Apocalypse: Survivor-in-Law

Zero Tolerance

"Are you actually stalking me now?"

​Caroline broke the silence in the luxurious boardroom. She pointed her finger directly at Malcolm.

​Victor Hargrove turned around to face the back of the room. He saw Malcolm standing calmly on the thick carpet.

​Victor immediately let out a loud and theatrical sigh. He looked at the city officials sitting around the table.

​"I sincerely apologize for this interruption gentlemen," Victor said smoothly. "This is my absolute trash of an ex husband in law."

​The wealthy investors and city board members immediately began to chuckle. They were desperate to flatter the billionaire heir.

​"How did a homeless beggar even get past the front desk," one of the board members asked loudly to impress Victor.

​Caroline crossed her arms tightly over her chest. She looked at Malcolm like he was a stray dog that had wandered into a Michelin star restaurant.

​"Malcolm you need to leave right now," Caroline demanded. "I told you yesterday that we are completely finished. Following me to a private business meeting is absolutely pathetic."

​Malcolm did not even look at her. His eyes were locked directly on the city auctioneer sitting at the head of the table.

​The property Malcolm needed was an abandoned heavy industry warehouse. It sat right in the center of Brighthaven.

​It was an ugly and massive concrete block. Normal developers absolutely hated it because demolishing the reinforced foundations cost a fortune.

​But for Malcolm those exact foundations were the key to his survival. They were strong enough to support a two meter thick titanium shell and a massive geothermal heating system.

​He needed that specific property to survive the extreme cold apocalypse. He was not leaving this room without the deed.

​Victor noticed that Malcolm was completely ignoring Caroline. This blatant disrespect instantly infuriated the arrogant rich kid.

​"Did you not hear her speak to you?" Victor snapped. He slammed his expensive crystal water glass down onto the table.

​Victor turned to the two massive private security guards standing near the entrance.

​"Throw this piece of garbage out of my boardroom," Victor ordered loudly. "If he resists you have my permission to break his legs. I will cover the legal fees."

​The two heavily muscled guards immediately stepped forward. They cracked their knuckles and reached out to grab Malcolm by his shoulders.

​Malcolm simply turned his head and looked at the guards. His eyes were completely dead. They were the eyes of a man who had frozen to death and clawed his way back from hell.

​The two guards instantly froze in place. A sudden and terrifying chill ran down their spines.

​Malcolm completely ignored them. He walked past the paralyzed guards and approached the massive mahogany table.

​He stood directly opposite Victor and Caroline.

​"I am not here for your fiancee Victor," Malcolm said. His voice was incredibly calm and flat. "I am here for the public property auction."

​The entire boardroom erupted into explosive laughter.

​Caroline laughed the loudest. She covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head in absolute disbelief.

​"You are here for a commercial real estate auction," Caroline asked mockingly. She turned to address the elite board members directly.

​"This man was my live-in husband until yesterday," Caroline announced to the room. "He has absolutely no job. He just sold his dead parents house for two million dollars because he was desperate for pocket change."

​The board members shook their heads in pity. They looked at Malcolm with extreme contempt.

​"Two million dollars cannot even buy the parking lot of this warehouse," the head auctioneer said dismissively. He waved his wooden gavel in the air. "Please escort yourself out sir before we call the police."

​"I offered five million dollars for the entire property," Victor bragged loudly. He puffed out his chest and smirked directly at Malcolm.

​"I am going to tear down that ugly warehouse," Victor continued. "I am going to build a massive luxury nightclub right on top of it. It will be an engagement present for Caroline."

​Victor wanted to completely crush Malcolm. He wanted to show the poor man the massive gap in their social and financial status.

​Malcolm looked at Victor with absolute indifference. Building a nightclub right before the world froze solid was the ultimate joke.

​In exactly one month that luxury nightclub would become a frozen tomb filled with dead socialites.

​"The current bid on the floor is five million dollars from Mr Hargrove," the auctioneer announced. He raised his wooden gavel to finalize the sale. "Going once."

​"Ten million dollars," Malcolm said smoothly.

​The wooden gavel slipped completely out of the auctioneer's hand. It clattered loudly onto the polished table.

​The entire room fell into a dead and suffocating silence.

​Caroline dropped her arms to her sides. Her jaw hung slightly open.

​Victor stared at Malcolm in absolute shock. "What did you just say?"

​"I said ten million dollars," Malcolm repeated clearly. He pulled out a leather chair and casually sat down at the table. "That is double your current offer Victor. Do try to keep up."

​The sheer audacity of the insult hit Victor like a blow to the face.

​Victor was a man who prided himself on his massive wealth. He had just bragged to the entire city board about his thirty million dollar net worth.

​Being publicly outbid by a man he considered absolute trash was the ultimate humiliation.

​Victor's face turned completely red with blistering rage. He slammed both of his hands flat onto the mahogany table.

​"You think this is a joke," Victor screamed. "You think you can walk into my meeting and play games with me."

​Victor looked around the room. The board members were watching him closely. Caroline was watching him.

​If Victor backed down now he would look weak. He would look like a coward who got bullied by a homeless man. His massive ego simply could not allow that to happen.

​Victor gritted his teeth. He knew ten million was already a massive overpayment for an abandoned warehouse.

​"Fifteen million dollars," Victor shouted. His voice echoed violently off the walls.

​The board members gasped collectively. Fifteen million dollars was an astronomical amount of money for that specific plot of land.

​It was also exactly half of Victor's entire liquid net worth. He was literally risking his financial future just to save face in front of his new fiancee.

​Victor glared fiercely at Malcolm. He was breathing heavily. He expected the poor man to completely fold under the overwhelming financial pressure.

​Malcolm did not fold. Malcolm simply leaned back in his leather chair and smiled.

​It was a cold and predatory smile. It was the exact same smile he had given Caroline right before demanding a divorce.

​Victor suddenly felt a terrifying spike of panic in his chest. He realized he had just committed fifteen million dollars to a completely useless property.

​What if Malcolm was just driving the price up to ruin him.

​"Wait a minute," Victor shouted suddenly. He pointed an aggressive finger directly at the head auctioneer.

​"This man is a complete fraud," Victor screamed in pure panic. "He does not have ten million dollars. Caroline just proved he only has two million."

​Victor turned and glared at Malcolm with supreme hatred.

​"He is a fraudulent beggar trying to disrupt a legal city auction," Victor yelled at the board members. "I demand you verify his funds right this second. When his account comes up empty I want him arrested for financial fraud.”