The Family Survival Fund and Apocalypse Revenge

"What? You want to mortgage the house?"

When I made the suggestion, Stanley and Daisy reacted even more strongly than I had expected.

Daisy's eyes widened like bells, her voice jumping an octave. "This is outrageous! Amelia, do you even know what you're saying?"

She looked as if she might faint at any second. "This house is something your father and I worked our entire lives for! And Denise is supposed to inherit it when she gets married someday! No—absolutely not!"

Denise panicked as well, tears pooling in her eyes. "That's right. If the house is gone, where are we supposed to live in the future?"

I looked at them and spoke slowly, enunciating every word. "I know a major player in finance. She's willing to bring me into an investment—returns of at least double. But she has requirements. We need sufficient cash flow."

"Double?" Stanley's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Yes." I raised the stakes. "And she's also agreed to build us a doomsday shelter and invest an equivalent amount in gold bars."

The picture I painted was far too tempting. The resistance on their faces began to waver.

Daisy asked in a low voice, "Then… what if the apocalypse never comes?"

"If it doesn't," I replied calmly, "we'll still have the gold."

That sentence shattered their final line of defense.

I pressed on while the iron was hot. "Dad, this is our only chance. Either we cling to a house that will be worth nothing in the apocalypse and wait to die together—

"Or we take a gamble and come out ahead no matter what. You're the head of the family. The decision is yours."

I tossed the ball back into his court.

After a long moment, Stanley slammed his palm onto the table.

"Fine! We'll do it. Mortgage the house!"

Over the next few days, I handled all the paperwork with astonishing efficiency. When Stanley and Daisy signed their names on the property deed, their hands were still shaking.

The 450-thousand-dollar loan was transferred into my account soon after.

Staring at the long string of numbers in my mobile banking app, the smile at the corner of my lips deepened.

That afternoon, I came home carrying a case of gold.

Right in front of them, I stacked the gold bars neatly into the safe.

"Amelia… this—this much gold… will just sit there?" Stanley's voice was dry as he couldn't help reaching out to touch it.

I closed the safe, neatly avoiding his hand.

"Yes. The password is Denise's birthday, plus Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary," I said softly. "Now you can all rest easy, right?"

The three of them exchanged glances, their expressions visibly relaxing.

I curved my lips into a silent smile.