The Last Guests of Winter

After the meal, Ruby told the housekeeper to bring over a few plastic bags. I quickly stopped her.

"What are you doing? You…"

Nevin set his wine glass down with a thud and cut me off immediately.

"We barely had a few bites. What's wrong with packing some food to go?

"Don't think giving each of us a car and a villa is enough to brush us off. Let me tell you, if we, the uncles and aunts, don't approve, you and Jas aren't getting married."

Hearing that, I felt a quiet surge of satisfaction.

So the aunts and uncles thought the terms were not being divided fairly and wanted to stir things up. Perfect.

"Don't misunderstand me," I said with a calm smile. "I'm not saying you can't take anything. I'm saying, if you like it here, why not stay a few more days?"

The moment I said that, Ruby's face lit up with a wide grin.

Kelly's expression stiffened. Her tone turned sharp.

"Oh, Carson. People who know you may say you're being hospitable. People who don't may think you're the one calling the shots in our family."

I clicked my tongue inwardly. I had not expected Kelly to adapt to her new sense of ownership so quickly.

We had not even discussed the wedding date, and that mountain villa was already hers in her mind. Anyone who did not know better might think I, the heir of the Lewis Group, was marrying into a factory worker's family.

Before I could respond, Ruby rolled her eyes and snapped back.

"He's inviting us to stay longer. What's wrong with that? Is this villa in your name? If anything, it should be in Jas' name!

"I held Jas when she was a baby. I'm staying. What are you going to do about it?"

Nevin clearly could not stand seeing his sister challenged. He fired back right away, saying, "Since when is it your place to speak here? Sit down!"

Rhett, of course, could not tolerate his sister being yelled at. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "This is outrageous! Have you all lost your minds?"

I leaned back with my arms crossed, enjoying the sight of previous life's killers turning on each other.

In no time, they split into two sides, arguing louder and louder.

I watched with quiet delight until it looked like they might actually start fighting. Only then did I step in to mediate.

Not because I cared about them.

I just could not risk one side storming off. If anyone left the villa, my plan for revenge would get a lot harder.

With Jasmine and me stepping in, the two sides argued for a long while before finally forcing a reluctant truce.

Even so, the hatred in their eyes when they looked at each other was impossible to miss.

Just as things settled down, my phone rang.

I excused myself politely and slipped into the bathroom to answer it.

It was my mom.

She got straight to the point. The task I had given her was done. One of our villa districts had already been transformed into a steel fortress, strong enough to keep even zombies out.

Remembering the extreme cold from my previous life, I felt a chill deep in my bones. I added a few more instructions.

I told them to move all the supplies underground, stock up on heating equipment, and make sure the place could stay warm continuously for 50 years.

In my previous life, we died early, at the hands of the Bakers. I never found out how long the freeze would last.

However, my family had power and resources. Upgrading a place like that was nothing for them.

They were not entirely convinced by my talk of nightmares, but they trusted me enough to follow every instruction exactly.

With that kind of support behind me, I felt a lot more at ease. I reminded them again to secure water sources and supplies before finally hanging up.

The moment I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw Jasmine standing there, her expression dark.

As soon as she saw me, she demanded, asking, "Who were you talking to for so long?

"What's all that about extreme cold, heating equipment, and supplies? What are you hiding from me?"

As she spoke, several pairs of eyes in the living room turned toward me at the same time.

My heart skipped.

'I've finally gathered all of you here. I can't let anything go wrong now,' I thought.