Back inside the villa!
Eveline's severed head lay on the floor, blue eyes frozen, half-lidded, staring into nothing.
Wang Xiao crouched beside her, his voice low, too calm for what he'd just done.
"Did I allow you to die yet?"
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then—
"—gh…!"
A wet gasp escaped her, her eyes snapped into focus. Terror rushed in like a flood as breath returned to her lungs that weren't connected.
Her lips shook as she tried to speak.
"…W–why…?"
Wang Xiao grabbed her head by the hair, lifting it effortlessly.
Her expression contorted, fear, humiliation, and a strange, involuntary relief.
He looked directly into her trembling eyes.
"You think you can run from me just by dying? Did I not just ask you a question?"
Eveline's voice quivered, barely a whisper.
"…I-I wasn't… trying to run…"
Lies.
Both of them knew it.
Wang Xiao turned toward her body slumped on the couch, blood dripping slowly down the torn neck.
