"Leave us. Untie him on your way out"
Dante handed out instructions to his aides, each of them downcast by his reaction even though they had expected something different.
I stared at the man he had now become, cornered and quiet from the effects of failure, a man who had lost his will to even thrive anymore.
The cottage was a tapestry of warmth and nostalgia, its walls adorned with rustic wooden beams that crisscrossed overhead like the branches of an ancient tree. The light embers of dusk filtered through the small, diamond-paned windows, casting dappled patterns on the worn oak floorboards. A heavy, handwoven rug lay at the center, its intricate patterns telling stories of generations past.
