Chapter 5
The Porsche Cayenne pulled up to the curb outside a high-end luxury consignment boutique in Beverly Hills. Julia dragged the two heavy suitcases through the glass doors.
The interior smelled of expensive leather and citrus room spray. An appraiser wearing a tailored vest and gold-rimmed glasses stepped forward. His name tag read Alex. He smiled professionally and guided her into a private VIP viewing room.
Julia hauled the suitcases onto the massive velvet-lined table. She ripped the zippers open. Dozens of designer bags and watches spilled out in a chaotic pile.
Alex's left eye twitched at her rough handling. He pulled on a pair of white cotton gloves, picked up his jeweler's loupe, and began examining the items one by one.
Julia dropped onto the leather sofa. She bounced her leg rapidly, her anxiety spiking. She grabbed the complimentary iced Cold Brew from the table and took a massive gulp, the ice rattling against the plastic cup.
Thirty minutes passed in agonizing silence.
Alex finally set the loupe down. He cleared his throat, his expression uncomfortable. He had separated the items into two piles. One pile had three items. The other pile had everything else.
Julia's stomach dropped. She pointed at the massive mountain of bags. "What is this? You don't want these?"
Alex adjusted his glasses. "Miss Hernandez, I apologize, but this pile... these are high-quality replicas. We do not accept counterfeit goods."
The words hit her like a physical slap. She shot up from the sofa. She grabbed a Birkin bag from the pile. "Impossible! I paid tens of thousands for this!"
Alex patiently pointed out the uneven stitching on the handle and the incorrect weight of the hardware. His calm, professional tone completely shattered her hopes.
The original host had bought fakes to keep up appearances while drowning in debt. Julia cursed the dead woman in her head.
In the end, Alex accepted two authentic Rolex watches and one classic Chanel flap bag. He slid a printed check across the table.
"Twelve thousand dollars. That is our highest offer."
Julia stared at the numbers. Twelve thousand dollars. In the apocalypse, that wouldn't even buy enough AR-15 rifles to defend a front porch.
She snatched the check, shoved the fake bags back into the suitcases, and stormed out of the boutique, her face pale with rage.
She threw the bags into the trunk and walked down the block, pushing through the glass doors of a corner Starbucks.
She ordered an iced Americano, sat at a small table in the back, and pulled out her tablet. She connected to the Wi-Fi.
She opened a browser, her fingers trembling slightly as she typed: How to survive the apocalypse. The search results yielded a chaotic mess of prepper forums, conspiracy blogs, and zombie movie tropes. She spent ten frantic minutes scrolling through the noise, piecing together scattered advice from hardcore survivalists. Drawing on vague memories of doomsday novels she used to read, she narrowed her focus. She opened a secure tab and typed: Off-grid Doomsday Bunker. The search results loaded. She clicked on a professional contractor site. The numbers on the screen made her breath hitch.
A basic underground shelter with radiation shielding, air filtration, and a water recycling system started at two million dollars.
Adding a ten-year supply of dehydrated food, medical kits, solar arrays, and defensive weapons pushed the budget to nearly five million dollars.
The gap between twelve thousand and five million felt like a physical weight crushing her chest. She grabbed her hair, pulling at the roots in frustration.
The countdown timer in her mind ticked away. Without a bunker, she would be dead within the first week of the outbreak.
She picked up her phone and scrolled aggressively through the contacts, searching for anyone she could exploit.
Her thumb stopped over a name. Eleanor Vance. Her stepmother.
Memories flooded her brain. Julia's biological mother had left behind a trust fund worth fifty million dollars. The stipulation was strict: Julia could not touch the principal until she turned twenty-five and married.
Eleanor hated that trust fund. She had spent years trying to find legal loopholes to transfer the management rights to herself.
Julia's eyes widened. A crazy, desperate plan formed in her head. Trade the future inheritance for immediate cash.
Fifty million dollars in paper money would be worthless ash in three months. But five million dollars in cash today meant survival.
She opened a word processor on her tablet and quickly typed up a "Voluntary Relinquishment of Trust Fund Inheritance Rights" letter of intent. A cold smile touched her lips.
She downed the rest of her iced Americano. The ice cubes clinked loudly at the bottom of the plastic cup.
She grabbed her keys, walked out of the coffee shop, and got into the Porsche. She set the GPS for the Vance Group corporate headquarters.
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