The Kids Made Me A Billionaire; The Cashback System

The Ex Returns

The school owned us.

By 10 AM, the news was everywhere: "Ice Queen Victoria Sterling and Mysterious Single Dad Buy Elite Academy With a Dog and a Lion."

By 11 AM, Lily sent me a video: Leo sleeping on her desk during math, Gold sitting next to Emma as the class guard dog, and Jake Johnson sitting in the BACK row where he put Lily yesterday. The teacher was asking Lily if the temperature was okay for Leo.

By 12 PM, my bank balance was $234 million and climbing from the school's tuition fees cashback.

And by 1 PM, Sarah showed up.

I was in the Presidential Suite, trying to build a proper lion-proof crib for Ben, when John the GM knocked, terrified.

"Sir... your... your wife is downstairs. With... lawyers. And Mark."

My ex-wife. The woman who told my kids "Daddy is a loser, we need to find a new daddy."

I told Lily and the others to stay in the bedroom with Gold and Leo. Victoria had left a female bodyguard who nodded and closed the door.

I went down alone.

Sarah looked different. She had a new designer bag, new hair from the salon that I now owned, and she was holding Mark's arm like he was a trophy.

Mark looked less confident than yesterday. His eyes were puffy. His 100x system was probably screaming at him since the 200x reveal.

Sarah saw me and started crying instantly. The fake kind. The kind she used to get me to pay for things.

"Babe! Thank God! I was so worried about you! Where have you been? The kids... "

"My kids," I said. "Not yours. You left them in a hotel room."

She flinched. Mark stepped forward.

"Listen, man, no hard feelings, right? Business is business. But Sarah is worried. Four kids, a dog, a lion in a hotel? That's not safe. Johnson family has a big house. With a real zoo. 12 lions. We can take them... "

"Take them?" I laughed. "You want to take my kids?"

Sarah switched tactics. She pulled out papers.

"It's a custody letter. My lawyer says... you are unemployed, living unstable, keeping wild animals around minors. I am their mother. I have a right. And Mark's family can give them everything. Real school, real house, real pets, not some... stunt."

She thought I was still the 50x glitch. She thought I was faking.

Mark added, "And your little hotel stunt? My grandfather already called the real owners. That sale won't hold. You're going to be homeless tomorrow. Give us the kids, we will forget it."

My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was my system.

[DING! THREAT DETECTED: EX-WIFE + 100x PARASITE ATTEMPTING TO STEAL HOST'S CHILDREN]

[EMERGENCY MISSION: Spend $50,000,000 on your children in 24 hours to establish UNBREAKABLE CUSTODY SHIELD]

[REWARD IF SUCCESS: Legal Full Custody + $500M + Skill: Judge's Favor - No Court Can Take Your Kids]

[REWARD IF FAIL: Lose 50% of your 200x to the Johnsons]

$50 million in 24 hours. On my kids.

I looked at Sarah. She was smiling, thinking she won.

I smiled back.

"Sarah, you said I couldn't give them anything. You were right. My old self couldn't. So I built a new self."

I called John.

"John, how many rooms are free in this hotel?"

"47 rooms, sir."

"Book all 47. For my kids. For a year. Put their names on the doors. Lily's Library, Grace's Doll Palace, Tom's Car Garage, Ben's Dinosaur Room. And one for Gold and Leo."

John's eyes widened. "Sir, that's... $4.7 million."

"Do it."

Sarah: "What? You can't... "

I wasn't done.

"Victoria," I said into the phone. Victoria picked up on the first ring.

"Victoria, I need to buy your daughter a present. Does Emma like islands?"

On the other end, Victoria laughed. "She loves islands. Why?"

"Because I'm buying one. For our kids. All five of them. A private island with a school, a zoo, and a house that no Johnson can ever touch."

I hung up and looked at Mark.

"Mark, you said your family has 12 lions. How many islands do you have?"

He didn't answer.

I opened my banking app and started spending while they watched.

$4.7M - 47 hotel rooms for kids

$12M - Private island near Bali (listed yesterday, I just bought it)

$15M - Private jet so my kids never have to take a bus again

$8M - Trust fund for each kid: $2M each, in their names only

$10.3M - Building a new Star Academy campus ON the island

Total spent in 6 minutes: $50,000,000 exactly.

[DING! SPENT $50,000,000.00 ON CHILDREN!]

[CASHBACK 200x: $10,000,000,000.00 - $10 BILLION DEPOSITED!]

[CUSTODY SHIELD ACTIVATED - NO COURT CAN TAKE YOUR CHILDREN - EVER]

[NEW BALANCE: $10,184,792,767.73 - YOU ARE NOW A BILLIONAIRE]

The hotel lobby screens - which showed stock prices - all glitched and then showed: BREAKING: UNKNOWN BUYER PURCHASES PRIVATE ISLAND AND JET FLEET

Sarah's lawyer looked at his phone, read something, and whispered to Sarah: "Ma'am... he just... his net worth just hit $10 billion... on Bloomberg..."

Sarah's knees gave out. She fell into a chair.

Mark grabbed the papers back from her hands and tore them up himself.

"50x?" Mark whispered to me, terrified. "You are not 50x... you are..."

"200x," I said quietly, so only he could hear. "And you thought I was faking with a rented suit."

Upstairs, the bedroom door opened. Lily came out holding Leo, who was now wearing a little crown that said KING. Grace held Gold, who had a matching crown. Tom and Ben were wearing pilot uniforms.

"Daddy! Are we going to the island now?" Lily shouted. "Emma says her mommy is coming too!"

Victoria walked in from the main entrance, holding Emma's hand. She looked at Sarah on the floor and understood everything in one second.

She walked to Sarah and said, ice cold: "You left four angels in a hotel room to find a richer daddy. Now their daddy is richer than your new daddy's daddy. Leave. Before I buy your new bag company and fire you from being a mother."

Sarah ran. Mark ran after her. The lawyers ran.

Only Johnson Sr. was left outside, watching through the glass, on the phone. He wasn't smiling anymore.

I picked up Lily, Leo almost falling off her shoulder, and looked at my $10 BILLION balance.

Victoria leaned in: "So, Mr. 10-Billion, does the island have room for two more? My system says my daughter and I are now part of your... custody shield."

Lily answered for me: "Yes! Emma is my sister now!"

Ben: "AND LEO IS THE KING OF THE ISLAND!"

Gold barked in agreement.

TO BE CONTINUED...