"The next morning, when Wasilio's wife finally gathered courage to venture out, she had the authorities open our door. Assunta was found still breathing, though horribly burned. Every drawer and closet had been forced open, and the money stolen. Benedetto never appeared in Rogliano again, and I've neither seen nor heard anything about him since that day.
These dreadful events occurred before I came to serve Your Excellency. It would have been pointless to mention Benedetto, since all trace of him was lost, or my sister, since she was dead."
"And how did you view what happened?" Monte Cristo asked.
"As punishment for the crime I had committed," Bertuccio answered. "Oh, those Villeforts are a cursed family!"
"They truly are," the count murmured in a dark tone.
