monarch

"During the rest of the journey, I was locked in the hold. I don't know how long it has been, and I don't know whether it is day or night outside. Every once in a while, a crew member with a big beard will send me A piece of bread and a jug of water. I lie in the dark in a daze, not even knowing whether I am alive or dead."

"I don't know how many days have passed, but one day, the door opened again, but what came in was not the crew member who delivered the meal, but the guy who kidnapped me here."

"'Here we are, dear doctor,' he said, and with a sign, two strong men entered the door, and they undid the chains that bound me to the bed, and pulled me up from the bed."

"However, after being locked in bed for so many days, my legs could no longer support my weight. As soon as they pulled me up, my legs gave way and I collapsed on the ground."

"The man standing at the door curled his lips, 'It's really troublesome.' He said coldly, turning to the two strong men, 'Help him go.'"

"The two strong men took my left and right arms and pulled me up from the ground. We walked out of the cabin. We first walked through a long corridor, and at the end of the corridor was a road that only allowed one person to pass The narrow stairs, so one of them pulled me in front and the other pushed me behind, and they managed to get me to the deck."

"The cool wind on the deck woke me up. It was a clear night with stars hanging in the dark blue sky. In the soft moonlight, I opened my eyes wide and looked around."

"I'm standing on the deck of a three-masted schooner, which is a rather large sailing ship, and it is moored at a small pier. There are some boxes piled up on the pier, but there are no stevedores or The only shadow of the crew is a black unmarked carriage parked alone on the pier, and the coachman is dozing off on his seat bored."

"I was held on my arms and walked down from the gangway. My feet stepped on the solid ground again, but before I was allowed to breathe for a moment, someone pushed me on my back and was put on a frame. the carriage."

"I was put in the back seat of the carriage, and the two strong men sat on either side of me, and the man who kidnapped me sat in the front seat. The door closed behind us, and the wheels began to turn."

"I looked out the car window, which had iron bars on it. I was about to look through the car window when a black cloth was placed over my eyes. Someone grabbed my cheek and forced me to open my mouth. And then a piece of cloth was stuffed in. It was unnecessary, because I didn't have the strength to shout for help."

"The carriage drove for about two hours, and finally stopped. I heard the door being opened, and then I was picked up again and pushed off the carriage. I followed them straight ahead, and I didn't know where I was. Just remember there was a flight of stairs going down."

"After about 5 minutes, we finally stopped. I heard the sound of an iron door opening, and then I was pushed forward again. Was wheeled into a certain room."

"The iron door closed behind me. I was pushed onto a chair, my hands were handcuffed to the armrest and my feet were tied to the chair legs."

"The strips were removed from my eyes and the sudden bright light blinded me for a moment. When my eyes finally adjusted to the light, I looked around and found myself sitting alone in a windowless room. Here, several burning torches hung on the walls of the room, illuminating the whole room."

"After about a few minutes, the door opened again, and a tall man walked into the room. He wore a mask on his face, but his whole body revealed the temperament of a high-ranking person... I also served Many patients of high status, I will never admit this temperament."

"He walked up to me, gave me a condescending gaze, and said, 'Welcome, Dr. Giovanni.'"

"'Who are you?' I asked, 'Why did you bring me here?'"

"'I don't mean anything malicious, I just want to ask you for some information.' The man said, 'As long as you cooperate, then you and your family will be fine. I will send you back to Italy and give you A generous dowry from the elder daughter, as compensation for the fright I have caused you.'”

"'I'm just a doctor, what can you learn from me?'"

"'As regards one of your patients, of course,' the man approached my face, and looked me in the eye. 'Lord Latimer, I suppose you remember.'"

"I felt my hair stand on end. The original scene quickly emerged clearly in my mind, and the last thing that was frozen in my mind was the tear-stained face of the Baroness Latimer. I know that she later Married to the King of England, I understood in that moment that I was involved in terrible politics."

"'Please,' I begged, 'I'm just a doctor, I don't know, and I don't want to get involved in the affairs of those noble people... Please let me and my family go, I won't Would have mentioned this kidnapping to anyone.'”

"'You seem to have realized what you've been involved in,' said the man with a tinge of sarcasm. 'Since you're a smart man, it's easy. I think you can understand, you Just a pawn in the whole game, a piece of the puzzle. The pawn doesn't want to be a pawn, yet it has no other choice. Since fate has involved you in such things, you have no other choice, if you If you are smart, you know that your best choice now is to cooperate with me.'”

"I started to cry and the man looked at me coldly, patiently waiting for my emotions to calm down."

"'Have you considered it?' he finally asked after a few minutes."

"'Where is my family? I want to see them.' I demanded. 'I will only speak if they are safe.'"

"'This request is easily satisfied.' He went to the door, knocked, and the iron door opened instantly, and he whispered a few words to the person standing outside the door."

"Not long after, the door opened again, and several people dragged my wife and two daughters into the room. Their eyes were full of horror, and their skirts were all torn."

"As soon as she saw me, my younger daughter, Angelica, started to cry, 'Daddy, what's going on?' and she threw herself in front of me and hugged me. My wife and older daughter also had eyes full of tears. Tears, they squatted beside me, each holding one of my hands."

"'Why did you bring us here?' My wife looked at the nobleman. 'We have never offended you, please let us go! At least let my children go.'"

"'Don't worry, ma'am.' There was no emotion in the man's voice. 'I just want to know something from your husband. If he cooperates, you can go home soon. It's just a dream. If you are still not at ease, then please persuade your husband.'”

"'Luca, Luca!' my wife cried to me, 'you heard him. Tell him whatever he wants, for our children's sake!'"

"'Let them go...I'll tell you what you want to know,' I begged."

"'It depends on your sincerity, please begin.' He went to the shadow on the opposite side of the room, where a green satin armchair had been placed, sat down in it, and laid out a A look of all ears.

"I had no choice but to tell the whole story. From the time I started the treatment for Baron Latimer until I decided to give him strychnine... I told him everything."

"When I spoke of Lord Latimer's last night, I felt that he was more absorbed than before. I told him how I had left the kitchen to go to the bathroom, and when I came back I found the Queen dressing up my wounds, It made him very excited."

"'So she had access to the bottle, right? Could she have poisoned her husband, is that what you had in mind?' When my narrative was over, he couldn't wait to start asking. "

"'I don't know . . . I really don't. The symptoms of strychnine poisoning are so similar to acute stroke that I don't know whether Lord Latimer died suddenly from poisoning. I don't believe it was me. Wrong dose, but I'm not sure anyone else touched my bottle!" I yelled, "I just wanted to get out of this, I didn't want to go after those Something happened.'"

"'There is some truth to that,' he murmured. 'And what do you think? If all I want is your opinion.'"

"I put my head down and didn't dare to speak. I knew the status of the people involved in our conversation and I knew what would happen to me if this kind of thing got out."

"'You don't dare to say... Then it seems that your opinion is the same as I think.' The man did not continue to press, 'I believe that what you have said is the truth and you have not concealed it?' His tone was full of There was a hint of threat."

"'No! No! I swear to God I've told you all I know!' I cried hastily.'

"'Well, I believe what you said, and thank you for your cooperation.' He stood up and walked out the door."

"'Wait, wait!' I yelled after his back. 'You said you were going to let me and my family go! You promised me that you would let us go if I cooperated.'

"'Ah, that's true.' He gestured to the man who had kidnapped me. 'John, untie the doctor's family and send them away.'"

"He said as he walked out of the gate, which slammed shut behind him."

"The man called 'John' picked up my wife, pulled out a dagger, and made a gesture to cut the rope that bound my wife's hands."

"'Thank you...' My wife looked up to the sky and thanked God in a trembling voice, but she stopped abruptly before she could finish her words. In an instant, a warm liquid fell on my face, and I watched in amazement To my wife—the blood was gushing out of the freshly cut wound in her throat like a fountain, and every time the heart beat, the wound spurted a stream of blood."

"My mind went blank and the blood dripped all over my face like some kind of warm rain. I heard my daughter screaming and my wife's face was terrified and she was gaping open. The mouth, if she could make a sound, must have been screaming. The color of her face faded to a dead white, reminiscent of leaden skies in winter."

"The man who cut her throat let go, and she fell powerlessly to the ground. The two still bound hands struggled to cover the wound, but it was in vain. The movements of the two struggling hands became stronger and stronger. Weaker and weaker... she soon stopped moving."

"The man wiped the few drops of blood that were still hanging on the blade on his cuff. He took the dagger and walked towards my daughters... I saw him grab the arm of my eldest daughter Julia, and she She screamed and struggled frantically, but her screams could not reach my ears at all... My world was silent, and my mind was blank."

"When my oldest daughter's blood gushed from her neck, it was like the whole world was suddenly smashed on top of my head for a moment... I just remember screaming like a beast and trying to break free The shackles, the act left me with a few horrific wounds on my wrists and ankles, but I didn't feel any pain at the time."

"My older daughter was on the floor, looking at me, the light in those beautiful amber eyes dimmed until it was like a window was shut and there was nothing in those eyes."

"'Don't touch her, don't touch her!' I screamed in despair as the man walked towards my little girl with a dagger. I felt the taste of blood in my mouth, maybe from my dry mouth. The throat, or the lip I bitten... I don't remember that."

"My little girl huddled in the corner of the wall. She was too scared to scream. She stared wide-eyed and watched in horror as the murderer walked towards her step by step with a blood-stained dagger."

"However, the murderer was not touched in any way, his hand holding the knife did not tremble, and his steps did not hesitate at all. Before his body completely blocked my sight of my little girl, she cast a glance at me. That last glance... that look I will never forget, and it is the look that scares me the most in the nightmares that have tormented me every night since then."

"I heard the sound of desperate struggling from the corner, mixed with the sound of dying gasps. I frantically shook the chair that restrained me, and the legs of the chair that were fixed to the ground began to loosen."

"After a few minutes, the man finally turned around. The black coat on his chest was covered with a somewhat dull stain, but as a doctor, I could recognize it at a glance. It was my daughter's blood. The blood soaked the black cloth like a stain from vegetable soup. On his white collar, the bright red blood spots were like strawberries on the cream cake. In the corner behind her, My daughter was lying on the ground, her face still had that horrified expression, and her two already stiff hands were still looking in vain at the huge wound of appalling size on her neck."

"'Your daughter is really struggling.' There was a sneer in his tone. He must have seen my beast-like eyes, which made him even happier. 'Actually, what's the use of that? It's just adding to my own pain... …You are a smart man, I hope you cooperate with your daughter, so that you can suffer less, and I can finish this job sooner.'”

"He walked in front of me as he spoke, and the reflection of the sharp edge of the dagger only shot into my pupils."

"I pushed hard, and there was a crackling sound from the chair legs. It was the sound of wood breaking. I stood up together with the chair and rushed towards him."

"He obviously didn't expect this scene, but he immediately raised his dagger and stabbed me, but it was too late, I jumped up and threw him to the ground. I felt the blade cut my chest, but I didn't I don't care, but like a wild beast, it threw itself on his face and biting wildly."

"He started screaming, and the sound of that scream fell on my ears like the most beautiful ecstasy... I continued to bite like crazy, without even realizing my teeth were cracking, until someone pulled me out of his Pulled up and gave me another hard blow to the head."

"He stood up with blood all over his face, 'You bloody stupid pig!' He covered the wound on his face and looked around the room viciously, finally stopping at the torch hanging on the wall."

"'Hold his head!' he said grimly, and went to the wall to bring down a burning torch."

"In a trance, I felt that someone was holding my head, and a hot current rushed to my face, and then it turned into an unbearable scorching heat. I tried to scream, but the hot air that was sucked in was mixed with flesh and head. The burning smell made my lungs sore and I felt like I was going to throw up. When I fell into a coma, all I could think about was the thrill of relief."

"However, a sudden sharp pain flashed through my mind like lightning, and I opened my eyes involuntarily, only to see that the dagger that took the lives of my whole family was stabbing into my left sixth and seventh ribs between."

"That John tried to get the dagger out, but it was stuck between my ribs and wouldn't budge. He spat one last time and stood up."

"'Keep it as a souvenir, doctor, you might use it in hell,' he said viciously, and started for the door.'

"I tried my best to keep my eyes open, but the surrounding scene became more and more blurred, and finally darkness enveloped everything, and I passed out again."