Reborn 7 Days Before Doomsday: Sovereign of the Infinite For

Chapter 4

The glass towers of Zenith Plaza gleamed under the morning sun, reflecting the busy streets of Southport’s financial heart. Norman stepped out of his truck, holding a leather folder packed with his verified bank receipts. High above the city sat Mount Pinnacle Villa No. 1, an isolated fortress built into solid granite that he was determined to own before the day was out.

He walked through the revolving doors into the grand marble lobby, where the air was cool and smelled of polished stone. Before he could reach the reception desk, a sharp, familiar laugh echoed across the tiled floor. Standing near the central lounge was Elena, dressed in a brand-new designer dress, flanked by Damian and Beatrice.

Damian adjusted the cuffs of his expensive suit, holding a sleek black portfolio under his arm. He was loudly telling Beatrice about his upcoming interview for the regional directorship of Horizon’s parent group, boasting that the six-figure salary would put him in rooms Norman could never dream of entering.

Beatrice spotted Norman first, her eyes narrowing as she pointed a manicured finger straight at his chest. "Well, look who decided to crawl out of the gutter!" Beatrice scoffed loudly, drawing stares from nearby security guards. "What is an illiterate laborer like you doing in a place like Zenith Plaza? Did you honestly stalk us all the way downtown just to beg Elena to take you back?"

Damian turned around, a patronizing smirk spreading across his handsome face as he looked Norman up and down. "You really have no shame, do you, Norman?" Damian chuckled, casually slipping a hand into his pocket. "Did you think following us here would make Elena feel sorry for you? You're completely out of your depth."

Elena crossed her arms, raising her chin with haughty pride, though her eyes searched Norman's face for any crack of pain. "If you came here to apologize, Norman, it's not going to be that simple," Elena said, her voice sharp and dismissive. "You embarrassed me this morning, and you ruined Damian's paperwork. You can't just show up and expect everything to be fine."

"She's being generous even talking to you," Beatrice cut in, sneering with open disgust. "If you want my daughter to even look at you again, you'll sign that partnership contract today and pay for the emotional stress you caused her. You should be thanking Damian on your knees for keeping your father's business alive!"

Damian stepped closer, looking down on Norman with smug arrogance. "Horizon's parent company is already trying to hire me as their regional director, Norman. Other logistics firms are begging me to jump ship. If I walk away from Mercer Logistics today, your company collapses by Friday, because an uneducated fool like you wouldn't last a single week running a business."

Norman looked at the three of them, his expression as still and cold as deep winter water. There was no rage in his eyes, no hurt, and not a single trace of the desperate husband who had once run through fire to keep them fed.

"I don't need you to run my company, Damian," Norman said, his voice flat, clear, and steady. "And as for you, Elena, I made myself clear this morning. I have nothing left to say to you, and I have nothing left to give any of you."

Without waiting for a reply, Norman turned his back on them and walked straight toward the private executive elevators.

Elena’s face flushed bright red with sudden humiliation as people in the lobby turned to look. "Norman Mercer!" Elena shouted after him, her voice cracking with fury. "Don't you dare walk away from me! You think you can stand on your own two feet, but without me, you are nobody!"

Norman pressed the call button, stepping smoothly into the open elevator without a single backward glance. The brass doors slid shut, cutting off the sound of her voice completely.

Elena stood frozen on the marble tiles, her breath hitching as a strange, cold dread tightened in her throat. Norman had looked at her without anger, without jealousy, and without love. It was the look of a man staring at a total stranger, or a dead corpse lying in the road.

"Stop staring at the doors like an idiot," Damian snapped, shoving his heavy briefcase hard into Elena’s hands. "Hold this while I fix my collar. He's just putting on an act to make you feel guilty. A peasant who can barely read doesn't just stop loving a woman like you overnight."

Elena gripped the leather briefcase tightly, the rough handle digging painfully into her fingers. In all the years she had spent with Norman, he had never once spoken to her in that harsh, demanding tone. Norman used to carry every grocery bag, rub her sore feet, and speak with endless warmth, while Damian treated her like an unpaid assistant the moment things got stressful.

Beatrice patted Damian's arm, sneering toward the elevator bank. "Don't waste your energy on that fool, Damian. He probably wandered in here looking for the janitor's closet. Focus on your interview, darling."

Up on the top floor, the glass elevator opened into the quiet, luxurious boardroom of Horizon Real Estate. The Chairman, an elderly man named Arthur Vance, sat at the head of a massive mahogany table alongside two senior property directors.

Norman sat down in the leather chair, pulling out his verified bank authorization slips and sliding them across the dark wood. "I am here for Mount Pinnacle Villa No. 1," Norman stated plainly. "Twenty million dollars, full wire transfer today. I want the title deed, the biometric master codes, and the independent power grids transferred to my name within thirty minutes."

Arthur Vance picked up the bank verification slip, his eyes widening as he read the numbers confirmed by Apex Commercial Bank. A property that had sat unsold for nearly a year was suddenly being bought with cold, liquid cash without a single penny of mortgage.

"Mr. Mercer," Arthur Vance said, his voice instantly softening with immense respect. "We can certainly expedite the closing procedures. Everything is already prepared in our vault."

Thirty minutes later, down in the main lobby, Damian was sweating under his stiff collar, nervously pacing as he waited for his name to be called. Beatrice was complaining about the hard lobby chairs, while Elena stared silently at the polished floor, unable to shake the empty ache in her chest.

A soft chime rang through the lobby as the private executive elevator doors slid open.

Every head in the room turned as Arthur Vance personally walked out of the elevator, his hands clasped in front of him with deep respect. Flanking him were two uniformed security guards carrying a gold-embossed leather portfolio, following closely behind Norman.

"It has been an absolute honor doing business with you, Mr. Mercer," Arthur Vance said, bowing slightly as he spoke. "The biometric codes for Mount Pinnacle Villa No. 1 are now permanently bound to you, and our security team will hand over the keys at the gate."

Damian froze in place, his jaw dropping open as the color drained from his face. Beatrice stumbled back a step, clutching her gold necklace with trembling fingers, while Elena stared at Norman in absolute, speechless horror.

Before Damian could process what was happening, a woman in a sharp gray suit walked out from the human resources suite. She looked at Damian with cold, professional detachment, holding a clipboard in her hand.

"Mr. Cross?" the HR director said curtly. "Our executive committee has decided to cancel your directorship interview today. We need to clear the main floor for our primary client, and your application does not meet our firm's standards. Please exit the building."

Damian felt as if he had been slapped across the face in front of a hundred people, his cheeks burning red with humiliation. "Wait! You can't just cancel my interview! Do you know who I am?!"

The security guards stepped forward, blocking Damian's path and gesturing firmly toward the glass street exit.

Just then, Walter Sterling walked into the lobby through the front doors, carrying a sealed legal folder under his arm. He stepped up beside Norman, nodding with crisp efficiency. "The district court approved the emergency separation filings, Norman. All joint accounts are frozen, and the uncontested agreement is ready for final execution."

Norman took the thick folder and the gold pen from Walter's hands, turning around to face Elena. He walked up to her, his gaze steady, unyielding, and as cold as ice.

"Sign the papers, Elena," Norman said, placing the documents on the glass table between them. "You keep the leased apartment and the car you drove here. Everything else belongs to the Mercer estate, and our marriage is officially over."

Elena stared down at the crisp white pages, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She looked up into Norman's dark eyes, searching frantically for the gentle man who used to look at her like she was his entire world. There was nothing there—only a vast, empty silence that made her soul shiver.

"Norman..." Elena whispered, her voice trembling so violently she could barely speak. "Are you really doing this? We've been together for three years... you can't just throw everything away over a fight..."

Damian stepped forward, his eyes burning with frantic greed and panic as he stared at the twenty-million-dollar real estate folder in Norman's hands. He grabbed Elena’s shoulder, his fingers digging in with bruising force.

"Sign it, Elena!" Damian hissed through gritted teeth, terrified that Norman's massive new debts would drag them both down. "The idiot must have taken out suicidal loans from the underworld to buy that mountain house! When the lenders come to collect, he'll be ruined! Sign it so you aren't tied to his debt!"

Elena looked at Damian’s twisted, ugly expression, then back at Norman’s calm, unmoving face. Her fingers shook as she picked up the pen, feeling a strange, suffocating finality settle over her chest. She pressed the pen to the paper and scribbled her name across the dotted line, her vision blurring with hot, bitter tears.

The moment the legal stamp touched the document, a crisp, golden chime echoed inside Norman's skull.

[Mission 1 Successfully Completed: Toxic Karmic Chains Permanently Severed!]

[Reward Issued: Infinite Time-Stasis Storage Dimension Unlocked!]

[Mission 2 Issued: Fortify Mount Pinnacle Citadel and Hoard 10,000 Tons of Survival Supplies within 5 Days!]

Norman tucked the divorce agreement inside his jacket, took the property deed from Arthur Vance, and gave the Chairman a brief nod before turning toward the glass doors. Elena watched him leave, her heart sinking with the terrifying realization that Norman was never coming back.

Outside, Norman climbed into his truck. The unlimited space hummed to life inside his mind as he pulled onto the main villa, his eyes fixed on the western mountains. The citadel was his. The clock was ticking.