[Am I speaking to Ms. Blackwood?]
A female voice spoke from the other end of the call.
"Yes, that's me." Grace answered as she closed her laptop and stood from the couch, heading toward the floor-to-ceiling windows that were offering her a beautiful view of the sunset.
[Ms. Blackwood, you seem to have just applied to rent an apartment in Greenstone Residential Area, Zone seven of Sunspire City. Am I right?]
"That's right. I will like to rent an apartment there for next eighteen months starting from 10:06:2024."
[We are pleased to have you as a new member of our community. May I ask if you will be making the payment and signing the contract online, or if you will be coming here personally?]
"I will make a down payment for now. Please book the apartment in my name. I will be there on the 6th of next month." Grace informed the lady and they talked for a little bit longer as she made the down payment to reserve the apartment.
Few minutes later, she ended the call and headed to take a shower. After spending the entire day in disguise, she finally allowed herself to be her real self.
She dressed up and grabbed her car keys before once again heading out. This time, her destination was one of her favorite restaurants in the city.
* * *
Grace woke up from the alarm that she had set before going to sleep around ten the previous night. It was six in the morning as she climbed out from under the warm blanket and made her bed.
She then headed to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee and enjoyed it while listening to some songs to start her morning. Finishing the coffee, she did some stretching and light exercises before showering to get ready for the day.
She walked out of her bedroom an hour later, dressed in a long black dress that reached her ankle. Her long auburn hair was pulled up in a high bun and her heels clicked on the floor as she descended the stairs.
Once apocalypse would arrive, she would probably not get to enjoy such luxurious dresses, makeup, and heels. Thus, she was using the time she had before the arrival of doom to enjoy these things.
When she arrived downstairs, she was greeted with the scene of Kevin and Aleena setting up the dining table while Maven and Seth were preparing breakfast. The air was filled with the delicious aroma of roasted chicken that made her mouth water.
"Good morning, Boss!"
The four of them greeted her in unison as they noticed her walking into the dining area.
"Morning, guys." She returned as she took a seat at the table.
"I have a good news for you." Seth said as he walked up to the table to place the dishes he had prepared along with Maven. He then turned to face her and pulled out something from the pockets of his suit before placing it in front of her on the table.
Five Debit Cards.
"Everything has been successfully sold, bringing you a whopping 82 billion. We have 30 percent of that money saved as cash in one of our secret bases and the remaining 70 percent is right here. All these five cards can't be traced back to you." He explained while taking a seat for himself.
Grace picked up the cards and nodded her head in approval. Right at that moment, the other three also arrived at the table with dishes and took their seats.
"The fire case of Blackwood Mansion has also wrapped up with the conclusion of a short-circuit just like you planned. You no longer need to worry about that." Kevin provided the update on the fire case.
Everything had went according to their plan so far.
"Great work you all. We have successfully removed our links to our past. Now, all we need is to prepare for the future." Grace felt relieved as the last Chapter of her past story finally ended with the conclusion of the fire case and the successful sale of all her assets and properties.
As they dived into the delicious breakfast, she updated them on the supplies she had already ordered.
"Will we need that much supplies for only the eight of us?" Aleena asked once she learned of the numbers of the orders.
"They aren't only for us." Grace confessed, surpising the four.
"Are you planning to save others?" Kevin asked with no judgment in his voice. He just wanted to know what she was planning to do.
Grace let out a deep sigh before replying, "I will not lie and say that I want to save the entire world. What I really want is to stay safe and keep you all safe with me. And this will forever be my priority. Still, I will try to help others on our way to survival if I could. Besides, we have too much money that will soon become a waste if we don't utilize it right now."
All four of them nodded their heads in understanding. Though they didn't seem to understand the depth of the calamity the world would be facing soon, they trusted their Boss and were ready to follow her lead.
"Then let's do our best to stockpile everything we might need to save the world and ourselves." Maven said as he raised his glass of orange juice.
Grace smiled as she looked around at her team. She did make the right choice by trusting them all over again.
"By the way, Boss. Here's the address of the warehouse where all the delivered vehicles are. You should take a look at it." Maven said while sending her the location of the warehouse.
"Alright. Let's head there after breakfast."
After finishing the food, all five of them set out for the warehouse located on the outskirts of the city. Grace was driving through a narrow street when something... or someone... suddenly walked out of an alley and bumped into her car.
Everything was too sudden for her to even register exactly what happened. But her brain knew it... she had hit someone.
"Shit!"