Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 32: Say the Word

If the heatwave arrived early, does that mean the storms, typhoons, and floods will come sooner too?

Mariella bit her lip and decided to speed things up and race against time.

She picked up her phone and called the project manager at the renovation company.

"This is the owner of Celestine Ridge No. 98. Has the renovation been completed?"

The manager sounded surprised. "According to the contract, we're scheduled to finish tomorrow."

"Can you finish today? As long as the quality isn't compromised, I'll pay extra for early completion," Mariella said, throwing money at the problem.

The manager's tone immediately turned polite. "Well, it's a bit difficult, but we can make it work! I'll send more workers over and try to get everything done before lunch!"

After hanging up, Mariella didn't hesitate. She contacted several construction material inspection agencies, as well as specialized firms that handled explosion-proof glass ratings, building material blast and bullet resistance certification, and even a water quality testing center.

Normally, all of these inspections required advance booking, but Mariella added an extra 100 thousand to each order, and suddenly, every one of them was willing to bend the rules and agreed to meet at the designated location at 1:30 p.m. for testing.

With that settled, Mariella drove straight to the electronics mall.

This time, she needed to stock up on more appliances and store them in her storage space as backup.

...

The heatwave came without warning, throwing countless lives and routines into chaos. For those who had already lost their freedom, like Harvey, it was even worse.

Inside the detention center, Harvey was so overheated that he was on the verge of passing out. When he demanded to be moved to a room with stronger air conditioning, he was flatly refused, and he couldn't help but start cursing.

The guards already didn't like him, and the heat had made them irritable. They simply shut off the surveillance cameras and turned off the AC as well.

Harvey was already struggling in the heat, and without air conditioning, he couldn't hold on. Soon, he was gasping like a fish out of water, his mouth wide open.

His head throbbed from the heat. In agony, he staggered into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and tried to cool himself down.

But even the water that came out was hot. The world spun around him, and he collapsed stiffly onto the steamy bathroom floor.

...

Mariella drove into the underground parking lot of the mall. After getting out of the car, she didn't turn off the engine.

It was too hot. The AC in the car couldn't be shut off.

The underground lot was slightly cooler than outside, but it was still enough to leave people drenched in sweat.

Thankfully, once she stepped into the elevator, the air conditioning made it bearable again.

She rode up to the home appliance section and bought ten large freezers, five pharmaceutical refrigerators with backup batteries, twenty car refrigerators, and twenty portable air coolers.

She left the address for Celestine Ridge No. 98, then took Lucky back to the car.

After leaving the mall, she headed to an outdoor water sports supply store.

The sun was blazing, and the road surface was so hot that it looked like it was smoking.

Worried that Lucky's paws would get burned, Mariella took out a large backpack from her storage space.

Lucky climbed inside, and she carried him into the store on her back.

The shop owner brought out 20 gas masks and 20 hazmat suits that had just arrived. Mariella paid and took everything without hesitation.

From the rearview mirror, she caught sight of several suspicious figures lurking behind her and let out a cold laugh. "Even in this heat, they're still tailing me. That's some real dedication."

With Lucky watching her back, she couldn't be bothered with small fry like them and continued handling her business.

Next stop, the bank to buy gold bars.

...

Hospital, ICU ward.

After 4 hours of emergency treatment, Harvey, who had suffered from heatstroke, finally pulled through.

Viola Graham clutched her grandson, tears streaming down her face as she wailed, "My poor boy, you've suffered so much! It's all that damned Mariella's fault. She's ruined you!"

Roxanna stood to the side, delicate and tearful, wiping her eyes as she choked out, "What Mariella did this time was way too much! Fine, she targeted me. Fine, she went after Kingston. Fine, she got Jennifer thrown in jail. But I never thought she'd be so cruel as to try to take Harvey's life."

Viola froze, her crying abruptly stopping.

She wiped her tears, as if a realization had just struck her. "Could it be... Mariella bribed the guards and deliberately tried to have Harvey killed?!"

How vicious!

Connor and Fannie stood nearby, one furious, the other looking uneasy.

"That little brat actually dared to go after Harvey's life. She should be gotten rid of," Connor snarled, wishing he'd never had a daughter like Mariella.

Fannie couldn't help but sigh. "I never thought Mariella would become this vicious. First Kingston, then Roxanna, and now she's gone straight after her own fiancé. She's getting more and more extreme."

Connor turned to Harvey on the hospital bed and made his stance clear. "That girl's lost her mind. We can't keep her around. Whatever you want to do to her, just say the word. I'll back you up completely."

Harvey had just clawed his way back from the brink and didn't have the strength to respond.