Novels by Miije

Thomas gave a soft laugh.“Lying is fine as long as the liar is useful. But I don’t have much patience for someone who exaggerates what he knows.”Daniel’s face reddened. He could feel sweat running down his temples, and his cracked lips hurt whenever he spoke.He had already crawled across the road and offered to betray Charity.If Thomas decided he had nothing valuable to contribute, he might be left with nothing more than humiliation.“Wait, sir. There’s something I know for certain.”Thomas looked at him expectantly.“The side gate. That’s the weakest point.”“What makes you say that?”“I damaged it before. I tried getting inside when Charity refused to answer me. I jammed a crowbar into the latch, and the iron bent. Her workers came afterward and patched it, but they didn’t replace the entire gate. I’m sure it&rsquo

“Those fuel trucks came here several times. I watched them pump fuel into underground tanks through a valve near the driveway. She has a huge solar array on the roof, too. That's how she keeps the lights and everything else running even when the rest of the street has no electricity.”He spoke faster as he realized Thomas was finally paying attention.“She also has plenty of supplies. I've seen her drive out at night and return at dawn with her vehicle loaded. Food, water, everything. She has been preparing for this for weeks, and I know the layout of the property because I used to live with her.”Daniel's hands trembled against the asphalt as he tried to keep up with his life.He wasn’t exactly sure about what he was doing. But he was desperate. Anything for survival.He was exhausted, humiliated, and desperate, but the possibility of gaining something from Thomas made him forget his discomfort.

Charity almost laughed.Thomas had managed to turn an attempted takeover of her property into an offer that supposedly benefited everyone involved.He wanted her house, her generators, and her fuel, but he was presenting the arrangement as though she should be grateful for the opportunity to accommodate him.She pressed the gate speaker.“What I do with my property and my fuel is no longer anyone’s business.”Her voice was flat and unmistakable.Thomas’s smile remained in place, although something tightened around his eyes.“Come now, Charity. I don’t think you’ve fully considered what I’m offering. Gold bars, a secure residence, and access to the resources of Vance Heights. You can’t expect to maintain this entire property indefinitely on your own.”“I didn’t ask for your advice.”“You’re making a mistake.”&ldqu

During their earlier encounter, he had assumed Charity was simply an unusually prepared young woman who had become obsessed with buying supplies.He had even tried to persuade her to sell him her fuel contract, convinced that she had purchased far more than she could possibly need.She had refused him, then managed to lose the vehicles he sent to follow her.At the time, Thomas had found her stubbornness irritating.Now, looking at the heavily fortified property and the private deliveries arriving despite the city’s collapse, he was beginning to understand that he had underestimated her badly.This was no ordinary residence.It was a hidden fortress stocked with resources, protected by security, and apparently equipped to remain comfortable long after the rest of the city had become uninhabitable.Thomas’s eyes narrowed as he studied the villa, and a sharp, greedy glint appeared in them.He had just realized t

The faint crack of the seal made Vanessa lift her head.Charity raised the bottle and took a slow sip, allowing the cold liquid to settle comfortably in her throat.She did not rush, nor did she make a show of enjoying it. She simply drank while Vanessa watched, her eyes fixed on the bottle as though it were the only thing left in the world.“Do you remember the last time I was dying from the heat?” Charity asked calmly.Vanessa blinked.“What?”“In my previous life, I was sent out to search for food because you wanted a particular snack. I walked through the heat until my body could barely move. I was so dehydrated that I had to drink filtered urine just to stay alive, and when I finally made it back, I found you sitting comfortably in a cool house, eating chilled fruit with Daniel.”Vanessa’s fingers tightened around the iron bars.She stared at Charity, unable to understand why

Her gaze briefly settled on Daniel’s swollen wrist and Vanessa’s torn clothing, but she showed no surprise and offered no questions.She simply turned back to the workers, checked the final carton on the manifest, and stepped aside as her gate began to close.Daniel watched the heavy metal panels move between them, his empty stomach twisting with resentment as the last glimpse of Charity’s secure driveway disappeared from view.Daniel’s legs finally gave way a few steps from Charity’s gate.He dropped onto the curb, his injured wrist pressed against his chest as he struggled to catch his breath.The journey back had drained whatever strength he had left, and the heat radiating from the asphalt made his already miserable condition worse.Beside him, Vanessa stumbled forward before falling onto her hands and knees.Neither of them had the energy to get up.The armored courier was al