I was nothing but dead weight. I stumbled behind him, trying to keep up, but every step felt like a thousand needles stabbing into my ankle. I cried out in pain, but he didn’t even glance back. He didn’t care. He kicked the door open and flung me inside like I weighed nothing, sending me crashing to the floor. The pain that shot through my body was unbearable, and I curled up, clutching my ankle, my wrists, everything that hurt.
I couldn’t stop crying. It was like everything hit me at once-the pain, the fear, the hopelessness. I was trapped. And Armando? He stood over me, a monster in human form, yelling at the top of his lungs.
“Stupida stronza! You really thought you could get away from me!? From Armando Luca!? That easy? What do you take me for!? A fool!?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The sobs racked my body, and I could barely catch my breath. My vision blurred with tears, and my head was spinning from the pain. But none of that mattered to him. He was relentless, towering over me like a predator ready to strike again.
“Look at you,” he sneered. “Crying like a helpless little girl. You think that’s gonna make me feel sorry for you? You think I care about your pathetic tears?”
I bit my lip, trying to stifle the sobs.
“How dare you attempt to burn down my house?” His voice was low, yet dangerous. “Did you have any idea what you were doing? A single chair in this mansion is worth more than you and your entire family. And you thought you could just set it on fire?”
I didn’t answer. My throat was too tight and my heart was way too heavy.
“You’re nothing, Eleanor,” he spat, his words cutting deeper than any of the bruises on my skin. “Nothing. And you thought you could rebel against me? You really thought you could just run away like you had a chance?”
His words felt like knives. I couldn’t breathe. Every breath hurt, every movement sent waves of agony through my body. And yet, he didn’t stop.
“You really want to be taught a lesson, don’t you?” He crouched down, his face inches from mine. His eyes were cold, merciless. “You enjoy rebelling don’t you Eleanor? Fine. I’ll make sure you never forget what happens when you cross me.”
I could barely focus on what he was saying, the pain was too much. But his words, they rang in my head. All this cruelty because I refused to give myself cheaply to this man.
I curled up tighter on the floor, trying to block out the pain, trying to block out his voice. But it was no use. Armando wasn’t going to stop, not until he had had his pound of flesh. I realized then that I wasn’t just trapped in his house-I was trapped in his world. A hell where there was neither mercy nor escape from the devil who stood right here in front of me.
But I wouldn’t take it anymore.
At the mention of my family-well, the only family I had left-something inside me snapped. My sister was the reason I was stuck in this nightmare in the first place. If it weren’t for her, fighting for her life in that hospital bed, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have let myself fall this far. But here I was, enduring the worst kind of hell because of one man-this devil in human skin standing over me like I was nothing.
Tears poured down my face, and before I could stop myself, I erupted.
“You’re a devil!” I spat, my voice cracking with the pain in my chest. “No, even worse than the devil himself! How can you treat someone like this? How can you treat another human being-especially a woman-like she’s garbage? I doubt you were birthed by one you fucking psycho!”
My words tumbled out with all the bitterness I’d held back for too long. The tears blurred my vision, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t care less anymore.
“You’re just a monster in human skin, Armando! You walk around, pretending to be so powerful, but you’re just a heartless bastard. I wish-I wish you’d suffer in hell for the things you’re doing to me!” My voice cracked, shaking from the raw emotion. “Fuck! I hate you! I hate you so much!”
For a second, the room went silent. All I could hear was the sound of my own sobs, echoing in the space between us. I waited for his anger to explode, for him to lash out, but instead, he stood there, watching me.
Then, slowly, he smirked.
“Really?” His voice remained low, yet one could still perceive the pure evil in his tone. “You think I’m the devil?” He gave a mocking laugh, one that sent a chill down my spine. “If I were the devil, Eleanor, do you think I would have saved you from those men?”
I froze, the tears still falling, but my words caught in my throat.
“Would the devil rescue someone who escaped hell? Especially someone as worthless as you?” He asked, tilting his head as he watched me like I was some amusing pet. “No you tell me Eleanor, cause I really do not think so.”
Once again Armando compared me to be less than nothing.
I wanted to scream, to tell him that it wasn’t what this was about, but I couldn’t speak. His eyes locked on mine and they were as dark and as cold as ever.
“You really think I’m the devil?” He smiled again, but this time with even more cruelty. “Alright. Let me show you what a devil really is.”
Before I could react, he was on me. He grabbed my arm, dragging me with such force that I barely had time to catch my breath. I cried out, trying to pull away, but he didn’t loosen his grip. My feet stumbled, my ankle screaming in pain as he pulled me upstairs.
“Armando, please!” I begged, the tears blurring my vision again. “Please, you’re hurting me again!”
But he didn’t stop. Armando didn’t care. He slammed the door to my room open and shoved me in hard. I landed on the floor with a painful thud, gasping for air while my entire body ached,-the pain in my ankle, my wrists, everything hitting me all at once.
He stood in the doorway, towering over me like a shadow of death.
“You want to talk back to me? Huh?” His voice was dripping with venom. “You want to play tough, Eleanor? Fine. Let’s see how tough you are without food and water. You’ll stay in this room for as long as I like, and you’ll learn what it means to defy me.”
I looked up at him, shaking and too terrified to move.
“I’ll show you why people fear the name Armando Luca,” he growled. “And you’ll never forget it.”
With that, he slammed the door shut, locking it from the outside. The sound of the lock clicking into place felt like the final nail in my coffin. I crawled toward the door, weakly banging on it, my sobs choking me.
“Please!” I cried out, my voice hoarse and broken. “Armando, please! Let me out! Let me go home, I can’t take this anymore! Please, I’m begging you!”
I pressed my ear against the door, my heart racing, trying to hear anything, any sign of him. I knew he was still standing there. I could feel him. He was listening. He had to be.
“Why did you even buy me?” I sobbed, my voice barely a whisper. “Why did you buy me in the first place, Armando? Please… just let me go.”
But there was nothing. No response at all.
“Please…” I pleaded one last time, my forehead resting against the door. “Let me go. I can’t take this anymore. Please…”
I waited for him to possibly say something, but all I got were his footsteps slowly fading away.
At that moment, I decided to give up.
I let my body fall back onto the cold floor while tears streamed down my face. He was gone, and I was all alone in this room with no way out.
The sobs came uncontrollably harder now. There was nothing left to say, no more strength to fight. I was trapped in his hell, and all I could do was wait.