Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 49: Great Deal

At a time when panic was spreading, what everyone needed most was someone with authority to step up and take control.

The owner of villa number 6 suddenly spoke. "If you're willing to trust me, I promise to do everything in my power to lead us through this crisis."

Mariella's pupils shrank. She recognized the speaker. It was Harvey.

In her previous life, Harvey had been the first to step up as well. He promised to guide the Celestine Ridge residents through the disaster, and that was how he secured both influence and leadership over the community.

Waving the banner of selflessness, he secretly lined his own pockets and stockpiled a huge amount of supplies.

Later, when the floods worsened and the typhoon intensified, government rescue efforts collapsed, leaving citizens to fend for themselves.

Starving survivors flooded in from all directions, looting the wealthy residents of Celestine Ridge.

Many homeowners were robbed, but Harvey, who had hoarded the most supplies, came out completely unscathed.

Mariella had fought on the front lines to protect his supplies, confronting desperate mobs. She had been injured, and her blood had dripped onto her emerald bracelet, accidentally activating her storage space.

She used that storage space to help Harvey hoard even more supplies, sparing him from becoming a target.

With her help, Harvey survived four years of disaster. But once the supplies ran out and she was no longer useful, he discarded her without hesitation.

And now, in this life, Harvey had been locked up, so how was he still jumping out to take charge again?

Mariella quickly figured it out. He had been hospitalized for heatstroke. He wasn't even fully recovered yet.

That heatstroke had saved his life.

She could already see it. Some things were still unfolding along the same path as before. But this time, she wouldn't let Harvey take control of Celestine Ridge.

She wouldn't give him another chance to use the community as cover to hoard supplies. Without her storage space, he wouldn't be able to protect what he gathered either.

And when the starving mobs stormed the villas, she wouldn't be there to shield him anymore.

She wanted to see if he could still live as comfortably as before, if he could keep pampering Roxanna like he used to.

Mariella stood up and went upstairs to call Kieran.

...

The call connected, and Kieran's lazy voice came through the phone.

"Ms. Townsend, interrupting someone at a moment like this isn't very polite."

There was a soft, coquettish female voice in the background, complaining about him taking the call and asking who was on the line.

Mariella fell silent.

So he was off enjoying himself, completely lost in pleasure.

No wonder in her previous life, Harvey had been actively taking charge in the group chat while Kieran hadn't shown up at all.

A playboy with money and power could afford to be reckless and indifferent.

"You need something? I can't keep a pretty girl waiting. Make it quick," Kieran said bluntly. He knew he had no chance with Mariella, so he didn't bother wasting time on her.

If there was business, he'd talk. If not, he wasn't interested.

Mariella didn't waste time either. "You're not at Celestine Ridge."

It wasn't a question.

"Since when do you care?" His tone was still lazy, but there was a sharp edge beneath it.

He was warning her not to cross the line.

Mariella wasn't intimidated. She went straight for the leverage. "There's a deal here. Guaranteed profit, zero loss. You in?"

A businessman chased profit. His tone immediately became more engaged. "What kind of deal?"

Clearly, he already knew Harvey's situation had something to do with Mariella and was more than happy to see her keep pushing him down.

"I remember Hancock Group has shares in Imperial Crest Plaza and Greenfield Organic Farm. That makes you the major shareholder, right?" Mariella paused, then continued, "If you temporarily hand over control to me, I can increase their value by at least 1,000 times within a month."

"What?" Kieran was momentarily stunned.

"Mr. Hancock, the world outside has already changed. If you don't wake up now, that little paradise you're enjoying is going to turn into your grave," Mariella snapped. "Someone's already eyeing those two assets. You'd better act fast."

Imperial Crest Plaza was a large shopping and entertainment complex filled with luxury brand stores from around the world.

It also had a high-end cinema, an amusement center, a food court, and a department store, though everything there came at a premium. Its main customers were the residents of Celestine Ridge.

That was why Mariella had deliberately avoided it while stocking up. The prices were just too high.

Greenfield Organic Farm raised livestock and poultry, producing its own meat, eggs, and dairy products for the residents of Celestine Ridge.

Both properties were located within Celestine Ridge, so they hadn't been flooded.

Once the disaster began, these two places became critical sources of survival supplies for the entire community.