Villainess.exe-Chapter 71: The Escape

[Evelina’s POV—Warehouse—Continuation]

The rope finally gave way.

The fibers loosening under patience and blood and stubborn will. I stilled my hands immediately, letting them hang limp again, breathing shallowly and slowly.

I rose silently, knees protesting, wrists screaming, and crossed the short distance to Alina. My fingers worked fast, loosening the rope biting into her skin.

"Sweetheart," I whispered, low and steady, "stay behind me. No matter what."

She nodded instantly. No questions. No tears.

Good.

I scanned the room—two chairs, frayed rope, rusted walls. Nothing else. No mercy here. Just a cage pretending to be a room.

Then—footsteps. Muffled voices through the wooden door.

"Boss is out for ten minutes," one man muttered. "Keep an eye on them."

Ten minutes.

That was an eternity.

That was nothing. This was our window—before Cassian came back to enjoy the ending he thought he owned.

I grabbed one of the chairs, fingers tightening around cold metal legs.

"Alina," I murmured, heart pounding now, sharp and loud in my ears, "behind me."

She scurried instantly, small hands clutching the back of my shirt. The footsteps stopped outside the door. The handle turned. The door creaked open—SLAM!!!

I swung the chair with everything I had.

Metal met skull.

THUD—!!!

"AAGHHHH—!!!"

The man crashed backward, blood already blooming at his hairline. His gun skidded across the concrete. I dropped the chair, lunged, and snatched the gun up before he could even scream again.

No hesitation.

No shaking hands.

I pulled the trigger.

The sound was deafening in the narrow space. He went still. Alina gasped—but stayed silent. I scooped her up, arm locked tight around her, gun raised as I burst out of the room—

"CATCH THAT BITCH—!!!"

Shouting exploded behind us.

Boots thundered. Gunfire cracked the air.

I ran.

Not blindly. Not recklessly. Every step calculated. Every corner cleared. A man rounded the hallway—BANG.

Down.

Another reached for his weapon—

BANG.

I didn’t slow.

Didn’t look back.

Didn’t think about blood or bodies or what this would cost later.

I stripped weapons as I ran—guns torn from fallen hands, shoved into my belt, my pockets, anywhere I could fit them. Ammunition mattered. Survival demanded it. Alina clung to me, face buried in my shoulder, fingers digging in—but she didn’t scream.

She trusted me.

The warehouse doors loomed ahead.

Freedom, if we could reach it. I kicked one open, firing blindly over my shoulder as shouts echoed behind us. Night air slammed into my lungs, cold and sharp and real.

"Let’s go," I breathed fiercely.

I ran harder.

Bullets tore past us, sparks flying as they hit metal. One grazed my arm—hot pain—but I didn’t stop. Pain was irrelevant. Fear was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

I burst into the open yard, sprinting through shadows, ducking behind crates, and firing back whenever someone got too close.

Anyone who stepped into my path—I ended them.

Not because I wanted to.

Because I had to. Because Theo trusted her with me. Because Cassian thought kidnapping a child made him powerful.

And because this game thought it could decide who survived.

I ran until my lungs burned and my legs screamed. Alina still clutched tight against my chest—and for the first time since this nightmare began, the end of war has begun.

*** 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

[Later—Somewhere in the forest]

"Catch that bitch—!"

The shout tore through the trees behind us.

I ran.

Bare feet slammed against dirt and stone, thorns ripping into my skin, and branches clawing at my arms like the forest itself wanted blood. My legs burned—cut, bleeding, screaming—but I didn’t slow.

I couldn’t.

Alina clutched me tightly, her small body trembling against mine, breath coming in shallow, frightened gasps. Her eyes fluttered, exhaustion pulling her under.

The forest thickened. Darkness closed in. Shadows twisted between the trees.

I ducked behind a fallen log, collapsing to one knee, chest heaving. I pressed Alina close, shielding her with my body.

"Aunty..." she whispered, voice breaking. "I’m scared..."

I cupped the back of her head, fingers shaking now despite everything. "It’s okay, baby. I’m here. I won’t let them touch you."

My heart pounded so hard it hurt.

Voices echoed closer.

"Search everywhere!"

"She can’t have gone far!"

"Split up—now!"

Boots crunched through leaves. Flashlights cut through the darkness like blades.

We were running out of time.

And then—DING—!

A familiar, cruel glow flared before my eyes.

[System: Would you like to use a Teleportation Card? Privilege Available: Transport to Theo Vinter’s secret location—Valemire Village Home.

[YES]  [NO]

Valemire Village.

Theo’s last safeguard.

I slammed my finger on [YES].

"THERE—!" someone shouted. "I SEE HER—!"

Hands reached through the branches. Light blinded me.

[System: Transporting...]

I clutched Alina tighter, arms locking around her like a shield made of bone and blood. A violent wind exploded around us.

WHOOSH—!!!!

The world twisted.

Sound tore away. Gravity vanished. My feet left the ground. Alina screamed once—short, startled—and then buried her face in my neck.

I shut my eyes.

Held on and then—THUMP.

Soft ground.

Solid.

Real.

The wind died instantly, like someone had cut reality off with a blade.

I opened my eyes.

Silence.

No shouting. No flashlights. No gunfire. We were inside a small wooden house—warm light glowing softly from a lantern, a stone fireplace cold but intact, and simple furniture untouched by violence.

Safe.

Too quiet.

"Did we...?" I breathed, hardly daring to move.

Alina lifted her head slowly, eyes wide, scanning the room.

[System: Teleportation Successful.]

My knees finally gave out.

I sank to the floor, still holding her, forehead pressing to hers as my breath shook loose.

"We’re safe," I whispered, disbelief cracking my voice. "You’re safe."

Alina sniffed, then nodded weakly, her arms tightening around my neck. Outside, the forest was peaceful. No footsteps. No hunters. Only the quiet of a place that wasn’t meant to be found.

And as I held her there—inside Theo Vinter’s last secret.

I slowly set Alina down, my body finally remembering what pain felt like now that survival wasn’t screaming over it. The moment I let go, my legs gave up on me entirely. I sank to the wooden floor and then stretched out fully, staring at the ceiling, chest rising and falling like I’d just run out of the world itself.

"Aunty..." Alina’s voice wavered as she knelt beside me. "Are you okay?"

I turned my head slightly toward her, managing a weak smile. "Yes, baby. I’m safe."

Then, more honestly, I added, "...Just very, very exhausted."

She nodded seriously, as if she understood far more than a child should. Then, without asking, she lay down beside me, her small body curling close like she’d decided this was the safest place in the universe.

"Aunty," she said softly, eyes heavy, "you’re brave."

I blinked.

"I will be like you one day," she continued sleepily. "I won’t cry. I’ll protect people too."

A quiet laugh slipped out of me—tired, warm, real. I reached out and ruffled her hair gently. "You don’t have to stop crying to be brave, sweetheart," I murmured. "But... yes. You’ll be even stronger than me."

She smiled faintly.

I didn’t even realize when sleep took me.

One moment I was listening to the forest breathe outside the walls... The next, the tension finally loosened its grip.

We slept there on the floor—side by side—no nightmares, no alarms, no blood. Just two survivors, wrapped in exhaustion and silence, resting for the first time since the world decided to hunt us.

For now—We were safe.

***

[The Next Day—Theo’s secret House]

[The Next Day—Theo’s Secret House]

The first thing I felt was a sharp sting.

"Ouch—" Pain snapped my eyes fully open.

White ceiling. Soft light. The faint scent of antiseptic. And Theo Vinter—kneeling beside the bed, cotton in his fingers, carefully dabbing at the wounds on my legs.

"...Am I still dreaming?" I asked hoarsely.

He smiled without looking up. That slow, dangerous curve of his lips. "It’s nice to know my babe dreams about me."

He pressed the cotton again.

"Ouch—! That hurts," I hissed.

His smile deepened. Satisfied. "Good. Then you’re awake."

I stared at him for a second longer—at the steady hands, the focused eyes, and the way he handled my injuries with a gentleness that didn’t belong to the man who turned enemies into graves.

"...Yeah," I muttered. "Definitely not a dream."

"Just lie still," he said softly. "Let me disinfect this properly."

I nodded and watched.

Theo Vinter—mafia king, butcher of bloodlines, nightmare carved into the system itself—cleaned my wounds like they mattered. Like I mattered. His touch was careful, precise, almost reverent. Nothing rushed. Nothing careless.

"So... gentle," I murmured before I could stop myself.

He glanced up at me, golden eyes unreadable for a beat. Then he wrapped the bandage around my leg, firm but warm.

"A husband should tend to his wounded wife," he said calmly.

...

"Ugh," I groaned. "Seriously?"

He chuckled, low and pleased, and then slid onto the bed beside me as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Before I could protest, he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.

"Thank you, babe," he said quietly. No teasing this time. No smirk. "You protected Alina."

His voice dropped, rougher. Real.

"Thank you... truly."

Something warm bloomed in my chest—unwelcome, dangerous—and my face heated despite myself. I looked away quickly, annoyed at my own reaction.

"...You’re welcome," I muttered.

He smiled, softer now, and for a moment—just one dangerous moment—the world felt still and Safe.