Chapter 5: Crystal Winchester
Seated amidst the muted grandeur of her high-rise apartment, Crystal Winchester held her phone with a grip of iron.
As she listened to the shrill accusations of her estranged aunt, Clara, her assistant, a harried-looking woman named Lucy, was engaged in a frenzied ballet of preparation behind her.
Crystal had rushed to create a doomsday shelter weeks before, a haven for herself and her children, a place of safety in case the end of the world came.
And to the shock of everyone… It did.
She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself as she listened to the piercing voice on the other end.
"It was her aunt, Clara Winchester. Every interaction with her was a test of Crystal's patience."
"I demand that you hand over the supplies you selfishly hoarded in that doomsday shelter of yours!"
Clara's voice was a banshee's wail, brimming with entitlement and festering anger.
Crystal's patience, a fragile thing worn thin by the relentless onslaught of the world's end, shattered.
"Aunt Clara, remind me, who was it that labeled me an unhinged paranoid psycho when I proposed the Doomsday Preparation Plan during the last family meeting? Wasn't it you?" she bit out, her words laced with bitter irony.
"Oh, don't you dare talk back to me, Crystal!" Clara bellowed. "We are the Winchester family, and we deserve to have access to those supplies. It's for the greater good, you know!"
Crystal's frustration bubbled over, her response a growl of disbelief.
"The greater good? Aunt Clara, you mocked me and made sure I couldn't get a single bit of family funding for my Doomsday Shelter Project. I had to sell my personal assets to set this all up and now, you come crawling to me? Are you dreaming? The audacity!"
"Crystal, this is your duty as a Winchester!"
Clara's voice rose, a crescendo of entitlement and selfishness.
"Your brothers are out there fighting to rebuild the nation. And here you are hoarding supplies like a greedy little rat."
Crystal's grip on her phone tightened, her knuckles blanching white. Anger and resentment, long suppressed, simmered within her.
"My contribution to this nation far outweighs anything your good-for-nothing sons have done combined..." she shot back, her voice seething with restrained fury.
*Click*
She severed the connection with a harsh jab of her thumb, her breaths ragged with the effort to calm her racing heart.
She couldn't bear to listen to another word of Clara's shameless demands anymore.
*Buzzz…* *Buzzz…* *Buzzzz…*
Almost instantly, her satellite phone clamored for her attention again.
Ever since the otherworldly pyramids pierced the heavens and the world convulsed in agony, her phone had become a constant tormentor.
The people who had outcasted and ostracized her for having babies out of wedlock were now commanding her to hand over the provisions she had painstakingly accumulated in preparation for this precise doomsday event.
She had endured their contempt, their ridicule, and their judgement.
Yet now, as the world teetered on the brink of oblivion, they felt entitled to the fruits of her foresight.
In the eye of this storm, the soft voices of her children filtered through, a balm to her frayed nerves.
Her toddler daughter, a bundle of innocence and joy, toddled up to her, chubby arms reaching out to hug her leg.
"Mommy... Are eww sad?" she asked innocently.
Her daughter's guileless question brought a pang of love and fierce protectiveness surging through her.
"No, my love," she replied, her voice gentle and soothing. "Mommy's just dealing with some difficult people. But don't worry, I'll always protect you."
Her son, equally adorable, toddled over to join the hug, peppering her other leg with featherlight kisses.
"Hugs~ I prowtect mommy!" He announced, his voice brimming with the determination only a toddler could muster.
Crystal couldn't help but smile, finding solace in the pure love and innocence of her children. They were her strength, her reason for fighting through the challenges that came her way.
She bent forward, embracing her twins tightly, cherishing the warmth and love they shared.
A fleeting memory then surfaced, a remembrance of a time when the earth still revolved, and hope wasn't a luxury but an everyday reality.
===
That day, she had been seated in the velvet-clad interiors of her luxurious Maybach when the piercing gaze of Brandon Void seized her attention from an enormous billboard.
The sudden shock rooted her to the spot, her heart pounding against her ribcage like a caged bird yearning for freedom.
"Uncle Lou, please pull over now!"
Crystal managed to choke out, her voice quivering with an uncharacteristic mix of trepidation and intrigue.
Responding swiftly to her request, the driver skillfully maneuvered the Maybach to the roadside.
Summoning every ounce of her courage, Crystal stepped out onto the pulsating streets, her eyes riveted to the colossal screen.
She strained to catch every fragment of the news report, her mind a whirlpool of confusion and disquiet.
Her mind raced, attempting to piece together the unexpected encounter with the man who had once saved her life.
Vivid images of that perilous night in the Black Desert, the fateful encounter with Brandon Void, were burned into her consciousness, forever seared into her soul.
"I've finally found you," she murmured, her voice lost amidst the city's roar.
Caught off guard by her young mistress's odd behavior, Lucy, adjusting her crisp office suit, hurried out of the vehicle, her brows knitted in concern.
"Young mistress, that's Brandon Void, the notorious billionaire wastrel who liquidated the Void corporate empire to build some sort of doomsday fortress!"
Lucy exclaimed, her voice tinged with a combination of astonishment and apprehension.
"Billionaire wastrel huh…" Crystal mused, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Doomsday fortress?".Crystal echoed, curiosity sparking in her eyes, "Tell me, what else do you know about him?"
Lucy nodded and continued,
"Well, there are whispers that his parents vanished after his birth, leaving him with their multi-billion dollar empire. He was known as a prodigious business genius, unscrupulous and ruthless, gaining an iron grip on the Void empire by the age of 12."
Lucy paused, collecting her thoughts.
"But he seemed to vanish after his meteoric rise. His sudden reappearance a couple of years ago caught everyone by surprise. Since then, he's been divesting himself of his assets, channeling all his resources into this mysterious doomsday fortress. Many say he has lost his mind…"
Crystals eyebrows raised,
"Disappeared since 12… interesting. Lucy, why do you think he's building this doomsday fortress?"
Lucy shrugged, her voice filled with uncertainty.
"Who knows? Maybe he truly believes the world is on the brink of an apocalypse. Perhaps he really did lose his mind..."
Crystal's eyes narrowed, captivated by the broadcast.
The host's voice grew tense.
And then, without warning a horrifying scene flashed on the screen— a bullet had pierced through the forehead of the guest speaker with chilling precision.
"Ahhhh!!"
Lucy shrieked in terror while Crystal merely smirked, unfazed by the ruthless display.
"He's still as ruthless and lawless as ever,"
She mused.
"Miss, what was that?"
Lucy's voice trembled with fear.
Crystal's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.
"That, Lucy, was a sign. Gather everything you can find on Brandon Void."
As Lucy nodded in stunned silence, Crystal added another task.
"And draft a doomsday survival plan with a budget of 100 million dollars."
Lucy's eyes widened in shock.
"Wh-what?!"
Crystal didn't waver.
"There's no harm in being prepared,"
She said, her gaze softening to a fond smile.
"And... I trust him."
Lucy took a moment, then nodded.
"Ever since you came back from that Black Desert trip, you've acted differently. It's like you've seen a world none of us have.
With those words, Crystal turned back towards the Maybach.
Opening the door, she revealed a twin baby car seat holding her cherished twins—a boy and a girl, their cherubic faces igniting a powerful wave of affection and maternal protection within her.
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