Apocalypse: Survivor-in-Law

Zero Risks

"Sign right here on the dotted line."

​Warren Lockwood tapped a heavy gold pen against the thick stack of legal documents. He was the most ruthless real estate broker in Brighthaven.

​Warren specialized entirely in distressed assets. He made his millions by exploiting desperate people who needed cash immediately.

​Malcolm stared down at the property deed on the desk. This house in the downtown district was the only inheritance his late parents had ever left him.

​In his previous life he had clung to it desperately. He had suffered constant humiliation from the Mercer family just to protect this single piece of his childhood.

​But a standard two story suburban home was completely useless for the upcoming extreme cold apocalypse.

A normal house would become a frozen coffin the moment the global power grid failed.

​To survive the absolute zero temperatures Malcolm needed a military bunker built deep into a solid mountain. He needed yard thick titanium walls and independent geothermal energy systems.

​Building a fortress like that required hundreds of millions of dollars. To get those millions by tomorrow he desperately needed a large chunk of seed capital today.

​Malcolm picked up the gold pen. He signed his name on every single page without hesitation.

​"You are leaving a massive fortune on the table," Warren said. He leaned back in his leather chair with a deeply predatory smile.

​"This downtown property is prime real estate. It is easily worth four million dollars on the open market. I am only giving you 2.4 million."

​Warren chuckled softly. "That is a forty percent loss, my friend. Are you absolutely sure about this."

​"I do not care about the loss," Malcolm replied instantly. His voice was completely flat and devoid of any emotion.

​"I need the liquid cash transferred into my account within two hours. If the money is delayed by a single minute the deal is completely void."

​Warren narrowed his eyes slightly. He had fully expected Malcolm to negotiate or beg for a little more money.

​Instead this young man was throwing away a generational inheritance without blinking.

​"You will have the funds in one hour," Warren promised. He quickly slid the signed documents into his leather briefcase before Malcolm could change his mind. "Pleasure doing business with you."

​Malcolm walked out of the air conditioned office and stepped into the blistering summer heat.

​The temperature outside was nearly ninety degrees. Normal people were walking the streets in light clothing and drinking iced coffee.

Soon enough, the entire city would become a frozen wasteland. The prime real estate Warren Lockwood just bought would be buried under fifty feet of solid ice.

​Malcolm pulled out his phone. He opened his secure mobile banking application.

​The 2.4 million dollars had already cleared. Warren Lockwood was extremely greedy but he was incredibly efficient.

​Malcolm immediately transferred every single penny into a high leverage international brokerage account. He needed to turn this seed money into a massive fortune by tomorrow morning.

​He searched the stock ticker for a very specific technology company. The name was Meridian Dynamics.

​In his previous life Meridian Dynamics was a struggling and obscure tech startup. They were currently on the verge of total bankruptcy.

​However Malcolm clearly remembered the frantic news broadcasts right before the apocalypse. Tomorrow morning they would unexpectedly announce a revolutionary solid state battery patent.

​The military would immediately step in and buy the entire company. The stock would surge an unprecedented ten thousand percent in less than forty eight hours.

​It was the biggest financial anomaly of the entire decade.

​Malcolm did not hesitate. He bought maximum leverage call options. He bet his entire net worth on a single aggressive trade.

​He closed his phone and got into his rusted sedan. It was time to cut the final string holding him back.

​Malcolm drove directly to the Brighthaven Civil Affairs Bureau.

​A sleek black luxury car pulled up right to the front steps a few minutes later. It was a custom European import worth more than most houses.

​Victor Hargrove stepped out of the driver seat. He wore a custom tailored gray suit that perfectly matched his arrogant demeanor.

​He walked around to the passenger side and opened the heavy door. Caroline stepped out wearing designer sunglasses and a bright summer dress.

​She had a triumphant and mocking smile on her face. They looked like a wealthy celebrity couple arriving at an exclusive party.

​Malcolm walked slowly up the concrete steps to meet them.

​"You are actually on time for once," Caroline said. She pulled down her sunglasses and looked him up and down with extreme distaste.

​"I thought you would be crying in an alleyway by now," she added.

​"Let us get this over with," Malcolm said smoothly. He walked past her without a second glance and entered the building.

​Caroline frowned deeply at his retreating back. She absolutely hated how completely unbothered he seemed.

​Inside the bureau the process was incredibly fast. They sat across from a bored government clerk.

​They signed the final separation papers in silence. The clerk stamped the documents with a loud and final thud.

​The marriage was officially terminated. Malcolm was finally a free man.

​Caroline picked up her copy of the official certificate. She looked across the desk at Malcolm with a mixture of pity and supreme arrogance.

​"My mother just told me the news on the ride over here," Caroline said. Her voice echoed loudly in the quiet lobby to intentionally draw attention.

​"Warren Lockwood called her office. You actually panicked and sold your parents house to him this morning."

​Victor laughed out loud. He leaned heavily against the wooden counter and shook his head in absolute disbelief.

​"You sold the only thing your dead parents left you for pennies," Victor said mockingly. "You gave away millions of dollars just to get some quick cash today."

​Victor looked at Malcolm like he was a complete idiot. "You are truly pathetic Malcolm. You have absolutely no business sense."

​"I needed the liquid capital," Malcolm said calmly. He carefully folded his divorce certificate and placed it into his jacket pocket.

​"What are you possibly going to do with two million dollars," Caroline asked. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest.

​"Are you going to rent a cheap basement apartment and drink yourself to death," she continued. "You have no job and no future without my family protecting you."

​Malcolm looked at her face. He remembered how that exact face looked when it was covered in black frostbite as he begged her for a single piece of bread in their past life.

​"He will probably gamble it all away by the weekend," Victor added smoothly. "People like him do not know how to handle real capital. They always end up right back in the gutter."

​Victor reached into his expensive suit jacket. He pulled out a sleek gold embossed business card.

​He tossed it onto the counter right in front of Malcolm.

​"When you go completely broke you can call my bank," Victor said with a cruel smirk.

​"Blackridge Capital is always hiring janitors for the night shift," Victor continued. "I will personally put in a good word for you since I took your beautiful wife."

​Caroline giggled softly at the insult. She linked her arm intimately through Victor's arm to assert her new status.

​Malcolm looked down at the gold card resting on the counter. Blackridge Capital.

​Victor had absolutely no idea what was about to happen.

​In exactly forty eight hours Malcolm would have over two hundred million dollars in verified liquid assets.

​"Thank you Victor," Malcolm said. His voice was deathly quiet and entirely genuine. "I will definitely be visiting you very soon."

​Victor frowned slightly. He did not understand the complete lack of fear or anger in Malcolm's eyes.

​Malcolm turned his back on them and walked out the heavy glass doors.

​Caroline glared intensely at his retreating back. "He is bluffing. He is just trying to save face because he knows he lost everything."

​Malcolm got into his rusted car and started the engine. He pulled out his phone and opened his brokerage application.

​The Meridian Dynamics stock had just opened for public trading. The price was already starting to climb rapidly on rumors of an upcoming announcement.

​His two point four million was already worth three million. Tomorrow morning it would be worth over two hundred million.

​Malcolm dialed a new number. It belonged to the chief engineer of Ironcrest Holdings.

​They were the most elite military contracting and construction firm in the entire country.

​"My name is Malcolm," he said the second the line connected. "I need you to start pouring military grade concrete into a mountain tonight. Money is absolutely no object.”