The Heir’s Awakening System

Marcus Chen pulled at his cheap black suit as he stood outside the Williams mansion. His hands were shaking. He was three hours late to his wife's birthday party.

"Damn it," he whispered. His boss at Tony's Restaurant had made him work until 11 PM.

Marcus couldn't say no - he needed every dollar from his waiter job.

The mansion glowed with expensive lights.

Through the windows, Marcus saw rich people in designer clothes drinking champagne. His wife Emma was somewhere inside, probably angry at him again.

Marcus took a deep breath and walked to the front door.

"Well, look what crawled out of the gutter."

Marcus turned. Emma's younger brother Daniel stood there in a tuxedo that cost more than Marcus made in months.

"I'm here for Emma's party," Marcus said quietly.

Daniel laughed. "Three hours late. Emma stopped looking for you at nine. Face it, Marcus - you're an embarrassment to our family."

"I had to work. My manager wouldn't let me leave."

"Work?" Daniel's voice was full of disgust. "You mean serving food to real men while wearing a bow tie? Pathetic."

Marcus pushed past Daniel and entered the mansion. The marble floor felt cold under his old shoes. Rich people filled the living room - doctors, lawyers, business owners. People who belonged here.

Marcus found Emma near the stairs. She wore a silver dress that hugged her perfect body.

Her dark hair fell over her shoulders like silk.

Even after three years of marriage, she still took his breath away.

"Emma," he called softly.

She turned around. Her brown eyes were cold. "Marcus. You finally showed up."

"I'm sorry, baby. The restaurant was busy, and my boss-"

"It doesn't matter." Emma's voice was ice. "The party's almost over."

Emma's rich friends stared at Marcus like he was dirt on their shoes.

"I still can't believe Emma married him," one woman whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"She could have had anyone," another added.

"Remember Jonathan Blake? He's worth twenty million now."

Marcus felt his face burn with shame. He pulled out a small box from his jacket.

"Happy birthday, Emma. I got you something."

Emma took the box and opened it. Inside was a simple silver necklace with a heart pendant.

Marcus had saved tips for two weeks to buy it.

Emma barely looked at it. "Oh. Thanks. It's... nice."

Nice. The word hit Marcus like a slap. He had worked so hard to save money for something special, and she called it nice.

"Emma, sweetheart!"

A deep voice boomed across the room.

Marcus turned to see a tall, handsome man in an expensive suit walking toward them. The man moved with the confidence of someone born rich.

"Richard!" Emma's face lit up with a smile she used to give Marcus. "Everyone, this is Richard Sterling. He just moved back from London."

Richard shook Marcus's hand. His grip was firm, and Marcus noticed the expensive watch on his wrist.

"You must be the famous husband," Richard said with a fake smile. "I've heard so much about you."

The way he said 'famous' sounded like a joke.

"Richard just bought the Sterling Building downtown," Emma continued, her eyes sparkling. "The fifty-story one with the golden elevator. He's turning the top floor into his penthouse."

"It's nothing special," Richard said with false modesty. "Maybe you two should visit sometime. I could show you what success looks like."

The insult was wrapped in politeness, but Marcus felt it like a knife. Around them, Emma's friends giggled.

"That sounds wonderful," Emma said, touching Richard's arm. "Doesn't it, Marcus?"

Before Marcus could answer, Daniel grabbed a microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I have a special announcement!"

The room went quiet. Daniel stood on a chair, his face red from champagne.

"My sister has been settling for too long. Well, that's about to change!" Daniel looked directly at Marcus with hatred. "I'm announcing Emma's engagement to Richard Sterling!"

The room exploded in gasps and applause. Marcus felt like the floor had disappeared under his feet.

"What?" Marcus stared at Emma. "Emma, tell me this isn't true."

Emma looked at the floor. She couldn't meet his eyes. "Marcus, I... we need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," Daniel continued, enjoying every moment. "Richard proposed, and Emma said yes. Finally, she'll marry someone worthy of the Williams name.

Someone who can provide for her instead of serving other people's food!"

The guests laughed and clapped. Marcus felt like he was drowning in expensive perfume and cruel laughter.

"Emma," Marcus whispered, his voice breaking. "Look at me."

Slowly, Emma raised her eyes. In them, Marcus saw three years of disappointment and lost dreams.

"I'm sorry, Marcus," she said quietly. "But Daniel's right. You're... you're just not enough. You'll never be enough."

The words hit Marcus like physical blows.

Around him, the wealthy guests smiled, enjoying the show of the poor man being put in his place.

Marcus felt something crack inside his chest.

All the years of insults, all the nights he'd worked double shifts to prove himself - it had all been for nothing.

"You want to know what I think?" Marcus said, his voice growing stronger. "I think you're all-"

He never finished. As he spun toward the door, blinded by rage and heartbreak, his foot caught on a marble step.

Marcus tumbled forward, crashing into a table full of champagne glasses. The sound of breaking crystal filled the room. Shocked gasps turned into cruel laughter.

Marcus lay on the floor, covered in champagne and shame. The richest people in New York stared down at him like garbage.

"How pathetic," Daniel said with satisfaction. "Can't even walk properly."

Marcus struggled to his feet. Glass crunched under his shoes. His cheap suit was soaked and torn. Blood dripped from a cut on his hand.

"Get out," Daniel commanded. "You're embarrassing our family."

Marcus looked at Emma one last time. She stood next to Richard now, her arm linked through his. She wasn't even trying to help her husband.

"Fine," Marcus said, his voice deadly quiet. "But you'll regret this. All of you."

Daniel laughed. "What are you going to do? Serve us poisoned soup?"

Marcus didn't answer. He walked toward the door, leaving bloody footprints behind. He stumbled into the cold New York night.

Behind him, the party continued as if his three-year marriage had never existed.

Marcus walked down the street without caring where he went. City lights blurred through his tears. Cars honked as he crossed streets without looking.

"I'm nothing," he whispered to the empty night. "I'll always be nothing."

He didn't see the black car speeding toward him until it was too late. Headlights filled his vision like two suns.

The impact sent him flying through the air. As Marcus hit the pavement, darkness closing in, he heard something impossible - a voice speaking in his mind.

[SYSTEM ACTIVATION DETECTED]

[HOST NEAR DEATH - EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS STARTED]

[SCANNING HOST BLOODLINE...]

[BLOODLINE CONFIRMED: CHEN IMPERIAL FAMILY]

[AWAKENING HEIR'S INHERITANCE SYSTEM...]

As the system came online, Marcus felt strange memories flooding back. Not memories of his own life, but different shards of something else.

He saw flashes of a different version of himself - confident, powerful, unafraid.

A Marcus who had never learned to bow his head, who had never accepted being treated like trash.

The system's voice continued

[CONFIDENCE RESTORED TO BASELINE LEVEL]

[HOST'S NATURAL STRENGTH UNLOCKED]

[YEARS OF SUPPRESSED POTENTIAL ACTIVATED]

Confidence restored? Marcus wanted to laugh, but his broken ribs still screamed with pain.

How could a voice in his head fix three years of being called worthless? How could some computer system erase all those nights he'd cried himself to sleep?

This has to be brain damage from the accident. I'm dying and my mind is making up fairy tales.

But even as he doubted, something in his chest felt lighter. The depression he carried for years seemed to lift just a little bit.

Deep in his fading consciousness, Marcus understood. Maybe he hadn't been born weak.

Maybe the years of insults, failures, and put-downs had just buried his real self under layers of shame and fear.

Maybe the system wasn't giving him new power - maybe it was revealing what had always been there.

[CONGRATULATIONS, MARCUS CHEN. YOUR TRUE LIFE BEGINS NOW.]

As darkness took him, Marcus thought he was finally losing his mind.