Emilia’s screams shattered the silence, raw and terrified, but they never made it past the suffocating barrier of John’s hand clamped tightly over her mouth. Her voice was swallowed, her pleas silenced, and her body pinned beneath the monstrous weight of a man who had long lost any trace of humanity.
He hovered over her like a predator, his breath hot and reeking of whiskey and cruelty. His palm crushed her mouth, fingers digging into her skin as if to erase her existence altogether. His other hand—brutal and unforgiving—had already torn open her shirt, exposing her skin to the cold air and his vile touch. His nails pressed deep into the delicate flesh of her wrist, carving crescents of pain into her skin as if branding her with his control.
Emilia’s body trembled beneath him, her fragil
