HEIRS OF THE RISING KINGDOM

"Open the door, Devlin! Please!"

I hit the steel door with both fists. My hands were bleeding. The cold bit into my skin like knives. Minus fifty degrees. Behind me, the zombies were getting closer. I could hear them groaning in the snow.

"I gave you everything!" I screamed. "I transferred the shares! I gave you the safe house! Let me in!"

The small window in the door slid open. Devlin's face appeared, warm and smiling. Then Eris moved into view beside him. She was wearing his sweater. His arm went around her waist.

My heart stopped.

"You're sleeping together," I whispered.

Devlin laughed. "Nice thumbprint, by the way. It opened every account you had."

"Three years," he added. "Three years of playing the perfect fiancé. I'm so glad I don't have to pretend anymore."

"Thanks for the billions you left behind, babe," Eris said sweetly. "Devlin and I will spend them well."

She touched the necklace on her neck. My mother's necklace. The last thing Mom ever gave me.

"Sis, honestly," Eris said, tilting her head, "all that blood on you kind of matches this necklace. Too bad the things out there don't appreciate the look."

"Why?" My voice broke. "How could you do this to me? You liars!"

The window slammed shut.

A hand grabbed my shoulder from behind. Then another. Rotten teeth sank into my neck.

"I'll kill you both!" I screamed into the snow. "I swear I'll kill you both!"

Then everything went black.

...

I gasped and sat up.

Soft sheets. Warm air. Sunlight coming through the curtains.

I touched my neck. No blood. No bite. My skin was smooth.

"What?" I grabbed my phone from the nightstand. My hands were shaking so badly I almost dropped it.

October 4.

Fourteen days before the end of the world.

"I came back," I whispered. "I really came back."

Tears ran down my face, but I wiped them away fast. Crying was what the old Morana did. The old Morana trusted the wrong people and died for it.

"Not this time," I said. "This time, I'm protecting Mom's fortune. No matter what."

A soft blue light flashed in front of my eyes.

[Hidden storage space activated.]

[Current capacity: 500 cubic meters.]

I stared at the floating words. Then I reached out and touched my hairbrush. It vanished. I thought about it, and it was back in my hand.

A slow smile spread across my face. "Well. That changes everything."

...

That afternoon, I walked past the living room. Devlin's voice stopped me.

"Babe, how's that prenup asset transfer coming along?"

I stepped behind the wall and looked in. Devlin was on the couch. Eris sat on the arm of it, playing with his hair.

"Don't worry," she said, laughing. "It's all ready. Once she signs, everything is ours."

My nails dug into my palms. In my first life, I signed it without reading a single word.

"Enjoy it while you can," I said under my breath. "This time, I'll make sure you both get exactly what you deserve."

...

The warehouse manager looked at my order list three times.

"Three containers of canned food? Just that alone?" He raised an eyebrow. "Miss, are you opening a supermarket or getting ready for war?"

"None of your business." I pushed the check across the desk. "Take it."

He looked at the number on the check and his mouth fell open.

"Medicine," I said. "Heavy-duty generators. Winter survival gear. Water filters. Anything that keeps people alive. I'm buying all of it."

The workers behind him whispered to each other.

"She just dropped millions without blinking."

"She's out of her mind."

I didn't care what they thought. In thirteen days, they would understand.

Every box went into my storage space the moment nobody was looking. The military gear I ordered under a fake research company. The food I bought as regular grocery stock for a business that didn't exist.

Nobody would trace any of it back to me.

[Warning. Storage space almost full.]

[Absorb diamonds to make the space bigger.]

I frowned at the blue words. "Diamonds?"

There was only one place in this city that sold raw diamonds by the ton. The black market.

And nobody walks into the black market empty-handed.

...

The weapons dealer's shop was hidden behind a car repair garage. Guns covered every wall.

I pointed. "Pack all of these. And everything on that wall too. Box it up."

The dealer's eyes went wide. "Lady, this is enough to arm a whole Marine squad."

"Good." I handed him the money. "Because I'm going to the black market. And I'm going armed to the teeth."

The bell above the door rang as he started packing.

My phone buzzed. Devlin's name lit up the screen. I let it ring twice, then answered.

"Babe, you've been ignoring my calls all day," he said, sounding annoyed. "Anyway, I just used your card to buy Eris a five-carat diamond. I've got to take care of your little sister, right? We're family."