The Kids Made Me A Billionaire; The Cashback System

The $10 Billion Birthday

I was a billionaire for exactly 14 minutes before the system ruined it.

We were still in the lobby. Sarah's perfume was still in the air. Lily was showing Emma how Leo liked his belly rubbed. Gold was trying to steal everyone's shoes and pile them in a corner like treasure.

Victoria was about to say something... something soft, which was rare for her, when all our phones screamed at once.

It was an emergency alert. Like a tsunami warning.

[EMERGENCY: JOHNSON FAMILY ACTIVATES 100x FAMILY COMBINE]

[3 GENERATIONS OF 100x USERS HAVE COMBINED TO 300x FOR 24 HOURS]

[TARGET: YOUR $10B EMPIRE + YOUR CHILDREN'S TRUST FUNDS]

[THEY WILL SPEND $100M IN 24 HOURS TO STEAL YOUR CASHBACK]

Victoria's phone also buzzed. She went white.

"My system... it says 'Family Combine Detected - Hostile Takeover In Progress.' Johnson Sr. called his sons and his brothers. There are seven of them. Seven 100x users. If they all spend $100M today, their combine will hit $30 BILLION. They will outspend us and the bank will freeze us."

Ben, my 5-year-old, heard the word freeze and shouted "ICE CREAM?!"

No, baby. Not that kind of freeze.

Johnson Sr. was still outside the hotel, but now six more black Maybachs had pulled up. Seven old men in suits, all with the same cold eyes. Seven 100x monsters.

Davis was with them, holding a briefcase full of cash, grinning. He thought he was finally on the winning team.

One of the old men shouted through the glass: "You have a lion? We have a zoo! You have an island? We have THREE! You have $10B? We will have $30B by midnight! Give us the 200x secret, boy, or we bankrupt you!"

My $10B balance suddenly felt small.

Lily grabbed my hand. "Daddy, are we going to lose Gold and Leo?"

That was it. That question.

I knelt down to her level, with all four kids, Gold, and Leo in a circle.

"No, princess. We are not losing anyone. We are going to do what Johnsons can't do. They spend for power. We spend for love."

I looked at Victoria. "How much money do you have liquid?"

"About $300M cash. The rest is in companies."

"Enough."

I pulled up my system. It was flashing red.

[COUNTER MISSION: Spend $100M on your children BEFORE they spend $100M. Winner takes loser's multiplier for 7 days.]

[TIME LEFT: 23:59:59]

If I lose, I become 50x for a week. If I win, they all become 50x and I get their 100x added to mine.

A gamble for my whole empire.

"John!" I shouted. "I need a birthday party. Right now. In the hotel ballroom."

John: "Whose birthday, sir?"

"All four of them. And Emma's. Five birthdays. Today. The biggest birthdays this city has ever seen."

Victoria understood instantly. "You are going to spend $100M on a birthday party."

"On five birthdays. For my kids."

She smiled - that real smile again. "Then Sterling Group will cater it."

In 2 hours, the Grand Plaza Ballroom was transformed.

It wasn't a party. It was a kingdom.

$20M: Built a real castle inside the ballroom with slides and secret rooms

$15M: Hired 50 real Disney princesses and superheroes for the kids

$10M: A mountain of toys - every toy in my toy stores, dumped in the middle like a dragon's hoard

$5M: 5 custom supercars - mini Rolls-Royces for each kid, with Gold and Leo's faces painted on them

$10M: A private concert - their favorite cartoon singers flown in from Japan

$40M: I bought the entire mall across the street and told the kids "You have 1 hour to take anything you want for free, for you and your friends."

Total: $100,000,000.00

I paid it all while Johnson Sr. was outside trying to buy stocks. He was spending for money. I was spending for screams of joy.

[DING! SPENT $100,000,000 ON CHILDREN - BIRTHDAY MISSION COMPLETE!]

[CASHBACK 200x: $20,000,000,000.00 DEPOSITED!]

[YOU WIN THE SPENDING WAR! JOHNSON FAMILY COMBINE FAILED!]

[PENALTY: All 7 Johnson 100x hosts downgraded to 50x for 7 days! Your multiplier upgraded to 250x for 7 days!]

[NEW BALANCE: $30,184,792,767.73 - $30 BILLION]

[BONUS REWARD: Johnson Family Mall Deed Transferred To You - They went bankrupt trying to outspend you]

Outside, the seven Maybachs all got repossessed at the same time. A tow truck came. Because Johnson Sr. had spent his last cash trying to beat me and lost.

Davis's briefcase full of cash? The bank froze it because it was Johnson's money. Davis fell to his knees on the sidewalk.

The ballroom doors opened. My kids, Victoria's Emma, Gold with a birthday hat, and Leo with a tiny crown that kept falling off, ran in and screamed.

The castle, the toys, the mountain, the cars.

Ben shouted: "DADDY! YOU BOUGHT THE WHOLE BIRTHDAY STORE!"

Lily didn't run to the toys. She ran to me, crying.

"Daddy, is this all for us? Even though Mommy said we were too expensive?"

I picked her up, with Leo trying to climb up my leg too.

"No, princess. You were never too expensive. You were always worth $30 billion. And more."

Victoria walked up, holding a slice of cake. She had frosting on her cheek. The Ice Queen had frosting on her cheek.

"My system just said something," she whispered. "It said 'Host heart unfrozen. 100x restored. Reason: Witnessed 250x love.'"

Emma shouted: "MOMMY! GOLD ATE MY CAKE!"

Gold did eat her cake. And Leo ate the castle's flag.

On the street below, the Johnsons were walking away, broke for 7 days, carrying their gold watches because their cars were gone.

Davis stayed behind, on his knees, looking up at our ballroom window, at the $30B birthday party he could never afford.

I waved at him. He fainted.

TO BE CONTINUED...