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1308 Words
"Wipe your face."
Malcolm looked down at the pathetic woman kneeling in the dirt. Caroline was staring up at him with ruined makeup and desperate eyes.
"Trust is not built on empty apologies or fake tears," Malcolm said coldly. "Trust is earned through hard labor."
Caroline sniffled loudly and wiped the dark mascara from her cheeks. She looked up at him with a glimmer of desperate hope.
"I will do anything Malcolm," Caroline pleaded. "Just tell me what I need to do to prove my love to you."
"I am securing thousands of tons of supplies over the next three weeks," Malcolm stated. "I need someone to personally manage all of the logistics."
Malcolm pointed toward the massive open concrete bay of the warehouse.
"You will receive every single delivery truck," Malcolm commanded. "You will manually unload the cargo. You will haul the crates inside and organize them exactly to my specifications."
Caroline stared at the massive empty warehouse. Her mind struggled to comprehend the sheer scale of physical labor he was demanding.
"You will not ask a single question about what I am buying or why I am buying it," Malcolm added smoothly. "If you perform this job perfectly for three weeks I will consider remarrying you."
Caroline hesitated for exactly two seconds. Her immense greed completely overpowered her pride.
She remembered the three billion dollar account balance projected on the boardroom wall. She was willing to break her back for a few weeks if it meant securing a golden ticket to unlimited wealth.
"I accept," Caroline said eagerly. She scrambled up from the dirt and brushed off her ruined designer dress. "I will start right now."
"Good," Malcolm replied. He gestured toward the open construction gates. "Then cut out the dead weight right now. End it with Victor."
Caroline did not even flinch. She pulled her expensive phone from her purse.
Victor was standing just outside the chain link fence. He was watching the exchange with a mixture of confusion and rising anger.
He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
Victor pulled it out and read the text message. His face instantly drained of all color.
“We are completely finished. Do not ever contact me again”
Victor looked up from his glowing screen. He stared through the metal fence at Caroline in absolute shock.
"Caroline what is the meaning of this?," Victor shouted from the sidewalk. His voice cracked with genuine humiliation.
Caroline did not even turn her head to look at him. She simply tucked her phone away and walked confidently deeper into the dusty construction site.
Victor was left standing completely alone on the hot asphalt.
The wealthy neighbors gathered around the fence began to whisper and point at Victor. Victor gritted his teeth in blistering rage. He turned around and stormed back to his luxury car.
He swore to himself that he would completely destroy Malcolm for this insult.
***
The blistering summer heatwave aggressively punished the city of Brighthaven over the next three weeks.
The daily temperature consistently hovered around ninety five degrees. The sun beat down on the concrete construction site like a blazing hammer.
Caroline dragged a heavy wooden pallet across the loading dock. Her breath came in ragged and exhausted gasps.
She was completely unrecognizable. Her expensive summer dresses had been replaced by stained and sweat soaked work clothes.
Her perfect manicures were completely destroyed. Her fingernails were chipped and her soft palms were covered in b****y blisters.
"Keep moving," a voice commanded through an external loudspeaker. "The next delivery of medical supplies arrives in ten minutes."
Caroline stopped and glared venomously at the temporary mobile office parked near the warehouse entrance.
The office was made of glass and sleek metal. A powerful air conditioning unit hummed loudly on the roof.
Malcolm sat comfortably inside the mobile office. He was wearing a clean cotton shirt and sitting in a plush leather chair.
The internal temperature of his office was a perfect seventy degrees. He casually sipped from a glass of iced lemon water.
He watched Caroline struggle to lift a fifty pound crate of premium freeze dried beef.
He did not feel a single ounce of guilt. He was treating her exactly like the disposable pack mule she had forced him to be all his life.
Now the roles were completely reversed.
Caroline dropped the heavy wooden crate onto the concrete floor. Her arms were shaking uncontrollably from the extreme physical exertion.
She had spent the last three weeks hauling massive industrial water filtration systems. She had dragged hundreds of heavy tactical combat suits into the subterranean bunker.
She had absolutely no idea why a billionaire was hoarding military grade survival gear and mountains of wagyu beef.
She did not care about the bizarre purchases. She only cared about the massive payday waiting for her at the end of the month.
She wiped the stinging sweat from her eyes and grabbed the wooden crate again. She dragged it toward the massive titanium vault doors.
Malcolm watched her walk into the shadows of the bunker. He casually checked off another delivery manifest on his digital tablet.
His preparation was nearly flawless. The Ironcrest engineering team had successfully completed the geothermal power grid yesterday.
The two meter thick titanium exterior plates were fully welded and sealed. The automated internal hydroponic farms were already running on emergency backup power.
He had successfully hoarded enough premium food medical supplies and heavy weaponry to last for three entire lifetimes.
The calendar on his digital tablet displayed the date clearly.
It was August 13. The extreme cold apocalypse was less than forty eight hours away.
The final delivery truck pulled out of the loading bay and drove away into the city. The massive construction project was officially finished.
Malcolm pressed a button on his control desk.
The heavy titanium vault doors began to slide shut with a loud mechanical grinding noise. The bunker was finally sealed.
Caroline stumbled out of the main gates just as the heavy metal doors locked into place.
She was completely covered in thick gray dust and dried sweat. Every single muscle in her body screamed in agonizing pain.
She leaned heavily against the exterior brick wall and gasped for air. She had actually survived the three weeks of brutal physical hell.
She smiled weakly. She was ready to claim her ultimate reward. She was ready to become a billionaire wife.
A tall shadow suddenly detached itself from the dark alleyway across the street.
Caroline blinked her exhausted eyes. She watched a man in a tailored gray suit step out under the dim glow of a streetlamp.
It was Victor Hargrove.
Victor walked slowly across the empty asphalt street. He stopped a few feet away from Caroline and looked at her filthy appearance with supreme disgust.
Victor reached into his tailored suit jacket. He pulled out a thick manila folder completely stuffed with verified financial documents.
"You look absolutely pathetic Caroline," Victor said smoothly. He tapped the thick folder against his hand with a cruel and mocking smile.
Caroline frowned and stood up straight. "Victor, what are you doing here? Leave me alone."
Victor laughed a dark and vicious laugh.
"I used my executive banking clearance to track your precious billionaire husband," Victor said. He held the financial documents up directly in front of her face.
"I think you need to see exactly what you have been breaking your back for?" Victor whispered.
- Writer
