WARNING: While the following chapter does not contain rape, it does to some extent detail the torturing our duo is suffering at the hands of the Brigados. And while Bella is not raped, she is very much much naked and at the hands of the Brigados, so the implications are both implicit and verbal. Please be kind to yourself and if you do not feel you will be able to read this, message me and I will send you a brief recap.

"Time's up, bitch."

Bella was blinded by the light being turned on in the dark prison she was being kept in. Her pupils constricted and her body seized in terror at the harsh words. She blinked a few times, wincing as the man in front of her came into focus. He was leering at her as he entered the room and Bella attempted to swallow.

She recognized him.

It was the other Brigado son, Giovanni. She remembered seeing pictures of him in the files she had received so long ago when Sharp had investigated Edward. He looked just like his brother Luca. He had the same black hair, gelled back in a stylish way that exuded power. But where Luca had a certain boyish look that allowed him to potentially pass as friendly, Giovanni only had hard lines.

One rare occasion when they had spoken about the Brigados, Edward had mentioned that Giovanni was the worst of them.

He was a sadist and had never followed his father's rules.

Bella watched as he approached her. Her instincts were screaming at her to fight and run, but she was powerless with the bondage holding her hostage. Instead, she did not move a muscle as he stalked towards her, a salacious look in his eyes that filled her with fear.

"Mmmmm," Giovanni moaned appreciatively, slowing gazing up and down her body.

Bella clenched her teeth.

She felt violated under his heavy stare.

She wanted to scream at him but she was entirely at his mercy.

Giovanni put one of his hands on her naked stomach.

The very same stomach that she had just learned contained a beautiful and incredible fragile part of her and Edward.

Before she could even think about it, she flinched away from him and heard a low growl rumble in her throat. It was a foreign sound even to her own ears, instinctual though it was.

A slow smirk slid across Giovanni's face as his hand went to roughly cup her naked breast.

"Oh the fun you and I are going to have together, Miss Swan."

Bella's jaw continued to clench and her stomach coiled as he harshly fondled her breast. Her chin went up defiantly but she said nothing.

Giovanni reached and grabbed her chin roughly, yanking her head to look in his direction.

"And what a pleasure it will be to break you in."

Bella tried to move her head away from him but he only tightened his hold on her chin, flexing his fingers and digging into her soft skin so that she had to look at him. They stared at each other before Giovanni finally smirked again and pushed her chin away. Bella let a shallow breath out of her nose and watched his movements, silently fuming. She felt tears continue to try to make their way out, but she fought them.

She would not dignify any of his comments with a response.

And she would not let him see her cry.

Giovanni's hands moved down her naked torso again before pausing at the tight curls at the apex of her thighs. Before she could react, he roughly grabbed at the fine hair there. "What the fuck is this?" he demanded in disgust.

Bella's stomach clenched in an attempt to expel its contents as he manhandled her most intimate of areas. Giovanni saw her body stomach convulse and then laughed softly to himself. "God, Masen is fucking disgusting. This will be the first to go."

"Giovanni!"

Both Bella and Giovanni froze at the impatient voice. Giovanni then rolled his eyes and released her. With a look of annoyance Giovanni kicked down at the table she was on, which released a lock on the wheels. He then moved over to where her wrists were fastened and pushed at the table, moving her towards the opening of the door.

"Miss Swan gets to participate too."

The cold excitement in the voice that was speaking made Bella shudder. She looked around her but could not see anything other than shining concrete, due to her horizontal angle and the restraints binding her. She tried to be brave, but with Giovanni's leering face upon her and more people in the room, her heart once again began to pound rapidly.

"Oh come on," said a voice that she recognized from the drug store. "Stand her up, Giovanni," Luca complained.

"What is she doing here?" he demanded.

Edward!

Bella felt her heart surge as Giovanni stopped rolling the table and moved to her side to bend down.

Edward was here! Oh God, Edward was here. Oh God.

Giovanni moved the weird table contraption that she was on. And then she was no longer horizontal but was instead, almost entirely vertical. She felt all of her weight shift with gravity and her arms strained with the weight that pulled against her cuffs. And as she was straightened up, she saw a sight that would haunt her for all the days she had left.

Edward Masen on his knees before the most dangerous crime lords in the world.

And he was looking at her as impassively as he read the paper. Yet as she met his stare, she saw unabashed terror in his eyes and her breath got caught in her throat.

He was trying to protect her.

He was trying to tell the Brigados that she was not important to him, not important enough to torture to hurt him. His cool gaze was his last ditch effort to spare her of the worst of what was coming.

"We wanted to meet this interesting woman of yours," Roman explained with a chuckle as he walked over in Bella's direction.

Everyone in the room watched him stalk towards Bella in the same way that his son had. Bella's body tensed, very aware of her nudity in a room of clothed and armed men. Her eyes did not leave Roman's as she tried to fight her body from shaking. Roman lifted his hand to cup her cheek.

"And interesting you are," Roman crooned softly, his touch softer than Giovanni's had been. "You seemed to have ensnared my spy…whether he'll admit it or not," he said, almost fondly.

Bella said nothing but kept her chin raised, despite her instincts to recoil from his touch.

"And what has he told you about me and my family, Miss Swan?" asked Roman, his tone immediately less fond.

Bella again said nothing.

Roman lifted his hand away from her cheek only to bring it back harshly down as he struck her. It was painful and surprised her, leaving the tears to threaten to fall from her eyes.

"You will answer me when I ask a question," he hissed menacingly.

Bella breathed in and out her nose as she looked at him.

"I don't know who you are," she finally replied, her voice hoarse.

She was prepared this time, but his second blow still made her head whip to the side from absorbing the force of his hand. She couldn't help but let out a gasp at the pain this time.

"You will not lie to me when I ask a question," he hissed again.

Bella bit down on her lip and finally lowered her eyes from his, once again fighting the urge to sob. As she looked down she saw Edward, still on his knees. And a beefy man in a suit standing behind him with a gun to his neck, forcing him to let straight forward and not over in Bella's direction.

Bella felt heavy at the crushing realization that this would very likely be the end for them both. Her only hope for them was to stall long enough on the off chance that Carlisle and her friends could find them…because looking over at Edward –her beautiful, powerful, and strong Edward- and seeing him undefended and on his knees, she knew they were in trouble.

"Like I said. I'm afraid my curiosity has gotten the better of me," Roman said, stepping away and looking over at Edward. "And I don't believe you don't know who I am…just like I don't believe Edward here does not know the code to that safe."

Bella's eyes shifted over to Luca and for the first time realized what he had in his arms.

She was careful not to react.

It was the safe.

With all of Edward's reports on the Brigados.

It was the inexplicable truth that Edward was not really Roman's man.

And it was death for them both.

"And of course I could simply kill you both immediately. But, what's the fun in that?"

Giovanni cleared his throat, causing Roman to look over at him in annoyance.

"Yes," he snapped impatiently. "You can have her, son. But I'm telling you, you won't be able to break her in enough to find a buyer."

Bella saw Edward's shoulders and neck tense.

"I don't need to find a buyer," Giovanni said petulantly. "I'm keeping her for myself."

Bella was biting down on her lip so hard she once again tasted blood in her mouth. But it was the only way she was keeping her entire body from convulsing from sheer terror at the conversation they were having regarding her apparent future as some type of sex slave.

"Giovanni," Roman snarled warningly. "Not now."

That seemed to put him momentarily in his place and allow Roman to continue his diatribe.

"We'll make a game out of it," he said as his glee returned. "Luca, you take Edward here. Giovanni, you may take the bitch – keep it civil. You each get one tool of choice. Whichever of you can get their respective love bird to admit to their lies will be rewarded."

Giovanni let out a delighted laugh. "Just like old times!"

Luca looked equally as eager but upon looking from Edward to his father, he frowned. "Not sure it's a fair competition. That bitch will give in way easier than him."

Roman gave his son an indulgent shake on the head. "See son, what you don't understand is that I do believe Masen is quite attached to the girl. And Giovanni will continue to play with her until he gives me the information I want. Besides, you can have our whistleblower over here to help you."

Whistleblower?

Bella then realized it was not just the Brigado family and the beefy man in the room.

There was an intern from Cullen Consulting with them.

Matthew Romero.

For a moment, she only saw fire. Her fists clench with rage as realized who it was who had betrayed him. And she'd been the one who hadn't fired him when she had the chance. This was her fault.

"Pick your instrument and get started," Roman concluded, clapping his hands together.

Luca picked a knife.

Giovanni selected white powder and a bottle of water.

Bella watched with trepidation as Giovanni approached her with a wicked gleam in his eyes. She swallowed and tried to be brave but her resolve to withstand his efforts was crumbling before he even began.

"You're choosing to scar her?" Roman asked incredulously. He had lit another cigar and was gallantly spectating. "You really aren't planning on selling, are you?"

Giovanni smirked. "It'll remind her who owns her."

Luca was taking off his suit jacket and wasn't able to contain Edward's growl.

"She has friends in high places, Roman. Don't touch her."

Edward's words were icy and furious.

Roman rolled his eyes. "Dovidus," he said with a nod.

Dovidus stepped offered and kicked Edward in the back, so hard and so fast that Edward was barely able to brace himself before he was thrown to the ground. Dovidus lifted his foot and delivered another powerful kick and Edward's ribs cause him to wince. The large man kicked once again and Bella couldn't help but gasp as he surely broke several of Edward's ribs.

"Get rid of his shirt while he's down there," Luca called from where he was speaking lowly with the Matthew.

Bella watched in horror as Dovidus yanked at Edward's shirt, causing his arms to go back at a painful angle while the white dress shirt was ripped away.

"Enough of that…for now," Giovanni crooned, turning Bella's attention from one horror to another. Giovanni moved at some things and then Bella was lowered once again so that she was horizontal, still painfully exposed to the room. He set the powder and the water near her hip on the table. He snapped on some latex gloves as he looked down at her.

"It is such a shame that we're going to destroy this beautiful skin you have…" he murmured, reaching to stroke her breast down to her hip. Bella's forehead was beginning to sweat and her heart was pounding painfully in her chest while her stomach tied itself deeper into a knot.

Edward let out a growl of pain.

Bella's body seized as she tried to look over to him. Giovanni was standing purposely in the way, but she could see Matthew advance over to where Luca was with Edward.

"Over here, bitch," Giovanni ordered. He raised his hand and delivered a swift slap to her cheek, causing her to look over at him and see what he was doing.

She watched as he dumped some of the white powder onto her left side, a few inches below where her pubic bone was. It was no more than a golf ball sized amount. She tensed when the powder made contact with her skin but when she didn't feel pain, she relaxed.

"I'll ask you what my father asked," he said quietly. "What has Masen told you about my family?"

Bella shook her head.

Giovanni's lips curved into that sinister smile.

"So be it."

And then he unscrewed the water bottle and began to pour it over the powder on her leg. It was a little at first, but as soon as the two elements connected, they formed a reaction. Pain shot through her as the chemical started to sizzle and burn her skin. She gritted her teeth together and said nothing.

Giovanni smirked and tipped more water onto the patch.

Edward let out another pained growl from somewhere in the room.

Bella's body was tensed and her forehead was sweating as the substance reacted violently to the water. She could hear the sizzling as it burned through her flesh. She tried to fight it, but she couldn't help herself from letting out a yelp out pain as she writhed unwillingly against her restraints as pain seared through her.

"Please," she whimpered, unable to stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth.

Giovanni rolled his eyes but reached over with a cloth to wipe the water and chemical off of her leg. That did little to ease her skin that has shriveled under the chemical and was angry, red, and blistered. Bella exhaled in temporary relief, even though the pain still seared through her and she could still hear the sizzling of her skin.

The relief was short lived as he picked up the white powder and once again dumped it on her skin. This time it was a more liberal amount and it was on her opposite side, near her hip, a few inches away from where her pubic hair line was. Bella tensed. Her hands were clenched so tightly into fists that she was sure her finger nails had pierced the skin of her palms.

Giovanni raised the water bottle to his lips and then paused when they heard a thud and a muffled groan of pain. He looked behind him, a vantage point Bella still could not see, and then chuckled. He took a sip of water and then looked down at her.

"Now, let's try this again," he said, moving the water bottle to hover over the spot. "What has Masen told you about us?"

Bella tried to take a deep breath through her nose. When she let it slowly out of her mouth without saying anything further, Giovanni's eyes narrowed and he began to let the water dribble onto her skin.

It hurt more this time.

She couldn't stop the cries that left her mouth as her skin burnt under the substance. She let out a scream as it sizzled against her and small bubbles start to burst as it boiled on her soft skin.

"What has he said?" Giovanni demanded.

Bella writhed as much as she was able to against her restraints, unable to stop the tears that were now escaping her eyes at the sheer pain. She heard another yell from Edward, and it was only the sound of his own pain that prevented her from crying out the truth to Giovanni.

"Nothing!" she cried, banging her head back as her skin was burnt away.

Giovanni sighed this time, picking up the cloth and wiping the bubbling reaction of her skin. It did little to ease the pain and Bella let out another cry as her burnt skin was exposed to the air, still sizzling from its role in hosting the reaction.

"You really are going to be difficult to break in," he sighed, shaking his head. "Lucky for you I always did enjoy a challenge. We'll have some fun, you and I."

Bella turned her head, wanting to looking anywhere other than him. Giovanni was having none of that and reached over to grab her hair. He fisted her locks and yanked so hard that he surely got a handful of hair pulled out. He pulled tightly as he forced her to look at him. "You'll look at me when I speak to you, bitch," he snarled before shoving her head back against the metal torture rack.

Giovanni picked up the powder and moved away from his spot, allowing Bella to catch a glimpse of her love. Her eyes were blurred with tears that she had yet to blink away, but when she saw him, she couldn't fight the gasp from erupting.

Edward was on knees again, his hands cuffed to a post in front of him. And his back was dripping with blood as Luca stood behind him with a knife and carved away at his back. She watched as Luca twisted his wrist, causing the knife to go deeper. Edward let out a yell that pierced through Bella's heart. Luca stopped in annoyance, took a step back and nodded at Matthew, who had a black cane in his hands. Matthew stepped over to Edward, raised the cane, and then lowered it down swiftly, striking Edward and causing his back to arch from pain.

Bella let out a sob as she watched Matthew step back and let Luca resume. Edward tried to roll his shoulders but stopped as soon as Luca went back to work at carving up his back.

She closed her eyes as the tears burned her vision. But she opened them again when she felt something brushing the exposed skin of her under arm.

Giovanni didn't hesitate to pour plenty of water this time and Bella couldn't fight the scream that went through her. The pain was even more intense this time, mixing with the agony caused from the different inflictions.

"I do believe that's the most sensitive skin on a body," Giovanni informed her over her whimpers, a cruel smirk on his face as her flesh sizzled away. Bella barked out a sob as she heard the delicate skin burn away. Giovanni eventually rolled his eyes and wiped at the reaction with the cloth, though it did little to relieve the sensation.

Bella squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the pain. She opened them when she felt another sensation on her body.

It was more powder.

Bella tensed as Giovanni began to dump even more liberal amounts onto her skin. This time, he was pouring it on her chest, in between and around her breasts. He scoffed as she began to shake in fear.

"We'll try it again, shall we?" he said, setting down the powder and picking up the water.

But before he could begin, they were interrupted.

"Sir!" a man exclaimed, bursting into the room with another man following behind him. "Our entrances have been breeched!"

"What?" Roman demanded angrily.

"Sir, it's the SWAT team. They've entered the compound."

I will see you all in a day or two.

You continue to astonish me with your investment in this story and I could not be more humbled by your responses and engagement.