Apocalypse: Survivor-in-Law

Zero Mercy

"Wipe your face."

​Malcolm looked down at the pathetic woman kneeling in the dirt. Caroline was staring up at him with ruined makeup and desperate eyes.

​"Trust is not built on empty apologies or fake tears," Malcolm said coldly. "Trust is earned through hard labor."

​Caroline sniffled loudly and wiped the dark mascara from her cheeks. She looked up at him with a glimmer of desperate hope.

​"I will do anything Malcolm," Caroline pleaded. "Just tell me what I need to do to prove my love to you."

​"I am securing thousands of tons of supplies over the next three weeks," Malcolm stated. "I need someone to personally manage all of the logistics."

​Malcolm pointed toward the massive open concrete bay of the warehouse.

​"You will receive every single delivery truck," Malcolm commanded. "You will manually unload the cargo. You will haul the crates inside and organize them exactly to my specifications."

​Caroline stared at the massive empty warehouse. Her mind struggled to comprehend the sheer scale of physical labor he was demanding.

​"You will not ask a single question about what I am buying or why I am buying it," Malcolm added smoothly. "If you perform this job perfectly for three weeks I will consider remarrying you."

​Caroline hesitated for exactly two seconds. Her immense greed completely overpowered her pride.

​She remembered the three billion dollar account balance projected on the boardroom wall. She was willing to break her back for a few weeks if it meant securing a golden ticket to unlimited wealth.

​"I accept," Caroline said eagerly. She scrambled up from the dirt and brushed off her ruined designer dress. "I will start right now."

​"Good," Malcolm replied. He gestured toward the open construction gates. "Then cut out the dead weight right now. End it with Victor."

​Caroline did not even flinch. She pulled her expensive phone from her purse.

​Victor was standing just outside the chain link fence. He was watching the exchange with a mixture of confusion and rising anger.

​He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

​Victor pulled it out and read the text message. His face instantly drained of all color.

“​We are completely finished. Do not ever contact me again”

Victor looked up from his glowing screen. He stared through the metal fence at Caroline in absolute shock.

​"Caroline what is the meaning of this?," Victor shouted from the sidewalk. His voice cracked with genuine humiliation.

​Caroline did not even turn her head to look at him. She simply tucked her phone away and walked confidently deeper into the dusty construction site.

​Victor was left standing completely alone on the hot asphalt.

​The wealthy neighbors gathered around the fence began to whisper and point at Victor. ​Victor gritted his teeth in blistering rage. He turned around and stormed back to his luxury car.

​He swore to himself that he would completely destroy Malcolm for this insult.

***

​The blistering summer heatwave aggressively punished the city of Brighthaven over the next three weeks.

​The daily temperature consistently hovered around ninety five degrees. The sun beat down on the concrete construction site like a blazing hammer.

​Caroline dragged a heavy wooden pallet across the loading dock. Her breath came in ragged and exhausted gasps.

​She was completely unrecognizable. Her expensive summer dresses had been replaced by stained and sweat soaked work clothes.

​Her perfect manicures were completely destroyed. Her fingernails were chipped and her soft palms were covered in bloody blisters.

​"Keep moving," a voice commanded through an external loudspeaker. "The next delivery of medical supplies arrives in ten minutes."

​Caroline stopped and glared venomously at the temporary mobile office parked near the warehouse entrance.

​The office was made of glass and sleek metal. A powerful air conditioning unit hummed loudly on the roof.

​Malcolm sat comfortably inside the mobile office. He was wearing a clean cotton shirt and sitting in a plush leather chair.

​The internal temperature of his office was a perfect seventy degrees. He casually sipped from a glass of iced lemon water.

​He watched Caroline struggle to lift a fifty pound crate of premium freeze dried beef.

​He did not feel a single ounce of guilt. He was treating her exactly like the disposable pack mule she had forced him to be all his life.

​Now the roles were completely reversed.

​Caroline dropped the heavy wooden crate onto the concrete floor. Her arms were shaking uncontrollably from the extreme physical exertion.

​She had spent the last three weeks hauling massive industrial water filtration systems. She had dragged hundreds of heavy tactical combat suits into the subterranean bunker.

​She had absolutely no idea why a billionaire was hoarding military grade survival gear and mountains of wagyu beef.

​She did not care about the bizarre purchases. She only cared about the massive payday waiting for her at the end of the month.

​She wiped the stinging sweat from her eyes and grabbed the wooden crate again. She dragged it toward the massive titanium vault doors.

​Malcolm watched her walk into the shadows of the bunker. He casually checked off another delivery manifest on his digital tablet.

​His preparation was nearly flawless. The Ironcrest engineering team had successfully completed the geothermal power grid yesterday.

​The two meter thick titanium exterior plates were fully welded and sealed. The automated internal hydroponic farms were already running on emergency backup power.

​He had successfully hoarded enough premium food medical supplies and heavy weaponry to last for three entire lifetimes.

​The calendar on his digital tablet displayed the date clearly.

​It was August 13. The extreme cold apocalypse was less than forty eight hours away.

​The final delivery truck pulled out of the loading bay and drove away into the city. The massive construction project was officially finished.

​Malcolm pressed a button on his control desk.

​The heavy titanium vault doors began to slide shut with a loud mechanical grinding noise. The bunker was finally sealed.

​Caroline stumbled out of the main gates just as the heavy metal doors locked into place.

​She was completely covered in thick gray dust and dried sweat. Every single muscle in her body screamed in agonizing pain.

​She leaned heavily against the exterior brick wall and gasped for air. She had actually survived the three weeks of brutal physical hell.

​She smiled weakly. She was ready to claim her ultimate reward. She was ready to become a billionaire wife.

​A tall shadow suddenly detached itself from the dark alleyway across the street.

​Caroline blinked her exhausted eyes. She watched a man in a tailored gray suit step out under the dim glow of a streetlamp.

​It was Victor Hargrove.

​Victor walked slowly across the empty asphalt street. He stopped a few feet away from Caroline and looked at her filthy appearance with supreme disgust.

​Victor reached into his tailored suit jacket. He pulled out a thick manila folder completely stuffed with verified financial documents.

​"You look absolutely pathetic Caroline," Victor said smoothly. He tapped the thick folder against his hand with a cruel and mocking smile.

​Caroline frowned and stood up straight. "Victor, what are you doing here? Leave me alone."

​Victor laughed a dark and vicious laugh.

​"I used my executive banking clearance to track your precious billionaire husband," Victor said. He held the financial documents up directly in front of her face.

​"I think you need to see exactly what you have been breaking your back for?" Victor whispered.