Chapter 1
Chapter 1
I jolted awake from a nightmare, my phone ringing. “Ms. Harper, today is the deadline for your mother’s burial plot renewal. If you don’t renew it, her ashes will have to be removed.”
I was on a business trip out of town. My hand trembling, I called my husband, Zane, urging him to renew it quickly, to not let anyone disturb my mother’s peace.
Still shaken, I leaned back in my chair, the dream’s images still swirling in my mind. Two months later, a zombie crisis, erupting from City A, would sweep across the globe, turning the entire world into a living hell. During the outbreak, my family was trapped in our remote mansion. We waited two months, and just as we were completely out of supplies, the army finally arrived for rescue. Tears of joy streamed down my face. I urged my family to hurry and drive away with the army, but my sister, Vivian, insisted on putting on her makeup before she’d leave. As the army’s departure time drew closer, I wanted to drag her out, but Zane blocked my way. “What’s wrong with Vivian, a girl, wanting to look pretty before she leaves? It’s the army’s job to serve the people, so what if they wait a bit?” My father, Arthur, and stepmother, Martha, nodded in agreement, calmly sitting back down. I was in disbelief, but I didn’t have time to waste on them. I turned to leave, but Zane grabbed me, saying a family should stay together. He snatched my car keys. Finally, as Vivian leisurely applied her eyeliner, the zombie horde suddenly attacked. We couldn’t retreat in time and were all torn apart by zombies. The phantom pain of being bitten by zombies still lingered on my skin. Now that I had a chance to do it all over again, I absolutely wouldn’t make the same mistake twice!
When my plane landed, I felt a faint unease. I changed direction halfway and headed to the cemetery. To my shock, a brand new tombstone, engraved with an unfamiliar name, stood on my mother’s plot. The staff looked bewildered. “After we called you last time, no one renewed the plot. To avoid any mistakes, we even notified your father. He specifically said not to renew it and that we could dispose of the ashes however we pleased.” A chill ran through me. My heart ached painfully. I went crazy, searching through countless unclaimed urns in the warehouse until midnight, finally returning home clutching a small, cold urn.
I hadn’t been home for half a month, and the sight that greeted me in the entryway left me stunned, unable to recover for a long time. My cozy home, which I’d meticulously decorated, now looked like a frozen cave. All the appliances and furniture were gone. The beige curtains I’d carefully chosen were half-torn down, draped over the dirty floor. My husband, Zane, was directing the housekeepers to take down our wedding photo, which had hung on the wall for three years, and casually throw it in a corner. “What are you doing?” The scene before me made me feel like I was dreaming. After a long moment, I managed to squeeze out a question. A flicker of panic crossed Zane’s eyes. “Harper, why are you back so suddenly…?” I stared at him, my fingers trembling as I clutched the urn. “If I hadn’t come back early, how would I have known my mother’s grave had been dug up?” Zane’s usually gentle face showed a hint of helplessness, as if he were looking at an unreasonable child. “You don’t understand, Vivian was reborn from the future! The world ends in two months, and every penny in this house needs to be spent wisely. Wouldn’t it be better to buy more food with the money for the cemetery renewal? Why are you still being so difficult at a time like this?”
Chapter 2
It clicked then; Vivian had been reborn too. But I didn’t let it show on my face. I clenched my fists, my voice filled with anger and disbelief. “You actually believe Vivian’s talk about the end of the world? You’ve all gone insane!” “Dad’s company landed several big projects thanks to my predictions!” Vivian strutted down the stairs, looking cocky. “All the money earned from that was used by Dad to buy an entire warehouse of common medicines. Those will be more valuable than gold in the apocalypse.” Her eyes held a sneer. She moved close to Zane, delicately caressing his flat stomach. “I might as well tell you the truth, I’m already carrying Zane’s baby. If you’re smart, you’ll serve me well. In the apocalypse, I might even spare you a bowl of food.” My icy gaze flickered between their faces. It looked like they’d been having an affair long before the apocalypse was supposed to hit. Zane suddenly felt a chill run through him. “Harper, we’ve been married for three years and you haven’t had a child. I’m an only son, you need to consider carrying on my family name.” Only son, my foot. This nobody from nowhere acting like he had a royal lineage to pass down. I scoffed, pulling the plain silver ring off my finger and tossing it at Zane’s feet. “Since you put it that way, I definitely need to consider your family’s royal lineage. Since Vivian says there are two months left, let’s hurry and finalize our divorce before the end of the world.” Zane stared intently at the wedding ring I’d just discarded like trash, his brows furrowed. Our family backgrounds were vastly different. After he graduated college, I willingly gave up everything to help him start his business. We huddled together in a cramped, damp basement, finding warmth in each other. To make money, I worked five jobs a day, my hands raw and aching from washing dishes in freezing water, even in the dead of winter. He used the first money he earned to buy me this ring, a simple silver band with just a tiny chip of diamond embedded in it. Later, his business took off, and I, with my impressive qualifications, successfully joined a prestigious medical research institute. Yet, I still cherished that ring like a precious treasure. My reaction clearly caught him off guard. Zane could no longer keep up his gentle facade, looking utterly incensed. “Harper, stop throwing a tantrum! At a time like this, our family needs to unite to overcome this difficulty. Perfect, tomorrow, you should go around and borrow money from all your friends and colleagues. You’re well-liked, borrowing a few million shouldn’t be a problem!” I sneered, too lazy to bother with such absurd talk, and walked straight upstairs to rest. But when I woke up the next day, I was shocked to find my room door wide open, and my entire wardrobe, filled with all my gold, silver jewelry, and designer bags, was gone. I bit down hard on my lower lip, sharply demanding Zane where my things had gone. He acted completely unconcerned. “You were sleeping soundly, I didn’t want to wake you. Those jewelry and bags are useless anyway. Selling them means we can buy a few more bags of rice.” I could barely contain the rage bubbling within me. “What about the gold ring under my pillow? That was my mother’s only keepsake!” Zane’s voice faltered, then he sighed. “Harper, your mother passed away so many years ago. But you still have your father, Vivian is your blood relative, and I’m your family too. Why can’t you make some sacrifices for your own family?” His casual, entitled tone shredded what little sanity I had left. I suddenly burst out laughing, but big tears rolled down my cheeks. His breathing hitched. He wanted to say more, but I pushed him out of the room. I collapsed amidst the chaos on the floor, tears streaming uncontrollably, yet a helpless smile curved on my lips.
Chapter 3
Luckily, to be safe, I had secretly sold my most valuable jewelry under the cover of night, leaving only the cheap trinkets Zane had bought me and a few eye-catching designer bags. When Zane had to personally move the wardrobe so as not to wake me, a full ten million dollars had already landed in my bank account. But I never imagined he would stoop so low as to steal my mother’s keepsake to sell for money. The hatred from the previous life, where he had personally dragged me into a dead end, surged within me. I silently wiped away my tears, a plan slowly forming in my mind. Since your whole family is united in preparing for the apocalypse, how could I not lend a hand?
After some time, my phone rang again, the caller ID showing one of my father’s company shareholders. “Harper, get to the company quickly! Your father’s gone mad! He’s going to sell all his shares!” My heart tightened. I rushed over, only to find my father, Arthur, and Vivian confronting a group of shareholders. This company was founded by my parents together. For it to become an industry giant today, my mother had poured her heart and soul into it. I couldn’t let him ruin it like this. My father saw me, his eyes lighting up. “You’re just in time! Hurry and transfer your shares too, and give me the money to reinforce the mansion.” Vivian lifted her head proudly, looking at me as if I were already dead. In her eyes, I had neither the good fortune of being reborn nor the willingness to humble myself, so I was doomed. Her family would stay in their impenetrable fortress, laughing at my miserable end. The shareholders were all company veterans, caught completely off guard by my father’s sudden move. Fearing he was being scammed, they clamored to dissuade him from doing something foolish. “If you don’t want the company to have problems, there’s another solution.” Zane walked quickly towards me, a polished smile playing on his lips. “You just need to buy out your father’s shares.” My fingers clenched so tightly my nails almost pierced my palm, my knuckles white. Zane’s expression was as calm as if he were discussing tomorrow’s weather, yet his words were like a dull knife, slowly carving into my heart. Vivian scoffed. “Her? Want to buy out Dad’s shares? Does she even have that kind of money?” Cold sweat trickled down my back. I couldn’t believe my former husband had schemed to this extent. My father had set the price very low for a quick sale, and all my liquid and illiquid assets barely amounted to enough. “So, even if it means spending your entire fortune, you want to keep this company, right?” Zane whispered softly in my ear. His voice was gentle as always, yet it felt like steel blades piercing me. He watched me with keen interest, like he was sizing up prey he was sure to capture. In two months, companies and shares would be nothing but garbage. And now, he wanted to squeeze every last bit of value from me using this garbage. After the apocalypse, if I wanted to survive, I’d have to swallow every humiliation and humbly bow at his feet. My gaze fixed on Zane’s utterly hypocritical face, my own pale and bloodless. “It’s a deal!” The paperwork was quickly done. My father, smugly thinking he’d offloaded a huge burden, had no idea he was giving up their last lifeline. Ever since my father remarried, the company shares had been tightly clutched by my stepmother. She never imagined there would be a day she’d hand them over to me on a silver platter. Vivian triumphantly announced that they had sold all their properties, and the whole family had moved into the out-of-town estate. The cash from selling all their assets was transformed into bags of rice and instant noodles in the warehouse, and long-lasting potatoes, winter melons, and cabbages in the cold storage. Construction crews were working feverishly at the mansion, building various illegal structures. Vivian smiled proudly, “When the zombies attack, these watchtowers will be the best observation points.” I snorted, about to leave, but Zane wouldn’t let me go. He forcibly dragged me away. A burly man with a scarred face looked me up and down, his lecherous gaze making me incredibly uncomfortable. “This is Mrs. Zane, quite the looker.” The man rubbed his hands together and placed a contract in front of me. “Mr. Zane is in a hurry to borrow fifty million. We don’t exactly distrust him. But we’d appreciate Mrs. Zane signing too. If something unexpected happens, a wife should naturally help pay it back, right?”
Chapter 4
Before I could even speak, Zane pulled me aside. “In two months, who’s going to care about these debts! Just sign it quickly! The things we’re hoarding can save lives! By then, even the government will be begging us to sell supplies. What’s this small amount of money compared to that?” He was already this insane, even borrowing from loan sharks. He was truly seeking his own destruction. I scoffed internally, but put on a heartbroken expression. I clutched his leg, pleading repeatedly, “You’ve taken all our money and gambled it away! Please, I beg you, come to your senses! You won’t be able to pay back a loan shark!” The man instantly became wary. Fifty million wasn’t a small sum. If Zane really gambled it all away, even dismembering him wouldn’t help. Seeing the money about to slip away, Zane was furious. He kicked me away. “Bitch, what nonsense are you spewing!” Vivian gracefully stood by Zane’s side, smiling with pursed lips. “Zane, Harper said she wants a divorce, so she’s hardly Mrs. Zane anymore, is she? I’ll sign it.” Zane glared at me, immediately scribbled a divorce agreement, and threw it in my face. I was almost laughing from pure rage. Every clause stated that all marital property was unrelated to me, meaning I was to leave with nothing. Though, given the current situation, there wasn’t much left of our marital property anyway. I added a clause at the end of the agreement. Zane scoffed, agreeing without a second thought. A month later, clutching my freshly issued divorce certificate, I felt a sense of immense relief, completely unfazed by Zane’s grim, thunderous expression. Time trickled by, drawing closer to the date Vivian constantly chattered about. Zane and the Arthur family believed they had made all the necessary preparations, and their actions became increasingly reckless.