Home / System / 90 Days Before The Apocalypse I Chose Revenge / CHAPTER 2: THE SHEEP'S CLOTHING

Share

CHAPTER 2: THE SHEEP'S CLOTHING

Author: Hannie
last update publish date: 2026-09-21 16:04:38

​The heat outside my penthouse windows was suffocating, but inside my chest, the cold phantom memory of dying at minus sixty degrees kept my mind dangerously sharp.

​Julian thought he was the master puppeteer, pulling my strings while Clara and Beatrice enjoyed the luxury of my family’s wealth. To keep them completely confident in their control, I needed to play the devoted, brainless heiress to perfection.

​At 10:00 AM, my penthouse doorbell rang.

​I took a deep breath, forcing my tense shoulders to drop, and deliberately loosened a few strands of hair around my face to look slightly flustered and unwell. When I opened the door, Clara stood on the threshold, dressed in a pastel designer suit, holding two iced lattes.

​"Evie!" Clara squealed, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation and tossing her luxury handbag onto my leather sofa. "Julian told us you had a little dizzy spell this morning. Are you okay, sweetie? You look so pale!"

​Sweetie.

​Hearing that voice—the same voice that had casually swallowed my last tin of beef while watching my frostbitten skin turn black—made my stomach churn. A sharp, phantom chill stabbed through my knees. My fingers twitched, threatening to clench into a fist, but I caught myself instantly. I forced a weak, self-deprecating smile onto my face and rubbed my temple.

​"I'm fine, Clara... just a bad headache," I murmured, lowering my eyes timidly. "The heatwave is just unbearable. I'm so sorry about the bank transfer delay. Is Julian still upset with me?"

​Clara took a sip of her latte, her eyes flashing with a mix of hidden contempt and triumphant smugness. She walked over, patting my shoulder with a hand adorned with a diamond ring I had purchased for her last birthday.

​"Oh, you know how Julian is when business gets delayed," Clara cooed, her tone dripping with patronizing sympathy. "He was furious, of course. He works so hard for our family's future, Evie. You really need to be more reliable. But don't worry, I smoothed things over for you. I told him you're just fragile and didn't mean to mess up his deal."

​"Thank you, Clara," I whispered, keeping my tone full of naive gratitude. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

​"That's what sisters are for!" Clara smiled brightly, sitting down on my couch and pulling out her phone. "Anyway, since the seventy million transfer is delayed until tomorrow morning, Mom and I need you to give us your black corporate card. We're fitting dresses for the Summer Gala tonight, and Julian said you'd take care of the bill."

​In my past life, I would have handed over the card with an eager smile, desperate to buy their affection.

​I walked over to my desk, picked up my black credit card, and handed it to her. Clara snatched it out of my hand so fast her manicured nails almost scratched my palm.

​"You're a lifesaver, Evie!" Clara beamed, tucking the card into her bag. "Oh, by the way, Mom wants you to come to the family manor for dinner tomorrow evening after you finish at the bank. Julian will be there too. We need to go over the final papers for the trust property transfers."

​The trust property transfers.

​That was their next trap. In my past life, tomorrow night was when Beatrice and Julian convinced me to sign over the deed of my late father's northern mountain land—the very land where Mount Sentinel sat—claiming it was for a "tax shelter." They had stolen my land, used my money, and left me with nothing.

​"I'll be there," I said, making my voice sound eager and submissive. "I'll make sure the bank transfer goes through first thing in the morning, and then I'll come straight to the manor."

​"Good girl," Clara said condescendingly, blowing me a fake kiss as she gathered her things. "Get some rest, okay? You look terrible."

​The moment the door clicked shut behind her, the timid, weak expression melted off my face.

​I walked straight to the bathroom sink, turned on the cold water, and scrubbed my shoulder where Clara had touched me until the skin turned red.

​Let them enjoy my credit card today, I thought, looking up at my reflection in the mirror. Let them buy their thousand-dollar dresses and celebrate their victory. Every cent they spend today is just another nail in their coffin.

​I pulled out a secondary, untraceable phone I had bought weeks ago and dialed my private real estate attorney, Arthur Pendelton.

​"Arthur," I said, my voice cold, clipped, and completely devoid of the weak tone I had used with Clara.

​"Evelyn?" Arthur answered, sounding surprised. "I thought you were at the developer's office with Julian today."

​"Cancel the trust transfer documents for tomorrow," I commanded smoothly. "And listen to me carefully: I need you to initiate a quiet, discreet liquidation of my secondary stock portfolios and personal offshore holdings. Transfer the liquid cash into an unlisted corporate account under the name 'Vanguard Zenith.'"

​Arthur gasped on the other end of the line. "Evelyn! Liquidation? That's over eighty million dollars in equity! If your stepmother or Julian finds out—"

​"They won't find out because you aren't going to tell them," I interrupted quietly, carrying an authority that made Arthur go dead silent. "My stepmother does not have legal oversight of my father's primary inheritance, regardless of what she claims. Prepare the cash transfers by 5:00 PM today."

​"I... understood, Evelyn," Arthur stammered, completely taken aback by my sudden shift in posture. "I will have the documents ready for your private digital signature within the hour."

​I hung up and checked the time. 11:30 AM.

​While Clara and Beatrice were busy using my black card at luxury boutiques downtown, and Julian was boasting to his board members that his obedient heiress would hand over seventy million tomorrow morning, I grabbed my dark sunglasses, threw on a simple hoodie, and headed down to the subterranean garage.

​My matte-black SUV roared to life as I pulled out into the blistering city heat.

​My destination was the northern industrial district—to the hidden headquarters of Vanguard Tactical Construction.

​As I drove, the news on the radio continued its ominous hum:

​"...unprecedented thermal spikes recorded in the Northern Granite Ridge, where ground temperatures have risen by fifteen degrees in forty-eight hours. Geologists are calling it a statistical anomaly, while power companies report rolling blackouts across three eastern states..."

​I gripped the steering wheel tight, my left inner wrist pulsing with a faint, silver warmth.

​The earth was already screaming its warnings. The heatwave was just the calm before the atmospheric storm. While Julian and my family danced in the sun, oblivious to the coming ice, I was about to lay the foundation of my fortress.

Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App

Latest chapter

  • 90 Days Before The Apocalypse I Chose Revenge    CHAPTER 25: THE BITTER MORNING

    ​EVELYN’S POV​Sunlight cut through the open terrace doors like a dull yellow blade, bringing with it the suffocating weight of another blistering morning. Even at 6:00 AM, the air rolling off the city concrete was thick, stagnant, and scorching hot, clinging to the walls of the penthouse like a damp wool blanket.​I lay curled on the velvet sofa, keeping my eyes shut, listening to the shallow, irritable breathing of the three people trapped in my living room.​They had barely slept. Through the night, I had watched them through the narrow slit of my lashes—Julian slumped uncomfortably in the leather armchair with his sweat-stained shirt unbuttoned at the collar, Beatrice stiff-necked on a dining chair with her head lolling sideways, and Clara curled awkwardly on the hard chaise lounge, swatting angrily at the warm air whenever she stirred.​Look at them, I thought quietly, a cold, sharp clarity settling deep behind my ribs beneath my trembling, fragile exterior. They think they're gu

  • 90 Days Before The Apocalypse I Chose Revenge    CHAPTER 24: THE POISON IN THE SWEETNESS

    ​JULIAN’S POV​The second batch of unsalted chicken soup finally sat on the glass coffee table, steaming gently into the suffocating, hundred-degree air pouring through the open terrace doors.​I stood beside the velvet sofa, keeping a soft, patient, and utterly devoted smile fixed on my face as I watched Evelyn slowly lift a spoonful of the bland liquid to her pale lips. My white dress shirt was plastered to my spine with sweat, my tea-stained trousers clung uncomfortably to my calves, and a dull, throbbing headache pulsed right behind my eyes.​"Is that better, sweetheart?" I asked, my voice dripping with practiced warmth and gentle concern. "No salt at all, just like you wanted."​Evelyn swallowed the broth, blinking her red-rimmed, watery eyes up at me with pathetic, fragile gratitude. "Yes... it's better, Julian. Thank you for making Stepmother cook it again. You're so good to me."​"Of course I am, baby," I murmured, reaching down to lightly stroke her damp hair, fighting the su

  • 90 Days Before The Apocalypse I Chose Revenge    CHAPTER 23: THE TASTE OF ASHES

    ​The silence in the penthouse living room was thick, heavy, and suffocating, broken only by the low, steady hum of the central air conditioning vents.​I remained curled beneath the cashmere blanket on the velvet sofa, my eyes closed, breathing slowly as if I had drifted into a restless, fragile sleep. Through the narrow slit of my lashes, I watched the three people who had spent the last few days treating me like a stray dog.​Julian sat rigidly in the leather armchair, his tea-stained trousers stiff against his legs, staring down at his muted phone with a jaw clenched so tightly a muscle pulsed beneath his skin. Across the room at the dining table, Beatrice sat straight-backed, her manicured nails tapping a slow, silent rhythm of pure rage against the polished wood. Beside her, Clara slumped in her chair, her face bare and flushed from scrubbing off her expensive perfume, glaring daggers at the back of my head.​They were trapped in my living room like unpaid servants on night watch

  • 90 Days Before The Apocalypse I Chose Revenge    CHAPTER 22: THE SHATTERED PORCELAIN

    ​The silver tray holding my empty broth bowl sat on the glass coffee table, gleaming under the warm living room chandeliers.​Julian was still sitting on the edge of the table, his expression bathed in that practiced, suffocating warmth, holding a linen napkin as if he were tending to a fragile, helpless child. Beatrice had returned to her dining chair, adjusting her reading glasses as she examined my late mother’s porcelain valuation sheets, while Clara leaned back against the chaise lounge, scrolling idly through her phone.​They looked so comfortable. They looked so entirely convinced that they had broken me into a quiet, weeping doll who would sit under a cashmere blanket for the next thirty days until the court-appointed evaluator cleared them to strip my father’s estate bare.​Thirty days.​Arthur Sterling’s legal requirement echoed clearly in my mind. For an entire month, Julian, Beatrice, and Clara had to keep me calm, comfortable, and residing in my own home. If I had another

  • 90 Days Before The Apocalypse I Chose Revenge    CHAPTER 21: THE SILENT MEASURE

    ​By 7:00 PM, the blood-orange sun had melted completely behind the jagged skyline, leaving the sky stained in a deep, bruised purple. The heatwave outside showed no sign of breaking; even through the thick, triple-paned glass of the penthouse, the evening felt heavy, trapped under a dense dome of urban pollution and humidity.​Inside the living room, the atmosphere was quiet, thick with an unspoken, tense performance.​Beatrice sat at the dining table, her reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose as she methodically went through a stack of my late mother’s old porcelain valuation sheets. Clara lay sprawled on the chaise lounge nearby, her eyes glued to her phone, her thumb flicking rapidly across the glowing screen as she exchanged hidden text messages with Julian.​I remained on the velvet sofa under the cashmere blanket, pretending to drift in and out of a light, fitful sleep.​Every time I stirred or shifted my weight, Beatrice would look up from her papers with that sicke

  • 90 Days Before The Apocalypse I Chose Revenge    CHAPTER 20: THE VELVET CAGE AND THE TEA

    ​The penthouse elevator chimed with a soft, melodic ring, its polished brass doors sliding open to reveal the dim, quiet luxury of my foyer.​The transition from the sweltering, 106-degree oven of the street to the sixty-five-degree air-conditioned chill of the apartment was so abrupt it made my lungs seize. A violent shudder ripped through my body. My silk robe felt paper-thin against my shivering skin, and my weak left ankle gave out the moment my shoe touched the hardwood floor.​"Whoa there, sweetie," Julian cooed smoothly, his strong arm instantly wrapping around my waist, catching me before I could hit the floor.​His grip was firm, supportive, and seemingly tender. To anyone looking on, he was the picture-perfect devoted fiancé, supporting his fragile, recovering bride after a traumatic afternoon.​"Careful, Evie," Julian whispered into my hair, his breath warm against my neck. "You're still so weak. Let me get you to the sofa."​"Thank you, Julian..." I whimpered, letting my h

More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status