The Kids Made Me A Billionaire; The Cashback System

The Gold Membership Card

The $30 billion birthday party lasted until 2 AM.

The castle was half-destroyed by Leo who discovered he could climb it. Gold had eaten 7 cakes and was sleeping inside Tom's mini Rolls-Royce with his belly up. Ben had declared himself King of the Ballroom and made everyone call him "Your Majesty Ben-Ben." Emma and Lily had built a fort out of $2 million worth of dolls and were whispering secrets inside.

Victoria was asleep on a pile of toy boxes, holding Emma's hand, frosting still on her cheek. For the first time in 2 years, her phone wasn't buzzing with system errors. Her 100x was back, warm and quiet.

And I was standing on the balcony, looking down at the street, where Davis was still sitting on the curb.

He hadn't moved in 5 hours. His suit was ruined. His briefcase was empty. The Johnsons left him there when his 100x broke.

At 2:13 AM, my system buzzed. It was a notification.

[250x BONUS SENSE: A former 100x host nearby is about to lose everything. Including his family. Choice: Crush or Recruit.]

[DAVIS: 100x -> 50x (6 days 18 hours left). Debt: $4.2M. Wife left yesterday. Daughter's school fees unpaid.]

I didn't want to feel sorry for him. This was the man who made me work 18-hour days while my kids ate noodles. Who laughed when I asked for $200 for Lily's school shoes.

But the system showed me a photo. Not Davis. A little girl, 8 years old, in a small apartment, holding a broken doll. His daughter.

I went downstairs alone. Gold tried to follow but I told him to stay.

The street was cold. Davis looked up when he heard my shoes. His eyes were red.

"Come to laugh?" he said, voice hoarse. "Come to show me your lion? Your $30B?"

I sat next to him on the curb. Two men who used to be boss and employee, now both broke in different ways.

"No," I said. "Come to return something."

I took out his gold membership card. The one Jason had at Luxe Cuts. Davis had one too. I remembered. He used to flash it at me when I asked for a raise. "You see this? This is what hard work gets you. Gold membership. $10k a year. You will never have one."

I had picked it up from the lobby floor when security took it from Jason. I kept it.

I handed it to Davis.

He stared at it. "Why?"

"Because you were right. Hard work does get you things. Your 100x got you that card. My 200x got me a hotel. But neither got us our kids back. My kids almost lost me because I was always working. Your daughter almost lost you because you were always grinding your 100x."

He started crying. The ugly kind. No more boss voice.

"My wife took my daughter to her mother's. She said I'm a loser now that Johnsons cut me. She said 50x is nothing. She... she said I should have been like you. The guy who actually loves his kids."

He tried to give the card back. "I don't deserve gold. I deserve... I deserve plastic."

I pushed it back.

"Keep it. But not as a gold member. As a reminder. Your system is 50x for 6 more days. Mine is 250x. In 6 days, you go back to 100x. I will go back to 200x. You will still be half of me. But half of me is still enough to feed a daughter."

I took out my phone.

"John," I called. "Hire Davis as a janitor at Grand Plaza. $8,000 a month. And pay his daughter's school fees. One year. From my kids' trust."

Davis's mouth fell open. "Janitor? You want me to clean your building?"

"I want you to learn what your 100x never taught you. How to clean up your own mess. Your daughter can visit the hotel after school. Gold and Leo like kids."

My system buzzed instantly:

[DING! MERCY SPENT: $96,000 School Fees + $96,000 Salary Paid In Advance!]

[250x CASHBACK: $48,000,000 DEPOSITED!]

[RECRUIT SUCCESS: Davis 50x -> 75x (Loyalty Boost). He will now work FOR you, not AGAINST you.]

[NEW BALANCE: $30,232,792,767.73]

[UNLOCKED: First 100x Ally]

Davis knelt on the sidewalk, crying into that stupid gold card.

Upstairs, the ballroom lights flickered. Victoria's voice, sleepy and panicked: "Where are the kids?!"

I ran up.

All five kids were gone. The fort was empty. Gold's birthday hat was on the floor. Leo's crown was gone too.

Only a note was left. My knuckles turned white as I read. My spirit was leaving me too.

TO BE CONTINUED...