Framed, Then Reborn To Rule With The Harem System.

I’m Not Dead?

Chapter 4.

Carson’s POV

My eyes opened slowly as I felt my heartbeat rise slowly. For a moment I just stared. My body felt heavy, but the crushing pain from the driveway was gone. I lifted one hand and looked at it. There was no blood or cut, just clean skin and a thin hospital bracelet around my wrist.

“I’m…I’m not dead?”

The thought hit me so hard I pushed myself upright. My head throbbed, but I forced myself to sit fully as I looked around. How did I end up here? Who brought me here?

Just then, a soft chime sounded inside my head.

The blue screen appeared in front of me, clearer than it had ever been before.

[Carson Roberts, your System has been fully activated.]

“What in the…”

[Host has accepted the second chance protocol by surviving death.]

[Confirm acceptance to begin.]

[ Click Yes / No]

I stared at the words. My heart was beating fast, but not from fear this time. I had already died once. Whatever this was, it could not be worse than being dragged into the dark and left there.

I reached out and pressed Yes then the screen expanded.

[Installation complete! Congratulations. Your Identity Rewrite is complete.]

[Host name has been updated: Carson Beaumont]

[Previous identity “Carson Roberts” has been sealed. Public records, secondary memories, and digital traces will gradually adjust to support the new identity.]

[Physical optimization applied.]

[Current Level: 1]

[Main Directive: Form genuine bonds with high-value women. Each successful bond grants permanent growth in power, influence, wealth, and ability.]

[Secondary Directive: Reclaim what was stolen. Destroy those who orchestrated Host’s death.]

[System points and skills will unlock through progression.]

I sat there reading every line twice. Carson Beaumont. Not Roberts. The name felt strange in my mind, but it also felt clean. Like a door that had just been unlocked.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood up. My balance was steady. I walked to the small bathroom attached to the room and looked into the mirror.

The face staring back was mine, but not the one I remembered. The features were sharper. The jaw stronger looked stronger, eyes clearer. Even the way I held myself looked different. Handsome in a way that had never belonged to the orphan who got ignored in the Roberts house.

I touched my cheek. It was solid.

“No freaking way,” I muttered. Had I stolen this face from a model?

As I was still touching my face like it was some sort of new experiment, the door to the ward opened.

A nurse stepped in, mid-twenties, dark hair pulled back, holding a clipboard. She looked up and stopped when she saw me standing.

“You’re awake,” she said, surprise clear in her voice. “I was just coming to check your vitals. Please sit back down. You were in an accident.”

As she spoke, a smaller panel appeared above her shoulder.

[Name: Elena Vargas]

[Age: 26]

[Occupation: Registered Nurse]

[Potential Target – Rank: Low]

[Current Affinity: Neutral]

[No active quest]

I blinked. The panel stayed for a few seconds, then faded.

Elena walked closer and gestured toward the bed. “Really, you should sit. You’ve been unconscious for hours. The doctor will want to see you.”

I sat on the edge of the bed as she checked the machines and wrote something down. Her movements were efficient, professional. She didn’t seem to recognize me as anyone important. Just another patient.

When she finished, I asked the question that had been building since I first woke up.

“What today’s date?”

She glanced at me. “March 14th.”

“What year?”

She gave a small, confused smile. “2019. Are you feeling disoriented? That’s common after a head injury.”

2019.

That’s a year earlier.

The numbers settled into my mind like a stone dropping into deep water. I was back before the framing. Before the accusations. Before the night they left me to die. My stepmother’s plans were probably still forming and my father still believed he could protect the orphan he had taken in.

I had time.

Elena was still watching me. “I can call the doctor if you’re feeling confused about the date.”

“No,” I said. My voice came out steadier than I expected. “I’m fine. Just needed to be sure.”

She nodded, made one last note, and moved toward the door. “Someone from administration will come by later about your information. The ID we found on you was damaged, so they’ll need to confirm your details. Make sure you rest until then.”

The door closed behind her.

I looked at the blue screen still floating faintly in the corner of my vision.

Carson Beaumont. Level 1. A new face. A new name. A year of knowledge that no one else in this world probably had.

I leaned back against the pillows and let the reality of it settle.

They had left me to die on the side of that driveway. My stepmother had given the order. Lilian had watched. My father had never known the full truth. In the life I remembered, I never got the chance to make them pay.

But this time…, it’d would be different.

I would build whatever power this system offered. I would form the bonds it demanded. I would rise under a name they did not know.

And when I walked back into their world, I would take everything they tried to keep from me.

The screen pulsed once, quietly.

[System ready.]

[Host progression begins now. Quests ready.]

I closed my eyes and smiled for the first time in a long time.

They had no idea what was coming.