La testa della vipera

In a smoky, dim‑lit gambling hall the night stretches past three o’clock, cards clatter and voices rise as the players cling to their fortunes. At the center sits Lorenzo Lograve, a hulking man with a shock of short, reddish hair and a fierce, glittering stare. His abrupt irritation is broken when a servant rushes in with a message, forcing the brooding gambler to abandon the game and follow the urgent summons.

Waiting in a modest adjoining room is Marianna, a rough‑handed woman whose harsh exterior hides a desperate plea: Lorenzo’s wife is gravely ill, and the doctor’s arrival has been delayed. She confronts him with a mixture of boldness and fear, demanding that he set aside his games and attend to the crisis. As tension crackles between them, the reader is drawn into a clash of pride, duty, and looming tragedy that will test the limits of both characters.