Chapter 3

Hayden's expression shifted immediately.

He turned to Melanie. "Melanie, what's that supposed to mean? Don't forget what happens a month from now. If you don't divorce him, he can keep you from getting the money. What are you going to do then?"

Melanie was still hesitating, so I quickly followed up on what Hayden had said.

"What's happening a month from now? And why do you two need money?"

Melanie's face went pale. She shot Hayden a glare and quickly said, "That's none of your business!"

"Melanie, we're still married. How does this have nothing to do with me?"

"Then let's get divorced!"

The moment Melanie agreed, a system message appeared across my vision.

"Hidden reward triggered: Finalize the divorce within 35 days and the prize pool will double."

The prize pool was set to double, but I couldn't bring myself to smile.

Even after things had gone this far, she was still hiding the fact that she'd gotten a system from me. She was still lying to me.

I gave a bitter smile.

I went straight to the study and came back with a pen and paper. "If we're getting divorced, let's put everything in writing. Let's spell out exactly how we're dividing everything.

"Both our salaries have been going to you all these years, so there should be 400,000 or 500,000 dollars saved up by now. I'm not asking you to walk away with nothing. I just want half."

Melanie froze, then glanced at Hayden in panic.

Hayden pulled her aside and lowered his voice. "Don't argue with him over this. I'll take out a one-million-dollar loan and give him 300,000 dollars so he doesn't make a fuss and hold up our plans.

"A month from now, even if we're ten million dollars in debt, no one will come after us for it."

After Hayden said that, Melanie quickly signed the agreement.

Early the next morning, Hayden transferred 300,000 dollars into my account. When he made the transfer, he deliberately showed me his account balance.

It wasn't one million dollars. It was two million.

Hayden said 300,000 dollars was nothing to him and told me to stop bothering them.

I smiled.

I just hoped he could still say 300,000 dollars was nothing to him a month from now, when the debt collectors came after him.

After Melanie and I got divorced, I took a few days off work.

Those were the most peaceful days I'd had since getting married. I didn't have to wait on Melanie every day anymore, and I could sleep as late as I wanted.

The comments even gave me live updates on what Melanie and Hayden were doing.

They bought a warehouse on the outskirts of the city and spent a fortune turning it into a safe house. Then they started stockpiling like crazy.

They stocked up on flour, pasta, cooking oil, and more medical supplies than I could count.

The comments said the 80,000 dollars' worth of "military surplus canned goods" they bought had already expired.

The first two million dollars they borrowed didn't last, so they borrowed another two million dollars between them. They were now four million dollars in debt, but neither of them seemed the least bit stressed about it.

Every day, they threw themselves into preparing for the apocalypse. I couldn't help wondering how they'd react when two weeks went by and the apocalypse still hadn't come.

I'd assumed I wouldn't see either of them again for a while, until Mom suddenly called me.

"Alex, someone came by and said our house has been mortgaged. They told me to move out right away. What's going on?"

My head buzzed.

The comments flashed rapidly across my vision. That was how I found out Melanie and Hayden had run out of money. They couldn't get any more loans, so they'd mortgaged Mom's house.

I was shaking with rage. "Mom, don't open the door. I'm on my way!"

When I got there, four or five big men were blocking the doorway, and one of them was about to break down the door.

"Stop! This is my house. What gives you the right to break down the door?"

I rushed up to them.

The man in charge gave me a quick once-over, then smacked an agreement against my chest.

"Who are you supposed to be? Open your damn eyes and read it. Melanie Rowland used this house as collateral for a 300,000-dollar loan from our company. We're here to inspect the property before we approve the loan."

I glanced at the mortgage agreement. Melanie's signature was right there.

"You took out a loan against my mom's house?" I demanded.

Melanie was completely unapologetic. "I needed the money. Our divorce isn't even final yet. So what if I used the house as collateral? Besides, I'll pay it back before the due date. It's not like your mom is actually going to lose her house."