"I have been ruined. How much longer I can keep this up I do not know," Montresor thought to himself as his party guests were announced. He would do as he has always done and have the best so as not to alarm his precious Giada. She, his only daughter and heir, must have the grandest life even if it meant his ruin. The guests took their seats around the dinner table and dinner was served shorty. Great chatter filled the dining hall, but one stood out among the throng of great people: It was Fortunado, an old friend that was to wed his darling Giada. They would be married in a week and her position would be remedied. She would be saved from her father's ruin. Fortunado was aglow with joviality and the wondrous effect of excellent wine. It was infectious. Even making the host of the party forget his own woes for a little while.
The dancing had begun and Fortunado would grace the dance floor with none but his bride to be. Her emerald eyes shown with joy as they danced the night away. Her white dress, cut to the fashion of the time, displayed her figure elegantly and impressed everyone there. After a few dances they retired to the veranda to talk intimately. She, being young and naive, listened to his sweet nothings and lead them up to her father's study for further privacy.
Once they reached the room, Fortunado locked the door behind him and pressed himself against Giada. They began to kiss passionately until Fortunado tried to take liberties with her body. "Wait. My dear Fortunado. We cannot." He continued to caress her body and she fought against him.
"But it does not matter. We will be wed soon enough and you are already as good as mine. I will take my due." He grabbed her arms and forced her against the door. She began to scream and writhe under his grasp to no avail. He smiled a smile she had never seen before. This was not her sweet, tender Fortunado. This was some monster. She grew quiet in terror. He leaned in and whispered in her ear,"Scream all you wish. It only brings me more pleasure." He grabbed her by the hair and led her over to the desk and threw her down face first.
"Please Fortunado, don't do this! This is not like you!" He lifted her up by her hair and pressed his body against hers.
"My sweet,sweet Giada...how foolish you are. You are in for a rude awakening." He tore at the bodice of her dress and exposed her breasts. She screamed as he fondled her until her face was flushed and she was gasping for air, but no one came and she only fueled his arousal. He pushed her onto the desk and onto her back. He climbed on top of her and saw the tears in her eyes. The look in his eyes softened and she began to hope that he would stop before it was too late. She tried once again to reason with him.
"Fortunado, stop before it is too late. We will be wed and I am all yours." She looked into his eyes and saw malice once more. He had tricked her, he had placed hope in her foolish heart that he was not some monster that would ravage her. He held her arms above her head with one hand as he released himself from the confines of his clothing. She was sobbing uncontrollably and shaking her head in disbelief. "This cannot be happening," she thought to herself. He then lifted her skirts and chemise to reveal her nakedness. She began to sob harder as he touched her.
" You want this my dear."
"No!," she cried out."Stop this! This is forbidden," she said through tears.
"You are mine to do as I please." He began his evil deed and held her there as she cried and and writhed. Pleading over and over for him to stop.
When the savage deed was done he sat up and fixed his clothing. He looked back at his bride to be and smiled. Her face was pale. She lay there motionless. "There is more to come my dear. We are to wed soon enough and there is much, much more in store for you." With those daunting words he left the room. She had run out of tears. She lay there broken, her once pure dress now tainted with her virginal blood. Slowly, she sat upright and descended to the floor. She reached for the fallen ink and pen. She sat at her father's desk and opened a drawer and retrieved a piece of paper. She began to write and after finishing she laid it upon the desk and reached into another drawer. From this she took out her father's pistol. The gun was already loaded and ready. She placed the barrel in her mouth and pulled the trigger.
The had just retired to the drawing rooms after their many hours of gaiety when the shot rang throughout the house. Everyone began to panic. Montresor, the other men of the party, and the servants of the house began to search for the source of the noise. Ten minutes into the search a scream was heard coming from the master's study. A servant girl was seen slowly backing out of the room when the search party arrived. The girl was sobbing and incoherent as the master came up asking,"What is wrong girl?"He opened the door and was horrified at what he saw. There was a woman face down in a pool of blood sitting at his desk.
He went forward and noticed the white dress and golden hair tangled with fragments of skull. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was his daughter. His lovely Giada was dead. He went closer to the body, speechless and sobbing. The butler entered and closed the door on the horrific scene. Montresor grabbed his daughter's lifeless body and cried in agony at his great loss. While he was sobbing and kissing his daughter's bloodless face the butler came forward and noticed the note left on the desk in front of the dead girl. He picked it up and read the note, quickly stashing it in his pocket as the door opened at the hand of Fortunado and the other men of the party.
A week later after the burial of his daughter, Montresor sat in the chair where his daughter had taken her life. He drank liquor and stared lifelessly off. Not even stirring when his ever loyal butler entered. He approached the desk and cleared his throat,"Sir, there is something that you must see." From his pocket he withdrew the note that his daughter had left on the night of her death. He handed it to his master and left the room. Slowly he read the note and re-read it over and over again. It was her goodbye and her tale of the events that occurred. She told him what had happened and how she could not live with herself knowing what had happened and what she was to marry. The man he had trusted all these years had betrayed him. Had defiled and murdered his daughter. With every breathe he vowed to punish the bastard. To avenge his fallen angel who was his last and only treasure. Fortunado would pay for his deeds done that fateful day. An eye for an eye.