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OTTAWA — The woman, shackled and cuffed, was a prisoner in a Gatineau, Que., rooming house, police say.

The man she had loved, the father of her children, allegedly threatened her with vile punishments as he held the key to her freedom in his hand.

This, police say, was the terrifying ordeal a 43-year-old woman suffered this week.

The woman went to work at about 6:30 a.m. Monday.

Sylvain Beaulne, 47, was waiting, police say.

Armed with a knife he allegedly forced the woman to drive to his rooming house on Gamelin St., where police say he bound and cuffed her.