By: Ranjan Sarkhell
–
Table of Contents
–
Quote
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
–
Introduction
Kaelen Underwood had never met a woman like Mily Anderson.
He had met strong women before. He had met stubborn women before. He had met women who did not flinch when he raised his voice. But he had never met a woman who stood between him and his target without a single tremor in her body. He had never met a woman whose eyes burned with green fire and refused to look away. He had never met a woman who made him feel — even for a moment — uncertain.
“He had never met a woman who made him feel — even for a moment — uncertain.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
That uncertainty was dangerous.
He could not afford to be uncertain. He had built an empire on certainty. He had built a life on fear. He had built a reputation on never backing down, never hesitating, never showing weakness. If word got out that a foreign botanist had made him pause, his power would crumble.
So he had to destroy her.
Not with his hands. Not with a gun. Not with fire — not yet. He had to destroy her with something more powerful. Something that would turn the people against her. Something that would make her look like the enemy.
He had to make them believe she was the threat.
And he knew exactly how to do it.
—
Key Points
Kaelen realizes Mily is a threat to his empire. He decides to destroy her reputation.
He bribes local village people. He gives them money and inducements.
He spreads lies. He tells them a foreign white woman wants to encircle and occupy their Thornwood jungle.
“He spreads lies. He tells them a foreign white woman wants to encircle and occupy their Thornwood jungle.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
The poor, illiterate villagers begin to see Kaelen as a well-wisher for the first time.
Village people protest the project and Mily. Village youths withdraw from the project.
Government authorities stop the fencing work. Mily feels helpless for the first time.
Kaelen celebrates. But Mily is not defeated. She calls her uncle in America.
The American embassy phone rings constantly. Washington issues directives. The entire Africa-based office fills with commotion.
The matter has become sensitive.
—
The Decision
Kaelen sat alone in his study at Toba Conservancy.
The room was dark. The curtains were drawn. A single lamp burned on the desk. Outside, the jungle was silent. Even the animals seemed to know that something was wrong.
He stared at the wall. He stared at the mounted heads of animals he had killed — a lion, a buffalo, a kudu. Trophies of a life he had built on blood. He did not see them. He saw her face.
Mily Anderson.
“He did not see them. He saw her face. Mily Anderson.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
He saw her standing between him and Kihengu. He saw her eyes — green fire, unflinching. He saw her chin lifted, her fists clenched, her body trembling but unyielding. He saw the moment she had surprised him. The moment he did not know what to say. The moment he turned and walked away.
He had walked away.
That was the problem. He had walked away.
He had never walked away from anyone.
He had killed men who looked at him wrong. He had burned villages that harbored his enemies. He had made entire communities disappear. He had never walked away.
But he had walked away from her.
Because she had not been afraid.
Because she had looked at him like he was not a monster.
Because she had looked at him like he was a man.
“Because she had looked at him like he was not a monster. Like he was a man.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
And that had terrified him.
He could not afford to be terrified. He could not afford to be uncertain. He could not afford to feel.
So he made a decision.
He would destroy her.
Not with violence. Not yet. Violence would make her a martyr. Violence would bring attention. Violence would bring the American embassy. He was not ready for that.
He would destroy her with something more powerful.
He would turn the people against her.
He would make them believe she was the enemy.
He would make them hate her.
And he knew exactly how to do it.
—
The Bribe
The next morning, Kaelen sent his men to the villages.
They carried money. They carried food. They carried promises. They carried lies.
They went to the village elders first. They sat with them. They drank with them. They spoke in low voices.
“The American woman,” they said. “She wants to fence the Thornwood. She wants to lock it up. She wants to keep us out.”
The elders listened. They had heard about the project. They had heard about fencing. They had heard about the relocation of the herbivores. They were already uncertain. They were already afraid.
“She says she wants to save the forest,” Kaelen’s men continued. “But she does not care about us. She does not care about our cattle. She does not care about our goats. She does not care about our children. She cares only about the trees. She wants to turn our jungle into a museum. A place for rich tourists to look at. Not a place for us to live.”
“She wants to turn our jungle into a museum. A place for rich tourists to look at. Not a place for us to live.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
The elders nodded. They had heard these words before. They had heard them from Kaelen. But now they were hearing them again. And this time, they were being paid to believe them.
Kaelen’s men left money. They left food. They left promises.
And they left lies.
—
The Lies
The lies spread through the villages like fire.
“The American woman wants to fence the Thornwood.”
“The American woman wants to lock us out.”
“The American woman wants to take our land.”
“The American woman wants to turn our jungle into a playground for the rich.”
“The American woman does not care about us.”
“The American woman is the enemy.”
The villagers listened. They had lived at the edge of Thornwood for generations. They knew the jungle better than anyone. They knew its dangers. They knew its gifts. They knew that it was dying. They knew that something had to be done.
But they did not trust the American woman. They did not trust her science. They did not trust her promises. They did not trust her white skin and her foreign ways.
And now Kaelen was telling them she was the enemy.
Kaelen — the man who had burned their homes. Kaelen — the man who had killed their animals. Kaelen — the man who had hurt their people.
They had always seen him as a villain.
But now — for the first time — they saw him as a well-wisher.
“They had always seen him as a villain. But now — for the first time — they saw him as a well-wisher.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
He was offering them money. He was offering them food. He was offering them the truth.
The American woman was offering them nothing.
The choice was easy.
—
The Protest
The village people began to protest.
They gathered outside the LTEE camp. They carried signs. They shouted slogans. They demanded that the project be stopped.
“Stop the fencing!”
“Save our jungle!”
“Send the American home!”
Mily watched from the edge of the camp. She watched the faces of the people. She saw the anger. She saw the fear. She saw the confusion.
She did not see the truth. She did not see that they had been lied to. She did not see that they had been bribed. She did not see that they had been manipulated.
She saw only that they hated her.
“She saw only that they hated her.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
She did not understand. She had come to help them. She had come to save their forest. She had come to give them a future.
Why did they hate her?
Joseph stood beside her. His face was grim.
“They do not understand,” he said. “They have been told lies. They believe the lies.”
“Who told them lies?”
Joseph did not answer.
But Mily knew.
—
The Withdrawal
The village youths who had been working on the project withdrew.
They came to Mily one by one. They did not look her in the eye. They did not explain. They simply said they could not work anymore.
“My family,” one said. “They will not allow it.”
“My father,” another said. “He says I must stay away.”
“My village,” a third said. “They will not forgive me if I help you.”
Mily watched them go. She did not blame them. She understood. They were caught between two worlds. They were caught between survival and truth. They had families. They had obligations. They had fear.
She did not blame them.
But she was alone.
“She did not blame them. But she was alone.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
—
The Order
The government authorities came the next day.
They did not come with apologies. They did not come with explanations. They came with an order.
“The fencing work is to be stopped. Immediately. Until further notice.”
Mily stared at the paper. She read it once. She read it twice. She read it three times.
“Why?” she asked.
The official did not answer. He simply shrugged.
“Public sentiment,” he said. “The people are against it. We cannot allow it to continue.”
“The people are against it because they have been lied to. They have been told lies by Kaelen Underwood. He is the one who is destroying the forest. He is the one who is killing the animals. He is the one who is hurting the people.”
The official did not answer. He did not look at her. He simply turned and walked away.
Mily stood there. The paper in her hand. The order in her ears. The weight of it all pressing down on her.
She had come to save a forest. She had come to help people. She had come to make a difference.
And now she had been stopped.
By lies. By bribes. By a man who would do anything to protect his empire.
She felt something she had not felt in a long time.
Helplessness.
“She felt something she had not felt in a long time. Helplessness.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
—
The Celebration
Kaelen celebrated that night.
He sat in his study. He poured himself a glass of whisky. He raised it to the empty room.
“To victory,” he said.
But the victory felt hollow.
He had stopped the project. He had stopped her. He had proven that he was still the most powerful man in the region. He had proven that no one could stand against him.
But he could not stop thinking about her.
He could not stop thinking about her eyes. The green fire. The unflinching stare. The moment she had stood between him and Kihengu and refused to back down.
He could not stop thinking about the way she had looked at him. Like he was not a monster. Like he was a man.
He could not stop thinking about her.
He finished his whisky. He poured another. He drank it slowly. He stared at the wall.
He had won.
Why did it not feel like winning?
“He had won. Why did it not feel like winning?”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
—
The Helplessness
Mily sat alone in her tent that night.
She did not sleep. She could not sleep. She stared at the canvas ceiling. She listened to the silence. She felt the weight of the day pressing down on her.
She had come to Africa with a plan. She had come with a mission. She had come with the belief that science could solve anything. That data could convince anyone. That truth would always win.
But the truth had not won.
Lies had won.
Money had won.
Power had won.
“Lies had won. Money had won. Power had won.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
She was just one woman. One American botanist. One scientist with a notebook. What could she do against a man like Kaelen Underwood?
She had no power. She had no money. She had no influence. She was alone in a foreign country. She was alone in a foreign world.
She felt tears in her eyes. She did not let them fall. She was not a woman who cried. She was not a woman who gave up.
But she was a woman who was tired. She was a woman who was lost. She was a woman who did not know what to do next.
She opened her notebook. She wrote:
Day 35. The project has been stopped. The villagers have turned against me. The youths have withdrawn. The authorities have ordered me to stop. Kaelen has won.
She stared at the words. She underlined the words. Kaelen has won.
Then she wrote:
What do I do now?
She stared at the question. She did not have an answer.
She closed the notebook. She lay back on her cot. She stared at the canvas ceiling.
Outside, the jungle breathed. Outside, the wild waited.
And somewhere in the dark, Kaelen Underwood was watching.
He had won.
But he did not know that victory was not the end.
It was only the beginning.
—
The Fire
Mily woke to the smell of smoke.
She sat up. Her heart was pounding. The tent was dark. The air was thick. She could see orange light flickering through the canvas.
She ran outside.
The camp was on fire.
The supply tent was burning. The office was burning. Her own tent was burning. The flames were spreading fast. The heat was intense. The smoke was choking.
She heard screams. She heard shouts. She saw the team running. She saw them trying to put out the fire. She saw them failing.
She saw Joseph. He was running toward her.
“Dr. Anderson! We must go! We must get out!”
“My notebook! My research! Everything is in there!”
“It is gone! We must go!”
She looked at the fire. She looked at everything she had worked for. She looked at everything she had built. It was burning. It was all burning.
She felt something inside her break.
She had been stopped. She had been humiliated. She had been defeated. And now she had been burned.
She had lost everything.
But she had not lost herself.
“She had lost everything. But she had not lost herself.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
She turned to Joseph. Her eyes were wet. Her face was smudged with ash. Her hands were shaking.
“I am not leaving,” she said.
“What?”
“I am not leaving. I am not running. I am not giving up.”
Joseph stared at her. He saw the fire in her eyes. Not the fire that was burning the camp. The fire that was burning inside her.
“What will you do?”
Mily took a breath. She looked at the burning camp. She looked at the dying forest. She looked at the dark jungle beyond.
She knew what she had to do.
She had tried to fight with science. She had tried to fight with the truth. She had tried to fight with the system.
None of it had worked.
It was time to fight with something else.
It was time to fight with power.
And she knew exactly where to find it.
—
The Call
She walked to the radio.
The camp was still burning. The team was still fighting the fire. But she did not stop. She did not look back. She walked to the radio and she picked up the receiver.
She dialed the number.
It rang once. Twice. Three times.
Then a voice. A familiar voice. A voice from home.
“Hello?”
“Uncle David?”
“Mily? Is that you? It’s the middle of the night here. What’s wrong?”
She took a breath. She felt the tears in her eyes. She felt the weight of everything. But she did not break.
“Uncle David,” she said. “I need your help.”
—
The Account
She told him everything.
She told him about Thornwood. About the dying forest. About the LTEE project. About fencing. About the relocation. About the villagers. About the lies. About the bribes. About the protests. About the withdrawal. About the order. About the fire.
And she told him about Kaelen Underwood.
She told him about the man who ran the cartel. The man who killed tuskers for ivory. The man who killed rhinos for horn. The man who burned villages. The man who hurt people. The man who had threatened her. The man who had burned her camp. The man who had tried to kill her.
She did not stop. She did not cry. She did not plead.
She simply told the truth.
When she finished, there was silence.
Then her uncle spoke.
“Are you okay?”
“I am okay.”
“Are you safe?”
“I am safe.”
“Where are you now?”
“I am at the camp. What is left of it.”
Silence. Then:
“Stay there. Stay safe. Do not do anything. Do not go anywhere. Do not confront anyone. Just stay.”
“Uncle David—”
“I mean it, Mily. Stay. I will handle this. You will see change. I promise you. You will see change.”
The line went dead.
Mily stood there. The receiver in her hand. The fire still burning behind her. The night still dark around her.
She did not know what her uncle would do.
But she knew one thing.
She was not alone anymore.
“She was not alone anymore.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
—
The Commotion
The American embassy phone rang at 3:00 AM.
The commissioner was asleep. He was not happy to be woken. He picked up the phone. He grunted.
Then he heard the voice on the other end. He sat up. He listened. He went pale.
The voice was from Washington. The voice was stern. The voice was angry.
“An American citizen is in trouble. She has been threatened. She has been attacked. Her camp has been burned. She is in danger. And you are unaware. You are supposed to protect our citizens. You are supposed to know what is happening. You are supposed to act.”
The commissioner tried to speak. He tried to explain. He tried to make excuses.
The voice did not let him.
“You will act immediately. You will find out who is responsible. You will bring them to justice. You will inform Washington of every step. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Yes. I understand.”
The line went dead.
The commissioner sat there. His heart was pounding. His hands were shaking. He had never been spoken to like that. He had never been so afraid.
He picked up the phone again. He started making calls.
—
The Sensitive Matter
By morning, the entire Africa-based office was in commotion.
The phones were ringing. The faxes were coming. The emails were flooding. The American High Commissioner was making calls. The local high-ranking persons in the capital were receiving calls. The governor was receiving calls. The police chief was receiving calls. The forest warden was receiving calls.
Everyone was asking the same question.
“Who is Kaelen Underwood?”
Everyone was giving the same answer.
“He is a poacher. He is a cartel leader. He is dangerous. No one has been able to stop him.”
Everyone was receiving the same response.
“Stop him. Now. Or there will be consequences.”
The matter had become sensitive.
The matter had become international.
The matter had become something that could not be ignored.
Kaelen Underwood had made a mistake.
He had burned the camp of an American citizen.
He had threatened the niece of a powerful man.
He had made an enemy of the United States of America.
And he did not even know it yet.
“He had made an enemy of the United States of America. And he did not even know it yet.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
—
What Comes Next
Kaelen has won the first battle.
He has stopped the project. He has turned the villagers against Mily. He has burned her camp. He has tried to scare her away.
But he has made a mistake.
He has underestimated her.
He has underestimated her uncle.
He has underestimated the power of a single phone call.
Mily is not defeated. She is not running. She is not giving up.
She has called for help.
And help is coming.
“She has called for help. And help is coming.”
Global Warming of the Heart — Part 6: Kaelen’s Counter-Move
—
What will the American embassy do? How will the government react? And what will happen when Kaelen discovers that he is no longer the most powerful man in the region?
The answers lie in Part 7.
—
Read Part 7 — Elephant Poaching and Arrest
—
Global Warming of the Heart — A 17-Part Romance Serial
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
—
Start from the beginning: Read Part 1 — The Seed
—
Global warming may make the heart feel the heat. But love—true, wild, untamable love—can make the heart feel the warmth.
–
Frequently Asked Questions About Global Warming of the Heart
What would you do if you lost everything — your camp, your research, your team — and the only way to fight back was a single phone call?
Dr. Mily Anderson lost everything. The project was stopped. The villagers turned against her. The youths withdrew. The authorities ordered her to cease. Then Kaelen burned her camp to the ground. Her notebooks. Her research. Her equipment. Everything she had worked for. Gone. She stood in the ashes. She had no power. No money. No influence. She was one woman in a foreign country, fighting a system that was designed to protect men like Kaelen Underwood. She could have given up. She could have gone home. She could have accepted defeat.
But she did not. She walked to the radio. She called her uncle in America. She told him everything. And with one phone call, the entire dynamic shifted. The American embassy phones rang. Washington issued directives. The matter became international. Kaelen had made a mistake. He had burned the camp of an American citizen.
That is the question at the heart of Part 6. What would you do if you had nothing left but one chance? Would you take it? Mily took it. And everything changed.
What is the most illegally hunted animal, and how does the Thornwood reflect the global poaching crisis?
The pangolin — a shy, scaly anteater found in Africa and Asia — is the most trafficked mammal in the world . Over one million pangolins were taken from the wild over the last decade, hunted for their meat and their keratin scales . Elephants, rhinos, and tigers are also heavily targeted, with poaching occurring in more than 60 percent of World Heritage sites where these species live . In Global Warming of the Heart, the Thornwood is a microcosm of this global crisis. Kaelen Underwood kills tuskers for ivory. He kills rhinos for horns. He operates a cartel that spans Africa and Asia. Thornwood is not unique. It is one of thousands of forests, savannas, and jungles where the same story is repeated. The only difference is that someone is trying to stop it.
What does it mean to poach someone, and how does Kaelen Underwood poach the villagers in Global Warming of the Heart?
To poach someone means to take something that belongs to another — an employee, a client, an idea, or even a romantic partner.
In the context of Global Warming of the Heart, Kaelen Underwood poaches the villagers not from another person, but from the truth itself.
He uses money, food, and lies to steal their trust away from Dr. Mily Anderson. He tells them she is the enemy.
He tells them she wants to fence their jungle and lock them out. He offers them what she cannot: instant gratification. And they believe him.
This is poaching of a different kind. Not animals. Not of people. But of loyalty. Of hope. Of the future.
–
0 Comments