Letting out a sigh, she paced the room.
Was Jacqui dead? The uncertainty was weighing her down. The only way to find out the truth would be to drive to Bellagio and confront Mirabella at her boutique. She guessed she’d be able to do that sooner than later, since she’d just been fired.
The room felt claustrophobic and too warm. Cassie drew back the curtains, wanting to open the window and let in some fresh air.
Across the courtyard, she saw that the lights were still on in one of the children’s rooms. Now that she was more familiar with the layout of the house, Cassie realized it was Venetia’s room.
Venetia was standing near the window—but what was she doing?
Her breath was misting up the glass, so she wrenched the window open. Cold air filtered inside as she peered out, staring in disbelief at the scene playing out on the other side of the courtyard.
Venetia was standing stock still in the middle of her bedroom. Her arm was stretched out in front of her and she was holding something in it. A glass, filled to the brim with water. Cassie could see the expression on her face. Focused, desperate, pinched with fear as she fought to keep the glass steady.
Behind her stood Ms. Rossi, watching.
“No,” Cassie whispered. She could not believe the scene unfolding before her horrified eyes.
This was far worse than punishment—it was torture.
Venetia’s slim arm was starting to tremble. Her muscles must be burning in agony, the glass becoming a dead weight as she struggled to hold it still.
Cassie bit her lip as she saw Venetia was starting to shake with the effort.
Her arm quivered, and water splashed over the side of the glass.
Immediately, Ms. Rossi raised her hand. She was holding a thick, heavy leather belt.
Cassie screamed aloud as she whipped the young girl across her back with it, a vicious blow. Venetia’s body jerked in pain.
Ms. Rossi glanced out the window. She must have heard the scream. Cassie saw her stare across the courtyard and she knew she had seen the open curtain, and her own pale, shocked face watching this nightmare scene play out.
The fact she had a witness seemed to make no difference. With a terrible sense of helplessness, Cassie realized that the businesswoman knew she was completely under her power.
Calmly, Ms. Rossi turned her attention back to the horror she was presiding over.
She refilled the glass from a large bowl and handed it back to Venetia, who held it out again, staring in despair at her own quivering arm.
Again, water spilled, and again the belt lashed out, so hard that Venetia’s body convulsed.
“No,” Cassie whispered.
Memories surged inside her. Her father’s cry of rage and the way his belt had felt when it lashed across her arm or thigh—it had been as hard and heavy as an actual punch, and the pain had been sickening. Cassie remembered how the mark, thick and red, had throbbed and stung for hours, and then been tender for days, before the pain had gradually ebbed.
The difference was that her father had only hit in anger and never more than once. Cassie had often been quick enough to run away, so even a single lash with the belt had been a lucky shot for him, when she was trapped in a corner or he was too fast for her.
His girlfriends hadn’t used belts. Those women had attacked Cassie physically. Their abuse had been more frightening, as it was more out of control, but they weren’t as strong as her father, and it had been easier to struggle free.
In contrast, what she was watching was sustained, deliberate torment. It was clear that Ottavia Rossi intended to break her daughter completely.
There was no way Cassie could stand by and let it happen.
All the threats in the world, even what Ms. Rossi had said about accusing her of theft, could not hold her back from saving this young girl. The person who was supposed to care for her was tormenting her in a way that would leave permanent scars, not only physically but emotionally.
Anger gave her wings, and she sprinted out of the room.
Venetia’s door was closed, and she wrenched it open and stormed inside.
“Stop!” she shouted. “Stop this at once!”
Ms. Rossi had her arm drawn back, ready to whip her daughter again. Cassie lunged toward her, ready to snatch the belt from her hand or grab her arm or do whatever she could to stop another blow from landing.
The businesswoman gave a wordless exclamation when Cassie burst in, a roar that combined rage and frustration. Turning round, she lashed out at Cassie with the belt instead.
Cassie wasn’t quick enough to duck. The broad leather strap slapped across her face, the buckle slicing into her skin, and she screamed in agony. Stars exploded in her vision and she reeled back.
The belt hit her again, slamming into the side of her head, causing her eyes to water so badly that she was blinded.
Cassie knew this woman was demented. She was insane, and didn’t care who she hurt or what harm she caused. What would happen if she was unable to get the belt away from her? She feared Ms. Rossi would hit her over the head again and knock her out, carrying on with her abuse unabated, while Cassie lay unconscious on the floor.
Blinking tears away, she made a frantic grab for the belt, and by pure luck she managed to get her finger through the buckle.
She pulled hard, almost toppling Ms. Rossi off her platform heels. The businesswoman swore violently, dropping her makeshift weapon and grabbing at the chest of drawers to save herself. It wobbled, sending the water bowl tumbling to the floor. It hit the ground with a clatter and water sluiced across the tiles.
“Stop it!” Cassie screamed.
Her eyes were streaming from the pain
