The Ding Of Destiny: Cole Walker's Revenge

“Cole, step into my office.”

The voice came sharp, clipped, and without a trace of respect. Mr. Harlan didn’t even bother to look up from his desk when Cole Walker entered.

Cole straightened his cheap tie, heart thumping. He already knew what was coming.

“Sit down,” Harlan muttered, finally glancing up. “Actually, don’t. This won’t take long.”

Cole swallowed. “Sir, if this is about the reports.”

“Reports?” Harlan barked out a laugh. “Walker, your numbers are pathetic. You’re pathetic. You’re the weakest sales rep in this entire firm. Do you think this company can afford dead weight like you?”

Cole clenched his fists. “I’ve been loyal to this company for six years. You know how much I’ve put in.”

Harlan leaned back, smirking. “Six years of mediocrity. Six years of excuses. And now, six years too many.”

Cole’s chest tightened. “Please, Mr. Harlan, I just need more time.”

“Save it,” Harlan snapped, cutting him off. “You’re fired. Effective immediately.”

The words hit like a hammer. Fired. Just like that. Cole opened his mouth, but Harlan’s sneer cut deeper.

“And between you and me?” Harlan leaned forward. “Your wife deserves better than a loser like you. I’ve seen her. A woman like that… she won’t stick around long.”

The insult burned. Cole stumbled out of the office, the jeers of his coworkers following him down the hall.

The drive home felt endless. Dallas traffic blurred past his windshield, but he barely noticed. His chest ached. Fired. Mocked. Worthless.

But home, home would be different. Vanessa would comfort him. She had to. He opened the front door quietly, calling out: “Vanessa?”

A sound drifted from upstairs. A laugh. A man’s laugh. Cole froze. He climbed the stairs, heart pounding, and pushed open the bedroom door.

The sight burned into his brain. Vanessa, his wife of five years, tangled in the sheets with another man. Derek Stone. Wealthy, arrogant, son of one of Dallas’s elite oil families.

Vanessa smirked when she saw him. She didn’t even try to cover herself. “Oh,” she said coolly. “You’re home early.”

Cole’s voice cracked. “Vanessa… what is this?”

“This,” Derek drawled, stretching lazily, “is what a real man looks like. Not some broke loser who can’t even keep a job.”

Vanessa laughed, the sound cruel. “You thought I’d spend my whole life chained to trash? Cole, you can’t even pay the mortgage on time. Do you know what it’s like living with your failures every day?”

Cole’s throat tightened. “After everything I’ve done for you… this is how you repay me?”

“Repay?” She sneered. “You’ve given me nothing. Derek gives me everything. Money. Status. Passion. You? You’re just… worthless.”

Derek slid out of bed, towering over Cole, his muscles flexing as he smirked. “Get lost, Walker. Take your pity-party somewhere else. Vanessa’s with me now. Always has been.”

Cole’s hands shook. Rage boiled, but his voice was hollow. “You’ll regret this.”

Vanessa laughed again, crueler this time. “No, Cole. You’ll regret ever thinking you could be more than a loser. Get out of my sight.”

Her words shattered him.

Hours later, Cole stumbled into a dim Dallas bar. He slumped at the counter, ordering drink after drink until the bartender gave up warning him.

Whiskey burned down his throat. His head spun. He muttered to himself, broken words tumbling out. “Fired… betrayed… worthless.”

The world blurred. His vision swam. Then, Ding. Cole froze. The sound hadn’t come from the bar. It had come from inside his head. Clear, metallic, sharp.

[Ding. Wealth System Activated]

Cole blinked. “Wh-what?”

A glowing blue panel appeared before his eyes, hovering in midair. No one else reacted. Only he could see it.

[System Reward: Initial Activation Bonus – 100 Billion USD]

Cole’s jaw dropped. “One… one hundred billion?”

[System Tutorial: Complete tasks to unlock further rewards]

[Face-slapping humiliation of enemies will yield the highest bonuses]

His pulse raced. “Face… slapping?”

[First Task: Humiliate Derek Stone in front of at least 100 people]

Cole stared at the glowing words, his mind spinning. This couldn’t be real. Could it?

He fumbled for his phone, hands shaking. He opened his banking app. His balance flashed across the screen. [$100,000,000,000.00]

Cole dropped the phone. It was real. The System was real, and suddenly, for the first time in his miserable day, he smiled.