Chapter 2

Xander's movements froze instantly. He stayed in that bent position for a long time without moving.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The knocking came again, followed by loud shouting from outside:

"I'm back. Open the door!"

I recognized that voice. It was Lily's boyfriend, Harrison.

Xander hesitated for a moment, coughed twice, then straightened up and moved toward the door.

He put on clean clothes, held the knife behind his back, and stopped at the door.

My heart twisted into a knot. If Harrison came in and fought with Xander, maybe I could escape in the chaos.

Thinking this, I moved my body closer to the edge of the bed, ready to run at any moment.

Xander hesitated for a while, then opened the door.

"Why isn't it done yet?" Harrison sounded slightly angry.

My heart sank. Harrison actually knew about their affair. From the looks of it, the two of them had already planned this together.

Xander smoked his cigarette without saying anything.

Only then did Harrison notice the blood on Xander's body and the nauseating smell of blood in the air. His face turned pale.

"What did you do?"

Xander smiled eerily.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"You killed her?"

Harrison was stunned. He rushed forward and grabbed Xander by the collar.

"You said we were just playing around. Why did you kill her?"

"I thought you didn't care whether she lived or died."

Xander looked completely calm, as if killing someone was a perfectly ordinary thing for him.

Harrison collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.

Xander's eyes were cold, but his lips curved into a smile.

"Help me dispose of her. If the police find out, you won't escape either."

Harrison got angry too and shouted:

"Bullshit! You're the one who killed her. I don't know anything. Don't drag me into this."

Xander suddenly attacked, grabbed him by the collar, and put the knife to his throat.

"Let me rephrase that. Help me dispose of her, or I'll kill you right now."

Harrison finally got scared. His lips trembled and he couldn't speak. He just nodded forcefully.

Xander let go of him and tilted his head slightly, signaling him to start.

Harrison walked trembling to the bed. Even though he was mentally prepared, when he saw the horrible state of Lily's body, he still threw up.

"Useless."

Xander watched him coldly, picked up two thighs, and turned to go into the kitchen.

I crouched under the bed, watching Harrison chop up the body while vomiting.

Suddenly, one of Lily's severed limbs fell to the floor.

Harrison bent down and suddenly froze.

He saw me hiding under the bed.

My eyes trembled. I held up one finger and made a shushing gesture.

Harrison instinctively looked toward the kitchen without saying anything.

His mouth moved slightly. I could read what he said.

"Run. Call the police."

I shuddered and nodded heavily.

Xander was still chopping forcefully in the kitchen, completely unaware of what was happening on my side.

I slowly crawled out from under the bed and walked barefoot across the blood-covered floor.

I moved slowly toward the door.

The bed was only a few dozen steps from the door, but to me now, it felt like crossing an endless distance.

As I walked, I kept my eyes on the kitchen, afraid Xander would suddenly turn around and see me.

Perhaps because the sound of Xander chopping was too loud, and Harrison deliberately made noise, I successfully escaped out the door.

In the hallway, a cold wind blew past, making me shiver. Only then did I realize my clothes were completely soaked with sweat. I could wring water out of them.

I wanted to run, but my legs went weak and I collapsed to the floor.

I don't know if it was my imagination, but I felt the doorknob behind me move slightly.

The intense desire to survive triggered my greatest strength. I crawled and scrambled upstairs.

Lily and I lived in the same building. She was on the tenth floor, I was on the eighteenth.

When I bought my apartment, Lily advised me not to buy the eighteenth floor because it was unlucky.

But I wasn't superstitious. The eighteenth floor was also very cheap, so I bought it anyway.

I ran from the eleventh floor to the eighteenth floor in one breath. When I reached my door, I fumbled to unlock the smart lock, rushed inside, and finally felt a bit safer.

I slapped myself hard to confirm that everything I just saw wasn't a nightmare.

In my memory, Xander was a gentle-natured man, a standard good guy who would rather suffer himself than let others suffer.

I really couldn't connect him with a psychotic murderer.

And from his behavior, this was very likely not the first person he'd killed.