Chapter 32: Carmela’s Jealousy

Carmela Bane learned about Zachary’s failed attempt through a message she was never supposed to see. Sitting inside her high-rise city apartment, scrolling lazily through entertainment news, a notification suddenly popped up on Zachary’s private corporate account.

[SOL HAVEN INTERFERENCE: UNSUCCESSFUL.]

Her eyes narrowed into sharp, angry slits as she tapped open the attached report. Construction contracts across Sol Haven had remained completely active.

Alternative suppliers had stepped in to replace every company Zachary disrupted. Taylor Holdings’ generous offers had been flatly rejected, and Raviah’s agricultural estate continued expanding without a single pause.

Carmela slowly lowered her phone, her manicured fingers trembling.

"How did she do that?" she whispered into the quiet room.

For weeks, Carmela had convinced herself that Zachary was gradually pulling Raviah back under his total influence. He had driven out to the rural valley estate.

He had spoken to her privately on the terrace. He had even launched an aggressive campaign to interfere with her business operations. To Carmela, those relentless actions were clear signs that he still cared deeply about his ex-fiancée.

Now the internal report revealed a far more terrifying reality. Zachary was not attempting to destroy Raviah out of spite. He was desperately trying to control her. And that meant he still wanted her.

Carmela’s grip tightened around her phone until the casing creaked.

"After everything I did to separate them..." she muttered through clenched teeth.

Her pale reflection stared back at her from the dark television screen across the room. She remembered her past life, back when they were still working in the city’s central hospital.

Raviah had always been the revered, brilliant surgeon. She was the woman everyone trusted, respected, and admired. She was the woman Zachary had chosen first.

Carmela had spent years believing that if she became beautiful enough, famous enough, and useful enough, she could easily take Raviah’s place beside him.

She had genuinely thought she succeeded when Zachary took her into his home. But now Raviah had walked away on her own terms, and Zachary was foolishly chasing after her.

A toxic, burning jealousy flared through Carmela’s chest. That very night, she made her first calculated move.

Sitting at her laptop, she contacted several prominent entertainment reporters through anonymous channels. She leaked nothing directly defamatory, making sure there was no evidence that could easily be traced back to her. She simply planted subtle, dangerous questions.

[Why had the renowned Doctor Raviah Solomon suddenly abandoned her high-profile relationship with business tycoon Zachary Taylor?]

[Was Sol Haven Holdings really a legitimate agricultural research company?]

[Why was a famous physician suddenly purchasing enormous amounts of rural land, heavy generators, and commercial medical supplies?]

The calculated questions spread across social media channels like wildfire. By morning, popular gossip accounts were actively discussing the strange sudden career shift. By afternoon, anonymous posts began surfacing across online forums.

[Doctor Solomon is clearly hiding something huge.]

[Where did a hospital doctor get the capital for that massive rural property?]

[Why does a surgeon need a fully fortified estate?]

Carmela sat on her leather sofa, watching the online comments multiply by the thousands. A slow, cruel smile spread across her face. She did not need to make explicit accusations against Raviah. She only needed the public to ask suspicious questions, letting public paranoia do the rest.

A week later, Carmela appeared as a guest on a popular afternoon entertainment show. Halfway through the broadcast, the host casually brought up Zachary Taylor’s recent corporate movements.

"You and Doctor Solomon were once acquainted, weren’t you, Carmela?" the host asked, leaning forward with interest.

Carmela lowered her head slightly, offering a delicate, rehearsed smile to the studio cameras.

"We were acquainted, yes," she said softly.

"Do you think she has changed recently?" the host pressed, gesturing toward the screen displaying photos of Sol Haven.

Carmela lowered her eyes, adopting an expression of gentle reluctance. "I don’t think it is my place to judge anyone’s personal life."

That single defensive answer immediately created sensational headlines across online media sites. She waited for the murmurs in the studio to quiet down before continuing with extreme care.

"Raviah is an exceptionally intelligent woman," Carmela added, her voice dropping into a concerned, gentle tone. "But sometimes, when people suddenly achieve enormous success, there can be things happening behind the scenes that the general public simply doesn’t understand."

The host gasped softly, leaning over the desk. "Are you suggesting something illegal is taking place at Sol Haven?"

Carmela immediately shook her head, her hands flying up in a gesture of innocent panic. "No! Absolutely not!"

She paused, making sure the camera caught the worried flicker in her eyes. "I am only saying that people shouldn’t blindly believe everything they see on the surface."

The television interview concluded, and the intended damage began spreading instantly. Online discussions erupted into frantic debates across regional message boards.

While some former patients defended Raviah’s integrity, countless others began questioning her sudden wealth, massive land acquisitions, stockpiled medical crates, and unusual perimeter construction.

Carmela monitored every single public reaction from her tablet, thoroughly enjoying the chaos she had created. She knew precisely what she was doing, and the sense of control thrilled her. However, her petty satisfaction lasted only until another piece of confidential information reached her ears.

One evening, while standing outside a private dining room where Zachary was meeting executives, his assistant accidentally let a detail slip. During a quiet phone call in the corridor, the assistant mentioned that General Rhyder Drakeheir had personally visited Raviah’s estate multiple times.

Carmela froze in the dim hallway, her breath catching in her throat.

"General Drakeheir?" she whispered to herself.

The assistant turned around, instantly realizing his massive mistake.

"Forget I mentioned that name, Miss Bane," he said quickly, ending his call.

It was far too late. Carmela’s mind raced as she returned to her car. Rhyder Drakeheir was one of the most powerful military commanders in the entire Eastern Defense Division.

He was a man whose military authority could open doors that even Zachary’s vast fortune could never unlock. Why was a Supreme Military Commander making personal visits to Raviah’s private estate?

Carmela immediately spent the entire night investigating through her private media contacts. Heavy military transport vehicles had been spotted near the northern highway turnoff leading toward the valley.

Raviah had recently attended high-level defense briefings at the regional complex. There were unusual, official security clearances surrounding the perimeter of Sol Haven.

Then, early the next morning, Carmela received a encrypted photo from a freelance paparazzo.

The image was slightly blurry, taken with a long-range telephoto lens from a distant ridge. Yet there was no mistaking the two figures standing near the estate’s southern iron gate.

Raviah Solomon stood there, tall and composed, looking directly up into the sharp face of General Rhyder Drakeheir.

Carmela stared at the illuminated screen, her breath coming in ragged, furious gasps. Her pettiness transformed into something far sharper and darker.

"How long have they been meeting?" she whispered, her manicured fingers trembling so violently she nearly dropped the phone.

Zachary was obsessively pursuing Raviah, trying to reclaim his hold over her. Meanwhile, Raviah was standing side-by-side with the most formidable military commander in the region.

For the very first time, Carmela realized she was not merely competing against another woman for Zachary’s attention. She was losing Zachary entirely to a woman who had already allied herself with someone far more powerful than he could ever dream to be.

Her dark eyes hardened into icy slits as she stared at the photograph of Raviah and Rhyder.

"If that is the game you are playing, Raviah..." Carmela murmured to the empty room. A slow, bitter smile twisted her lips as her jealousy hardened into malice. "...then I’ll personally find out what you are hiding under that farm, and I will destroy it all."

Deep beneath the central residence of the estate, Raviah stood inside her private command hub, entirely oblivious to Carmela’s online campaign. She adjusted the cuff of her tactical jacket and stepped up to the primary monitoring array.

Across the wall of high-definition screens, live feeds showed armed guards patrolling the outer walls, automated tractors tilling the dark soil, and contractors finishing the reinforced barriers.

Her mind briefly touched upon the secret spatial domain resting within her conscious awareness. That vast, silent dimension was already flourishing with experimental seedlings, serving as her ultimate insurance policy.

No media smear, corporate scheme, or legal maneuvering from Zachary or Carmela could ever reach into that hidden spatial dimension.

A soft chime sounded from the security console. Raviah tapped the interface, pulling up the intelligence log compiled by her senior security team. A detailed summary of Zachary’s failed economic interference appeared on the screen, along with a note regarding rising online rumors.

She scanned the report with cool, detached eyes. She had anticipated public curiosity and corporate moves months before they happened. In her past life, Carmela had used those exact media tactics and pathetic lies to turn desperate crowds against her.

But she was no longer the naive woman who cared about public reputation.

A quiet knock echoed against the reinforced door frame. Raviah turned her head as her senior security consultant stepped into the room, holding an encrypted comms unit.

"Doctor Solomon," the consultant reported, his posture rigid. "The secondary perimeter sensors picked up two civilian vehicles idling along the outer highway turnoff. We suspect entertainment journalists."

"Let them watch," Raviah replied smoothly, turning back to her screens. "As long as they remain on public roads, do not engage. Let them ask their questions. They have no idea that in less than five months, their online stories will mean nothing."

"Understood," the consultant said, nodding crisply before exiting the command center.

Left alone once more, Raviah walked up to the central glass window overlooking the subterranean storage vault. Down below, rows of heavy steel shelving were already packed with tons of grain, preserved foods, industrial water filtration units, and medical crates.

Deep within the lower levels, the mysterious vault door remained quiet, its strange power source humming faintly in the dark. She placed her palm against the cool glass, looking at her vast empire.

Zachary and Carmela believed they were playing a game of media influence, corporate power, and petty envy. They had no idea that the world they knew had less than five months left to exist.

They were fighting over social status and stolen money, while she was building a self-sustaining kingdom to survive the apocalypse. Her eyes narrowed as she watched a team of workers organize crates of surgical equipment down below.

"Try all you want, Carmela," Raviah whispered into the silent room, her voice as firm as concrete. "You will never steal my life again."

She turned back to her terminal, bringing up the regional defense logs. General Rhyder Drakeheir’s military forces were expanding their patrols near the mountain border. The timeline was moving forward, and she had work to do.