The Heir’s Awakening System

The Compound Interest

The text arrived at 5:03 a.m. while Marcus was still in the shower, steam thick as debt in the tiny Coral Gables bathroom.

**BALANCE DUE: $1,200,000.00. LATE FEE: $120,000.00. TOTAL: $1,320,000.00. PAYABLE BY 6:00 A.M.**

One hour. One point three million. One more ransom note dressed as a ledger entry.

Marcus wiped the fog from the mirror, Claire's baby monitor crackling beside the sink—she was still asleep, her breath steady, the silver threads on her spine invisible under the onesie. The System blinked weakly: [DEBT CLOCK—36 HOURS ELAPSED—COMPOUNDING DAILY—SOURCE: PHOENIX PRIME—HOST: UNKNOWN].

He dressed in the waiter uniform again—black polyester, white name-tag, the silver thread now sewn into the collar like a brand. The uniform was clean, but it still smelled of Montreal ozone and old fear.

The rotary phone rang. He answered without hello.

Daniel Harrison again—voice cracked, breath ragged, the sound of a man who'd been awake for three days and was now awake forever. "They too