Chapter 4

Scarlett's phone rang while she was driving back. It was the real estate agent she had hired to sell the properties.

Scarlett wasn't surprised. She knew the properties her biological parents had left her were all highly desirable and wouldn't stay on the market for long.

“Hello?”

"Miss Morrison, I have some good news for you," the agent said. "One of the properties you asked me to sell has already found a buyer. The only issue is that they're still putting the money together, so they were hoping you could give them a little more time."

"Can they close the deal within a week?" Scarlett asked, slowing down the car so she could hear him better over the loud engine, "You know what I asked for. I wanted these properties sold as quickly as possible."

"Here's the situation," the agent said after a brief pause. "The buyer didn't have enough cash on hand right now. They needed to sell one of their own properties before they could come up with the full amount." He seemed to choose his words carefully before continuing. "If it's convenient for you, could we meet and talk about it in person?"

She nodded as though he could see her. “That is fine. I will be there in twenty minutes.”

The man called out an address and she entered it into her maps, wasting no time in turning her car around to go there.

Morales Thorne, the real estate agent, was waiting for her in front of the building when she arrived.

From the exterior alone, she could see that it was a luxury agency but Scarlett did not feel out of place with her ordinary car and simple clothes. The bank card in her pocket space was her biggest source of confidence.

Morales also knew better than to comment on her dressing choices. He knew that a lot of millionaires and billionaires preferred to look like regular people to be under the radar.

In the office, he was polite, slowly going over every property with Scarlett to confirm its location and the current market value.

All the properties were in the millions. If she was able to sell everything, she would actually have an extra twenty million dollars in cash.

Warmth flooded her chest. With that kind of money, she would be able to easily survive the apocalypse.

“Actually, Miss, we already put up one of the houses and it attracted a potential buyer,” Mr. Thorne said. “However, the buyer is looking to sell their current house first to be able to afford yours, so that might take a bit more time.”

"Is there any chance you could push them to close the deal sooner?" Scarlett asked.

"Well..." Morales hesitated. "The buyer is selling a house in the Sparkling Gates neighborhood. You know the area. It's not in the same league as the neighborhood where your properties are, but it's still a well-established community." He rubbed the back of his neck, even though there wasn't a drop of sweat on him. "They only just put the house on the market, so it'll still take some time before it sells."

"You know how it is, Ms. Morrison," Morales added. "A normal sale usually takes a month, sometimes even longer. The buyer didn't try to negotiate the price, and they were also—"

"Wait." Scarlett cut him off. "Where did you say the buyer's house was?" she asked quickly.

"Sparkling Gates," Morales replied, puzzled by her question.

“I'll take their house,” she cut in.

Mr. Thorne blinked. “Excuse me?”

Sparkling Gates happened to be the neighborhood that Jake and his family lived in. When Scarlett and Jake had been touring for a house, they had actually toured lot 12 as it was the most desirable building in the community with the best view and the best price for value.

The house sat at the end of the main road and was elevated above ground level. It was perfect for converting to an apocalyptic fortress.

Besides, what would be better than being locked up in the safety of her fortress while she had front row seats to Jake and his family struggling to survive the end of the world?

“I'll take it,” she said, her mind made up. “We can trade houses instead and have them make up the price difference between our houses.”

Morales’ eyes lit up with pure excitement. Rich people really were different. She had made such an important decision so quickly.

He earned more in commission from this one deal than he would in three months of work.

“Let me get in contact with the buyer,” he said and left the room for a phone call.

When he returned five minutes later, he was wearing a large smile. “The deal has been accepted. We will process the funds for you in an hour or so, Miss. Here are the keys for your new home.”

Scarlett thanked him before leaving the building. She got in her car and drove straight to her new home.

Stepped into the house, everything was even more perfect than she remembered.

To prepare the house for the sale, the previous owner had already cleared out all their furniture and personal belongings. So she had to sit on the floor.

Her next step was to renovate the house and refurnish. She opened her laptop and immediately began searching for renovation companies that could finish the work as quickly as possible.

Her phone started to ring off the hook. The budget she had put up with her offer was inside so contractors kept calling one after another.

In the end, she signed contracts with five different companies so that each could take charge of a different section of the mansion and all of them agreed to finish the project within twenty days.

Before long, the contractors started sending over their design plans. Scarlett was generally happy with what they came up with. The only problem was that the proposed upgrades weren't strong enough to withstand the extreme weather that was coming.

Scarlett slowed down and went through every design, pointing out the flaws and every area that needed reinforcements. After revising the blueprints, the contractors sent the updated designs back to her.

This time, Scarlett was satisfied. To make up for the extra work, she also increased the labor f*e by fifty percent. None of the contractors had ever worked with such a generous client before, and they all treated Scarlett with even greater respect.

They agreed to begin construction first thing the next morning.

…

Janet walked through a warehouse supermarket near her neighborhood in search of discounted groceries.

This supermarket was nothing like the upscale organic grocery stores Janet used to shop at. She wrinkled her nose and waved a hand in front of her face. Even the scented air fresheners in the store smelled harsh to her. The products on the shelves were the kind of cheap, low-quality items she would never have looked at before.

But now, she had no choice.

If the stupid Scarlett had not divorced her son, she would not have had to be in somewhere like this. Janet ended up blaming Scarlett, the "ungrateful" girl, for much of what had happened.

Since many people came from the neighborhood to shop there as well, she wore a baseball cap and a face mask so that no one would recognize her.

Someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder. Janet flinched as she looked behind her.

Shannon. The owner of the largest and most luxurious mansion in Sparkling Gates. Janet always felt jealous. Janet often bragged to the neighbors that even if she didn't live in the nicest house like Shannon, everything she wore, used, and drove was top-of-the-line and was much better than hers.

Being caught buying discounted food by Shannon made Janet burn with embarrassment.

Shannon did not seem to care one bit where they were when she started talking to Janet about her new house. “I will be moving out of Sparkling Gates soon. This house is in an even better neighborhood.”

Another stab of jealousy pierced Janet's heart.

Then Shannon said something that nearly made Janet's heart stop. "What a coincidence—the house I bought belonged to your daughter-in-law."

Her laughter was breezy as she added, “Scarlett even owns several other luxury properties around the country.”

You and your family really kept a low profile," Shannon said with obvious admiration. "Who would have guessed Scarlett owned so many houses while still living such a modest life?"

Janet barely heard the rest.

One sentence echoed over and over in her mind.

What a coincidence—the house I bought belonged to your daughter-in-law.