Chapter 2

I calmed myself, opened my eyes, and exited the bracelet's space.

Now wasn't the time to study the bracelet. The end of the world was coming tomorrow, and I had to get everything ready before then.

I gathered up all the food in my house and stashed it into the bracelet's storage.

Then I took out the biggest loans I could on every platform and opened several credit cards at the nearest bank.

The moment I walked out of the bank, I got a message from Callie.

The first thing I saw was a screenshot of her bank balance.

It read, [Ashlyn, you really are an idiot. You actually believed that nonsense about traveling back in time and the end of the world, trading three million dollars for a worthless broken bracelet.

[Thanks for being so stupid. Now all of this is mine.]

I skimmed the message without a second's pause.

The end of the world would hit tomorrow afternoon. In my previous life, the closest survivor base was in the neighboring city. And it was the biggest safe zone around.

I had already bought my train ticket for tomorrow morning. Now, all that was left was to stock up on enough survival supplies.

Not long after I stepped outside, a fierce wind kicked up. Crestmor City, where snow was a rarity, was now experiencing heavy snowfall.

To avoid attracting suspicion, I headed to the wholesale market and bought all sorts of long-lasting food, claiming it was for business supplies.

While I was busy prepping for the end of the world, Callie just wouldn't stop blowing up my phone with texts.

While I cleared out shelves of bulk grains, flour, cooking oil, frozen breads, frozen pizza, and dozens of cases of instant meals, she showed off her newly bought designer handbag to me.

While I was stocking up on every kind of medicine and first-aid supplies I could find, she was showing off her newly bought diamond necklaces.

While I was buying all the sharpened knives from a cutlery shop and grabbing a mountain of everyday clothes, she was flaunting dozens of designer outfits.

Callie texted: [Ashlyn, did you see this? This bag alone costs seventy thousand dollars. And these jewels, these clothes. Even if you sold yourself, you couldn't afford any of it.

[But if you beg me nicely, maybe I'll give you some scraps.]

I ignored her and looked around. The place was always crowded, but I was sharp enough to spot a few people moving a bit too stiffly.

Keeping my cool, I moved away from them.

It turned out that the warning signs had been there from the very beginning.

I didn't reply to a single one of Callie's messages. She, convinced I was fuming, sent even more. I couldn't care less, so I muted my phone.

With all the supplies I had now prepared, I could live comfortably for at least two or three years.

After finishing all this, I went home to pack my things.

I didn't have many belongings. Everything I owned was crammed into a tiny storage room.

Ever since Callie was born, my parents' attention gradually shifted to her.

Callie refused to share a room with me, so I had to move to the guest room. Later, Callie wanted a study room, so I ended up in the storage room.

I put most of my things into the bracelet's space, leaving only a small suitcase to avoid suspicion.

Just as I was about to leave, Callie and my parents came back.

Compared to when they left earlier, now they were covered head to toe in designer stuff, the same things Callie had been bragging about in her messages.

When she spotted me, Callie laughed smugly and did a little twirl right in front of me, showing off.

She sneered. "Ashlyn, did you see all this? We just bought it with that three million dollars you handed over.

"You didn't really believe that crap about time travel, the end of the world, and zombies, did you? That was just a scam Mom, Dad, and I cooked up to fool you."

My father said, "I don't know if you're truly stupid or just pretending. You believed such a lame lie."

I stared at Callie without saying a word, but she reacted as if I had offended her, glaring at me.

Callie snapped, "What's with that look? Don't tell me you're trying to back out and take your money back?"

"Back out? About what?" my mother blurted out.

Callie's voice was loud. My parents quickly came over, standing protectively in front of Callie, glaring at me.

My mother said, "What, feeling jealous now that Callie's got all this fancy stuff? Just so you know, you traded that ticket willingly. Don't even think about trying to weasel out of it!"

Callie shot me a smug look, then grabbed my parents' arms, putting on her best spoiled act.

She said, "Mom, she's just a broke loser now. With all this expensive stuff we brought home, she won't sneak in at night and try to swipe our stuff, right?

"Besides, we're about to buy a big house and join high society. If people knew our family had someone this stupid, what would they think of us?"

As Callie kept talking, my parents started looking at me with even more disdain.

My father said, "Callie's right. She's always had sticky fingers, stealing from us since she was little. Now that she sees all this fancy stuff, who knows what she'll do next?"

"We'd better kick her out for good so nobody finds out we've got a daughter who's both clueless and evil. She'll only embarrass us!" my mother echoed.

Watching them echoing each other's words, I felt utterly cold inside.

Back then, I had explained more than once that it wasn't me who took the money, but Callie. But they never believed me. Every time money went missing, I was the one who got a severe beating.

"I don't need you to kick me out. I'm leaving now," I said.

With that, I grabbed my suitcase and turned to leave.

"Wait," Callie said.