Chapter 4

She stopped at a quiet sandwich shop for lunch. While eating, she pulled up a booking app and secured a luxury suite at the hotel closest to her grandfather's bank. Her current student apartment was no longer safe; her family knew the address and could corner her easily. But staying in this coastal town for a few more weeks after the apocalypse was a tactical necessity. The local shipping ports were a goldmine of resources. She needed to map them out now so she could raid them the night the world ended, right before she fled inland to escape the mega-tsunamis.

Vehicles and weapons were next on her checklist. In her dream, she hadn't gained access to firearms until she joined Drew’s faction. Obtaining guns illegally right now would be too risky, so she decided to settle for high-end crossbows and combat knives for her initial armory.

Thinking of Drew left a bitter taste in her mouth. She was going to stay as far away from him as possible in this life. While she didn't think he had directly orchestrated her betrayal, he had gladly exploited her spatial abilities to build his own reputation at the base. Besides, looking back, she sensed a web of dark secrets between Drew and Alice that she had never quite untangled. This time, he wouldn't get the chance to use her.

Returning to her apartment, she packed a single, lightweight suitcase for her flight. She lined the bottom with her newly purchased jewelry but left the two jade elephants securely locked inside her small apartment safe. After ordering takeout for dinner, she opened her laptop and fired off an email to a high-end real estate agent, requesting an appointment for the day after she landed. She needed to acquire a few specific properties over the next few months to serve as secure bunkers. Once her pocket dimension absorbed the gems and expanded, her real preparation would begin.

As she finally crawled into bed and drifted toward sleep, a deep voice resonated in her mind. It sounded familiar somehow.

"I am with you always. Go to sleep."

An immediate wave of calm washed over her, and she surrendered to a deep, dreamless sleep.

The next morning, the airport was a chaotic hum of travelers. Joanna grabbed a black coffee and a pastry, scanning the terminal. Ever since waking up on Wednesday, her mind had developed a lethal set of hyper-vigilant habits. Looking at the passing travelers, her brain automatically calculated multiple ways to incapacitate or kill them at a mere glance. Her survival instincts were raw and razor-sharp.

Avoiding the crowds, she retreated to a seat in a far, isolated corner of the terminal. She was reading a text from her real estate agent confirming their meeting when her instincts suddenly screamed.

Someone was watching her.

She whipped her head up. Walking past her isolated corner was a tall man tailored in a flawless business suit. He exuded a dangerous, commanding CEO vibe, wrapped in a suffocatingly cold aura. As he walked, he cast several deliberate, measured glances in her direction.

Joanna realized she was staring and quickly looked down at her phone. How do I know him?

Then, it hit her. He was in the dream.

His name was Julian Hawthorne. In her past life, he was recognized as one of the top ten strongest ability users on the planet. Though she had only crossed paths with him once in the future, his ruthless power had left an indelible mark on her memory.

Should I introduce myself? she wondered, her heart hammering against her ribs. No, walking up to a billionaire tech mogul to tell him I saw him in an apocalyptic nightmare would be social suicide.

She could always wait for their paths to naturally cross in a few years, but the sheer temptation of securing an alliance with a powerhouse like Julian before the collapse was intoxicating.

"First-class boarding will now begin," the gate agent announced over the loudspeaker.

Joanna stood up, smoothing her jacket, and joined the queue. As she stepped forward, she felt the unmistakable, heavy prickle of a gaze on her back. Turning her head slightly, she saw Julian Hawthorne standing just a few people behind her in line, his piercing eyes locked right on her.

Trying to remember what she knew of Julian Hawthorne was a calculated risk. Tracking him down after the apocalypse wouldn't work—the world would be a bloodbath by then. But having him near her? Having that raw, lethal power at her side would make her survival a hell of a lot easier. And, if she was being entirely honest with herself, infinitely more interesting.

Joanna found her aisle seat and buckled herself in. As she switched her phone to airplane mode, a sudden shift in the air pressure made her look up.

Julian stopped right by her chair.

Her breath caught. In her dream of this exact flight, she had sat next to a balding, older man who tried to clumsily flirt with her. Why was this different? Everything else was identical, except for the towering, broad-shouldered billionaire blocking the aisle. He wasn't as heavily muscled as the battle-hardened mercenary commander she’d met in the apocalyptic wasteland of her vision, but he still radiated that same dominant, hyper-masculine aura. It made the hairs on her arms stand up.

He stared down at her, his dark eyes impatient, tracing the line of her jaw. "Miss, my seat is next to yours. I need to get in."