Chapter 2

Leora’s Pov

“Mrs Leora?” A knock on my desk snapped me awake.

“Mrs, Leora, are you alright?” Another of my students asked, her eyes widened in surprise.

I jerked upright and looked around. “Where are the zombies?” My hands flew to my shoulders, then my legs, searching for wounds, my eyes wide in horrid fear.

Nothing, smooth as a baby’s skin. Even my daughter wasn’t anywhere in sight.

I was seated at my desk with rows of my third graders staring at me with wide eyes. “Ma’am?” A girl in front of my desk asked cautiously. “You’ve been staring at the board for almost five minutes.”

I blinked, my eyes dancing to the date on the board.

22nd of October 2026

This was a month ago… before the apocalypse.

I stumbled out of my chair and hurried past them into the bathroom, the moment I reached there, I gripped the sink, panting heavily.

The face staring back at me was younger, my eyes bright and there wasn’t a single scar on my shoulder. 

I touched my cheek. “I’m alive?”

My daughter! I grabbed my phone sitting on the sink and called the nanny who picked up almost immediately. “Good afternoon ma’am—“

“How’s Eva? Is she with you?”

“Yes ma’am, she's playing right in front of me ma’am.” Talia, my nanny replied.

“Mummy, is that you?” Ava’s little voice rang on the other end of the line.

“My little pumpkin.” Tears rolled down my cheeks. 

“Are you crying, mummy?” She asked.

I bit down my lip, trying to stifle the little noise from my mouth. “Mummy loves you okay? I’ll be right back home, I won’t leave you ever again.” 

“Get ice cream on your way.” She requested. “Talia refused to take me to get one.” I could tell she was pouting.

“Anything you want baby,” I said and ended the call, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.

My phone rang in my pocket, I looked down at it… It was Ken.

My grip tightened around my phone. I answered. “Leora darling, I need you to authorize a hundred million for a business trip.” Ken said without greeting me. “I’ll send the documents, sign them before noon.”

A hundred million dollars? My stomach clenched.

In my previous life, Ken had told me this exact thing and coincidentally Isabella had gone on a trip around that time too, I’d signed the documents, wished my husband a safe journey, and trusted him to protect the company my father had left me.

That money never came back. “Leora? Are you listening?”

I stared at my reflection, remembering the helicopter disappearing into the sky. I ended the call and dropped my phone on the sink.

Staring back at myself. “I’m done being stupid, Ken.”

~~~~~

“Don’t send him a single dollar.” My father's lawyer who had served our family for thirty years, Mr. Leon Brown’s voice came through the phone, firm.

I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the unsigned authorization document Ken had sent me. A hundred million dollars, that was how much he intended to steal from me this time.

“Freeze every account he has access to,” I instructed. “Cancel his supplementary cards and make sure he can’t withdraw a single cent from my personal accounts or my father's company, if he has access to anything under my name, revoke it.”

“Consider it done.” He paused. “I must say, Mrs Vanguard, I’m glad you’re finally coming back to your senses.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Your father trusted you with a fortune but ever since you married Ken Vash you’ve allowed him to make every decision and ignored my past warnings, I was beginning to wonder if you’d wake up.”

His words sting but they were true. “Why didn’t you stop me?” I asked quietly.

“I tried but you had told me sternly to steer off and respect your marriage, what else could I do?”

The call ended shortly afterward, leaving me staring at my phone.

Even my lawyer had seen my downfall coming. My aunt Freda had warned me yet I defended Ken every single time, convinced that everyone else was jealous of what we had.

How foolish I had been.

I grabbed my keys knowing exactly where to find that scum.

The private villa, it was our vacation house, the place Ken and I escaped to whenever life became too much to bear. We had also celebrated our anniversaries there. Now thinking of that place made me want to gut out my belly. 

I drove there anyway. The moment I arrived and got out of my car, one of the maids I remembered as Vivian.Madam, Leora! I wasn’t expecting you today.”

I recognized her face. Isabella had recommended her for this position a few months back. I looked at her from head to toe. “What’s your name?”

“Vivian, ma’am.”

“Pack your belongings, you’re fired.”

Her smile disappeared. “Madam.”

“You heard m, you can collect whatever salary you’re owed from the house manager but you won’t work here another day.”

“Please, ma’am, did I do something wrong?” She cried, falling to my feet with her hands clasped, pleading. I walked past her. Eddie, she could say another word.

The villa was expectedly quiet, I climbed the stairs, intending to head straight for the masters. Ed room but a familiar voice stopped me.

“Once my stupid wife sends the mine we’re going to Dubai,” Ken said. “After that, we’ll have enough to start building our own life while I take more from her right under her nose.”

“And what if she asks questions?” Isabella asked.

Ken chuckled. “Leora? That woman would sign off her entire life if I asked her nicely.”

My fingers tightened around the file in my bag. 

“Besides,” Isabella added. “She’s so desperate to keep you that she probably thinks you’re planning some romantic surprise for her.” They burst out laughing.

“Getting her something as cheap as flowers is enough to get her excited, why should I put in effort?” Ken snickered.

A bowl of colored fruits sat on the bedside table, Isabella picked a bunch of grapes and fed Ken, whispering slutty words to him.

I had heard enough, I pushed the door open. “Please don’t let me interrupt your romantic evening.”

Their laughter died instantly. Ken jerked up, while Isabella scrambled to cover herself with the blanket.

“Lenora?” Ken stared at me dumbfounded. “What are you doing here?”

I leaned against the door frame and smiled. “Apparently, I’m the stupid wife who’s about to finance your little trip to Dubai, so I thought I’d come and congratulate you both in person.”

“Baby, this isn’t what it looks like.” Ken began.

I laughed. “Really? Should I close my eyes so you can continue?”

“Leora, please, let me explain.”

“Save it.” I pulled my phone and showed him the notifications confirming that his supplementary cards had been blocked.

His face changed. “What the hell is this?”

“Your allowance had been discontinued.” 

“You can’t do that! You know how much I need those accounts!” He fired.

“Then perhaps you should have thought about that before using my money to maintain your mistress.” My smile widened.

“I’m your husband!”

“And I’m the woman who owns the money you're spending.” I fired back, tossing the divorce papers onto the bed. “Sign them.”

He stared at the documents as though they were written in another language.

“Call it whatever helps you sleep at night, sign them Ken, if you force me to drag this out, you’ll experience a side of me you should have met years ago.”

Isabella suddenly began to cry. “Leora, please, I’m your sister.”

I turned to her. “My sister?”

She nodded desperately. “I love you and never wanted to hurt you.”

“Don’t insult me with that nonsense.” I stepped closer. “You’re the daughter of a mistress, I brought you into my life because I didn’t want you to feel excluded from this family, I gave you gifts, supported you, and trusted you with things I should have never shared with a bitch.”

Her tears fell more. “And I discovered something else.” I continued. “You’re not even my father's biological daughter.”

Her face drained of color. “So everything I gave you because I believed we were family? Consider it revoked, every damn thing.”

“Y-you can’t do this!” She cried scrambling to my feet with her head hung low.

“Oh darling, I already did.” I kicked off her hand holding my leg.

Ken’s phone began ringing, his mother's name flashed across the screen.

Ariel Sander

He answered, apparently hoping for help. Instead, his mother's furious voice rang through the room. “Men! What have you done? The bank just notified us that the money you promised us isn’t coming! Your father is furious! How could you be so stupid

He tried to explain but she hung up. Another call came in almost immediately. I didn’t want to hear the rest.

I turned and walked away, leaving them, and descended the stairs, I passed the little garden where my daughter used to play in the future.

I stopped.

A tiny plastic slide stood beneath the tree, I could almost hear her laughter, see her little hands reaching for me.

My throat tightened. This time I would do everything in my power to make sure she survives.

Suddenly, a voice rang in my head.

[DING! Host consciousness has awakened.]

I froze.

A translucent screen appeared before my eyes.

“Who said that?”

[Apocalypse Survival System successfully activated.]

I stared at the notification.

“System? What does that mean?”

[I am your survival system. My purpose is to improve your chances of surviving the approaching catastrophe.]

A cold sensation crawled down my spine.

“Catastrophe?”

[Warning: The first major outbreak is expected within thirty days.]

Thirty days.

I gripped the edge of the sink.

In my previous life, I had watched the world collapse around me. I’d seen people turn into monsters, families tear one another apart over food, and the people I trusted abandon me when I needed them most.

And now I had thirty days to prepare.

“Can I prevent it?”

[The cause of the catastrophe remains unknown. Your immediate objective is to improve your chances of survival.]

Another notification appeared.

[New Mission: Secure essential supplies and protect yourself.]

[Reward: Undisclosed.]

I slowly placed a hand over my stomach.

My baby.

This time, I wouldn’t let Ken take everything from me. I wouldn’t allow my daughter to freeze to death in my arms.

And I wouldn’t die without a fight.

“All right,” I whispered. “Let’s see what we can do in thirty days.”

I thought about my daughter again. “Let’s survive this together, baby.”