The Disgraced Heir's Revenge

The System Awakens

POV: ETHAN

The glowing screen was still there when I blinked. I stared at it, my brain trying to catch up with what I was seeing. Numbers and bars and text that looked like they came out of a video game, except I could feel it somehow. Like the information was being downloaded directly into my skull.

[HEALTH: 23%] [STRENGTH: 12%] [INTELLIGENCE: 78%] [CHARISMA: 45%] [FINANCIAL RESOURCES: $0]

Twenty-three percent health. Yeah, that sounded about right for someone who'd been crushed in a car accident and emotionally destroyed in the same day.

More text scrolled across the blue interface;

[THE VENGEANCE SYSTEM ACTIVATES ONLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED ULTIMATE BETRAYAL. YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN. USE THESE TOOLS TO RECLAIM WHAT WAS STOLEN.]

I should've been freaking out. Should've been calling for a nurse, telling them I was seeing things, begging for a psych eval. But instead, I just... stared. Because what the hell else was I supposed to do? My fiancée had left me for my best friend, they'd stolen my company, and my mother was dying three floors up.

Hallucination or miracle, I'd take it.

[MISSION ONE: SURVIVE]

The text pulsed, and new information filled the screen.

[OBJECTIVE: DISCHARGE FROM HOSPITAL WITHIN 24 HOURS] [OBJECTIVE: EVADE SURVEILLANCE] [OBJECTIVE: REACH SAFE HOUSE - INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT]

[REWARDS:] [- $50,000 DEPOSITED IN UNTRACEABLE ACCOUNT] [- SKILL UNLOCK: BASIC PAIN SUPPRESSION] [- EVIDENCE FILE: DANIEL CROSS EMBEZZLEMENT RECORDS]

[FAILURE: DEATH OR CAPTURE]

[TIME REMAINING: 23:59:58]

The timer started counting down, and my heart rate kicked up making the monitor beside my bed beep faster.

Twenty-four hours to escape a hospital when I could barely move. With no money, no phone, no clothes except a thin hospital gown that showed way too much ass. And apparently, if I failed, I'd either die from my injuries or Daniel would make sure I disappeared permanently.

Great. Fantastic. Love that for me.

I forced myself to think and analyze this like I would any business problem, break it down into manageable pieces and solve them one at a time.

I basically had no assets. I was wearing a gown, had a wristband marking me as a patient, and that was it. My body felt like it'd been through a meat grinder, making any physical activity a nightmare. The hospital staff probably thought I was suicidal based on whatever bullshit Daniel had fed them, which meant security would stop me if I tried to walk out.

But I had my brain. I had this weird-ass system thing. And I had nothing left to lose.

The screen shifted, responding to my thoughts somehow, and a minimap appeared. A blueprint of the hospital with little dots moving around, staff members, I realized. Camera positions were marked in red, guard stations in orange, and a blue line tracing a path through the building.

An escape route.

Holy shit.

I spent the next three hours studying the hospital patterns. Nurse rotations changed every four hours, with a fifteen-minute gap during shift handover when everyone was distracted. Security did rounds every thirty minutes, but they got lazy after midnight, sometimes stretching it to forty-five. Visiting hours ended at nine, after that the halls were mostly empty except for staff.

The system fed me information. Real-time positions of every person in the building, which doors were locked, which cameras had blind spots. It was like having a cheat code for real life.

At 2:00 AM, when the overnight shift was at its most exhausted, I made my move. The system guided me through disconnecting the IV monitors without triggering alarms, some trick with clamping the line before removing it. I grabbed my chart from the end of the bed, scanned it quickly. Fractured ribs, broken arm, internal bruising, possible concussion. Yeah, I felt all of that.

The medication cart sat outside my door, unlocked during the shift change like clockwork. I snagged painkillers and antiseptic, stuffing them in the gown's pocket. My hands were shaking, and every movement made my ribs scream, but something warm was spreading through my nervous system. The pain suppression skill, maybe. It didn't eliminate the agony, but it kind of… turned it down.

The staff locker room was on the second floor. I took the stairs because elevators had cameras, and each step felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest. By the time I reached the locker room, I was sweating and dizzy, but the blue line on the minimap kept me focused.

A set of scrubs hung in an unlocked locker, size medium, close enough. I changed as fast as my broken body allowed, biting back groans that wanted to escape. Then I found a medical ID badge clipped to a jacket. Dr. Stevens. Nerd-looking guy, brown hair, roughly my height. It'd work as long as nobody looked too closely.

I moved through the corridors like a ghost, following the blue line, timing my movements to avoid cameras and security. The system showed me everything, a guard turning left, I went right. A nurse approaching, I ducked into a supply closet. It was like having eyes everywhere.

The parking garage was cold, and the concrete was rough under my bare feet. I'd forgotten about shoes. Shit.

The sedan was right where the system said it'd be, tucked in the back corner. Fifteen-year-old Toyota, dented bumper, belonged to a janitor who wouldn't finish his shift for another four hours. Plenty of time.

The system fed me instructions for hot-wiring the ignition, and my hands moved with confidence I didn't know I could feel. First, it was to strip the plastic casing, then find the battery, ignition, and starter wires. Twist the battery and ignition wires together, and touch the starter wire to them. 

I did everything, and the engine turned over with a rough growl that sounded like freedom. I was about to pull out when another notification flashed across my vision:

[WARNING: HOSTILE SURVEILLANCE DETECTED] [DANIEL CROSS HAS PLACED MONITORS ON ALL HOSPITAL EXITS] [ALTERNATE ROUTE REQUIRED]

My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached.

Of course. Of fucking course Daniel had people watching. The divorce papers, the severance offer, all of it was theater. He never intended to let me leave alive, he was going to stage a final humiliation before making sure I disappeared permanently.

But there was one exit he didn't consider. One route the arrogant bastard would never think I was capable of taking. The emergency vehicle ramp led directly to the street, bypassing the main exits entirely. It had a barrier, but this car was already stolen and beat to hell. What was a little more damage?

I shifted into gear, pressed the gas, and aimed for the barrier. The impact threw me forward against the seatbelt, and pain exploded through my ribs. Metal screamed as the barrier bent and snapped. The car burst through onto the street, tires squealing, and I was free.

The system chimed as I tried to maintain focus on the road:

[MISSION PROGRESS: 33% COMPLETE] [NEXT OBJECTIVE: REACH SAFE HOUSE UNDETECTED]