Though her ears were ringing with pure static, she could read the movement of his lips with absolute clarity: Evelyn, if you dare let go, I will kill you myself!
Before the structural integrity could fail further, Alen and Julian broke through the smoking ruins of the staircase, navigating the shattered timber to reach the second-floor ledger. Working with lightning-fast precision, they hauled Evelyn and Michael out of the collapse zone, guiding the four of them out the reinforced rear exit of the burning villa.
The moment Evelyn's feet touched the grass of the courtyard, her mind fractured entirely. She began to weep hysterically, running blindly toward the smoking, tangled wreckage of the frontal lawn.
"Gabriel! Gabriel!" Her face was stark white, her lips continuously chanting his name like a broken mantra as her hands tore at the debris.
