The Fatal System: The Fake Billionaires' Deadly Bet

Aspen and I dragged an old man back from the brink. To pay us back, he handed us two Systems—supernatural cheats for our lives. One was wired for Wealth. The other, Romance.

In our past life, Aspen snatched the Wealth System before I could even blink. She claimed getting filthy rich was her only shield against getting stepped on.

But she flashed her cash too hard. Her deadbeat boyfriend, Zane, tore her life apart.

He assaulted her, drained her bank accounts dry, and left her body so wrecked she could never have kids.

Standing on the edge of a cruise ship deck, ready to end it all, she caught sight of me. Three different billionaires were on their knees, fighting to slip a diamond on my finger.

Her eyes went bloodshot. She snapped. She lunged, shoving me over the railing to drown in the freezing black water. Now, we were back. Reborn.

And this time, she grabbed the Romance System. Aspen clutched it to her chest, her chin tilted high. "My turn to win, Genevieve. Those three billionaires?

They'll be lining up at my door. You can rot at the bottom of the barrel with the trash men and toxic backstabbers." I stared down at the leftover Wealth System resting in my palm.

The corner of my mouth twitched upward. What an idiot. She had a goldmine in her hands last time and blew it.

If she thought this new cheat was her ticket to the top, she was about to crash harder than she did in her first life. Chapter 1 My lungs burned with phantom saltwater.

I gasped, my throat seizing as if the freezing black ocean was still pouring into me. My eyes snapped open.

Aspen’s voice, shrill and buzzing with excitement, cut through the ringing in my ears. "I want this one!" She jammed her finger at the Romance System, claiming it without a second of hesitation.

She turned to me, a smug, venomous smile stretching across her face. "Genevieve, you've always let me have my way since we were kids. I finally found something I actually want.

You wouldn't snatch it from me, right?" The realization hit me like a physical blow. She remembered.

We had both been dragged back in time, landing right in the exact moment before we claimed the Systems.

Earlier today, during our camping trip out in the woods, we had stumbled upon an old man. He looked like he was one breath away from dying of thirst. My chest had tightened.

I unscrewed my water bottle, ready to hand it over.

Aspen had thrown her arm out, blocking me. "Nobody gets a medal for playing the good Samaritan anymore, Genevieve." I frowned, my grip on the plastic bottle tightening.

Aspen crossed her arms, staring down at the dying man with dead, cold eyes. "Besides, who actually dies of thirst nowadays?

If he needs water that bad, he can drag himself to the creek. Or drink his own piss.

Not our problem." I had shoved past her, ignoring her sneer, and pressed the bottle to the old man's cracked lips. He choked it down, his life practically resetting before our eyes.

To pay us back, he offered us the two Systems. In our past life, the second she heard the names—Wealth and Romance—Aspen’s eyes practically dollarsigned. "The Wealth System?

Does that mean I'm going to be filthy rich? I'm taking the money!" She lunged forward, snatching the Wealth System without a second thought. I was the one who saved the guy.

She had literally just told me to let him die. But the second there was a reward, she shoved me aside to claim the glory.

A bitter taste had coated my tongue back then, but she was my sister. I swallowed it down and took the leftovers. "Romance it is, then.

Better than nothing," I had muttered. "Finding a decent guy and settling down into a normal life isn't so bad." I locked in the Romance System.

And from that exact second, our fates splintered in opposite directions. "Genevieve?

Hello?" Aspen snapped her fingers inches from my nose, shattering the memory. "I said, I want the Romance System.

You aren't going to fight me for it, are you?" She took a defensive step back, clutching the glowing interface to her chest like I might tackle her for it. "You had your perfect, happy little life last time.

It's my turn to get the good System." I stared at her, letting the silence stretch. I gave a slow shake of my head. "I wouldn't dream of fighting you for it.

I'll take the other one." I reached out and tapped the Wealth System, my movements casual. [ Host, you have successfully bound to the System. ] Aspen exhaled a massive, shaky breath.

Then, she leaned in, her voice dropping to a mocking whisper right by my ear. "Genevieve, you actually think that pieceoftrash Wealth System is going to make you rich?

It's just going to drag you straight to hell." I had caught the way she looked at the Wealth option a few seconds ago—her pupils dilated, her fingers trembling.

Her choice wasn't a shock.

It was a guarantee. "They're just Systems, Aspen," I said, keeping my tone dead flat. "It's what you do with them that counts." She rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck in her skull. "Sounds like someone's just bitter they got the sloppy seconds." She adjusted her stance, practically vibrating with ego. "I claimed the Romance System first this time.

Those three billionaires? They're going to be begging on their knees for me." Chapter 2 Smugness practically radiated off Aspen's skin.

The second the Romance System locked in, she marched straight to her vanity, layering on makeup and squeezing into her tightest dress. The System didn't waste any time.

It cranked her Charisma stat to the absolute max. Walking down the sidewalk, heads snapped in her direction—guys were practically breaking their necks to look at her.

She soaked up the stares, practically glowing with arrogance. "This Romance System is legit," she muttered to herself, checking her reflection in a storefront window. "I was such an idiot last time.

I just handed Genevieve the golden ticket. But this time? I’m taking the whole damn pot." I kept my face blank. The tables were flipped. I held the keys to the vault now.

With an endless stream of cash at my fingertips, failing to climb my way to the top of the billionaire index would be a straightup insult to the System.

I was swiping through the [ System Interface ], mapping out the rules, when the sharp clack of Aspen's heels stopped right behind me. "Don't get too comfortable, Genevieve," she said, her tone dripping with fake pity. "Consider this a free tip, just because we share blood.

If you actually want to stay breathing, keep your hands off that Wealth System." I didn't move. "The disasters will hit way before the cash does," she pressed, leaning closer. "You won't survive it." I stopped scrolling.

I turned my head, meeting her gaze deadon. "Then let me give you a tip, Aspen," I said flatly. "If you want a good life, stay the hell away from those three billionaires.

That's all I'm going to say." Aspen let out a harsh, scraping laugh. "You're just jealous I grabbed the Romance System first." Her eyes narrowed into tiny, paranoid slits. "I haven't forgotten," she spat, taking a step closer. "Last time, Zane bled my accounts dry.

That deadbeat beat me until my body was so ruined I couldn't even have kids. And where were you?

Standing on the deck of a luxury cruise in a designer gown, watching three different billionaires beg for your hand in marriage." She dug her manicured nails into her palms. "I was stupid.

I thought grabbing the money meant I had it all. I didn't realize holding that kind of cash just painted a giant bullseye on my back.

But the game changed." She flashed a twisted, overly bright smile. "With this Romance System, those rich men? They're nothing but my toys.

And once I have them hooked, their bank accounts belong to me anyway." I looked at her flushed, triumphant face and felt nothing but a hollow wave of pity. We were blood.

When she couldn't land a job, I let her crash on my couch. When Zane used her as a punching bag, I was the one who dialed 911.

When that deadbeat finally crossed the line and put her in the ICU, I didn't hesitate.

I threw away a sixfigure corporate job and practically moved into the hospital, washing her, feeding her, and playing fulltime nurse.

I poured every ounce of my energy into keeping her afloat. And how did she repay that in our past life?

The second the Wealth System kicked in and the millions dropped, she iced me out. She tossed empty water bottles into a hundredthousanddollar Birkin bag just to prove she could.

But the day I hit a wall and asked to borrow a measly five grand to cover rent? She had stared me down from across my own living room. "You have your Romance System, Genevieve.

I don't see you passing out your boyfriends to me," she had sneered. "I earned every cent of this money with my own skills.

If you think you're going to leech off my success, you're delusional." She packed her designer luggage that exact afternoon, walked out of my cramped apartment, and dropped fifteen million in cash on a beachfront mansion.

Chapter 3 When I was backed into a corner last time, offering to sign an IOU just to borrow a fraction of her cash, she had slapped a legally binding ceaseanddesist on the coffee table. "Genevieve, I don't have a sister anymore.

Don't even think about leeching off my cut." She hadn't even blinked. Then came Zane. He ruined her, left her a hollow shell incapable of bearing children.

But instead of blaming the deadbeat who destroyed her, she turned her rotting envy on me.

The second she saw me thriving, she shoved me off that cruise ship deck into the freezing abyss. I cataloged every single betrayal. I saw exactly what she was.

So this time, I boxed up my empathy. I was done playing the savior. It only took a few days.

Using my memories as a blueprint, Aspen orchestrated her own "accidental" runins with the three billionaires. She inserted herself right into their orbit.

And just like that, she had all three of them wrapped around her finger. Billionaire One treated her like absolute royalty, tossing her the deed to an estate on day one.

Billionaire Two flexed harder, dragging her to a VIP Sotheby's auction and dropping eight figures on whatever caught her eye.

Billionaire Three practically fell to his knees, bypassing the jewelry entirely to hand over the title to a private island.

She strutted back into the apartment, practically suffocating the room with her ego. "Genevieve, I had no idea you were living this large last time." She tossed her designer bags onto the couch. "This Romance System is a total cheat code.

All the cash in the world doesn't mean crap compared to having a man obsessed with you. Keep the money yourself, and you're just a target. But if you hold the leash?

They literally beg you to spend their fortunes." I watched her parade around, shaking my head. "Don't pop the champagne just yet." I crossed my arms. "There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Even with that System supercharging your aura, didn't it ever cross your mind that three billionaires zeroing in on you all at once is a little too perfect?" Aspen froze, her lips curling into a sneer. "Genevieve, drop the act.

I know exactly how your brain works. You missed out on the Romance System this time, so you're trying to mindgame me into blowing it.

I'm not falling for your gaslighting." She spun on her heel, marching into her bedroom. Drawers slammed. Hangers scraped across the closet rod.

Ten minutes later, she rolled a sleek suitcase into the living room. "I'm moving out." She tilted her chin, staring down her nose at me. "I've got men lining up to hand me mansions and private islands.

My net worth is on a whole different stratosphere now. This dump is exactly where you belong." I didn't block the door. I didn't flinch.

I just pointed at the console table. "Leave your keys on the entryway." Aspen’s smug mask slipped, her jaw clenching. She planted a hand on her hip. "I knew it.

You’ve always thought I was just dead weight, haven't you? Finally showing your true colors." She snatched her purse. "Fine.

Let me make this crystal clear—when I'm wearing a billionaire's ring, don't you dare come crawling to me for a handout." I looked down, a sharp, humorless smile touching my lips. "That day is never going to come." She didn't stick around to hear it.

The front door slammed shut, the rattle of her suitcase wheels fading down the hallway. I let out a long, slow breath. The dead weight was finally gone.

Chapter 4 With Aspen gone, a massive weight lifted off my chest. I didn't have to spend every waking second worrying about her dragging me down or, eventually, getting me killed.

The Wealth System didn't waste any time. My luck shifted from "decent" to "supernatural." A random twodollar scratcher from the gas station turned into two thousand bucks.

I helped an elderly woman cross the street, and she was so moved she practically adopted me as her goddaughter, leaving me half her estate in her will. Then came the lottery.

I hit the fiftymilliondollar jackpot. I wore a heavy mask, an oversized hoodie, and wrapped myself so tightly I was basically invisible when I went to claim the prize.

The second I had the check, I burned the clothes I was wearing and vanished.

I moved out of my cramped apartment, cut ties with everyone I knew, and wiped my digital footprint clean. [ Host, aren't you being a little… paranoid? ] I watched the steam rise from my coffee, my expression flat. "You don't understand." In our last life, Aspen’s biggest mistake was being a peacock.

She wanted everyone to see her feathers, to know she was the golden child of fortune. It backfired.

Her friends turned into leeches, and her boyfriend, Zane, became a wolf circling a lamb. He didn't love her; he was just calculating how to skin her for every cent.

I could still see that nightmare in my head.

Zane, his eyes bloodshot and hands shaking from a night at the underground casinos, gripping a kitchen knife. "Give me the money, Aspen!" he had screamed, the blade trembling inches from her throat. "Hand it over, or I'm selling you to the highest bidder.

You won't have a place left to cry when I'm done with you." She couldn't escape him. There was nowhere to run.

She handed over every dollar, only for him to blow it all on a single hand of poker. Eventually, the Wealth System glitched—it couldn't keep up with a black hole like Zane.

When the money ran out, he sold her to a group of thugs. She was tossed onto the street like trash, her body so broken she'd never be able to have children.

I wasn't going to be a target. I split my winnings into three distinct vaults. First, I spread the cash across multiple highyield accounts just to let the interest stack.

Second, I set up an offshore trust. Fifty million a year was the cap, and it required my physical signature to move a single cent. Third, I started a private charity.

I funneled money into the community under the alias "Mr. Vance." Money is like water—it has to flow, or it turns into a swamp.

Helping people within my means was the only way to keep the karma balanced. I lived in a shadow.

I bought my new villa through a shell company and used an assistant to handle the paperwork. I was safe because I was a ghost.

I was sitting in my new living room, sipping an espresso, when my private investigator called. "Miss Genevieve," he said, his voice low. "We have a situation at the target location." Aspen was out.

She was dressed in a silk gown that probably cost more than my first car, heading to a highend date with Billionaire Three. She looked like a million bucks, literally.

But she didn't get five steps from her door before Zane lunged out from the shadows, blocking her path. Chapter 5 The PI sent the video file directly to my phone. I tapped play.

On the screen, Aspen’s face drained of all color. Even reborn, staring down the deadbeat who ruined her last life made her physically shake.

She took a step back, her hands up. "Zane, we're done. If you don't back off, I'm calling the cops." Zane cornered her against a brick wall.

He leaned in, trapping her. "Call them." He reached out. His dirty fingers traced her jawline. "You've got some nerve, Aspen.

Kicking me to the curb the second you hook a billionaire." His hand slid down toward her collarbone. "Skin's softer. Body's tighter. Even I'm getting a little distracted.

If you don't cough up some cash right now, I wouldn't mind putting on a free show right here on the sidewalk for everyone to see." Sweat beaded on Aspen's forehead.

Her hands flew up, trembling as she backed away. "I—I don't have any money!" She pointed frantically toward the street. "Zane, I swear! Go find my sister!

Genevieve is about to be a millionaire… no, a billionaire! Just grab her. Find her weak spot.

She'll pay whatever you want!" Greed flashed across Zane's eyes. "Give me the address." The footage showed Zane strutting away. Aspen hugged her arms, her whole body shivering.

Through the mic, I caught her pathetic little whisper. "Don't blame me, Genevieve. You took the Wealth System.

This is the price you pay." I locked my phone screen and tossed it into my purse. Later that afternoon, I stepped out of my sedan and into my private garage.

Before my heel even hit the pavement, a shadow lunged from the blind spot behind a concrete pillar. Cold steel pressed directly against my jugular.

Hot, stale breath washed over my ear. "Don't move. Don't make a sound." The blade pressed harder. "Walk inside. Empty the safe.

Do that, and you get to keep your miserable life." I didn't drop my keys. I didn't raise my hands.

I just tilted my head slightly, letting the metal bite a fraction of a millimeter closer to my skin. "How did you find me, Zane?" The blade jerked.

His entire body went rigid against my back. "You know who I am?" His grip slipped, the knife wobbling against my neck. "Listen to me, bitch.

If you know who I am, you better empty those pockets right now, or I swear to God… I wouldn't mind having some fun with both you and your sister—" A black boot slammed into his ribs with the force of a freight train.

Zane launched sideways, slamming into the concrete with a sickening crunch. The black ski mask tore off, revealing his pale, terrified face.

He scrambled, scraping his nails against the asphalt to run. Two massive hands grabbed him by the collar and slammed his face back into the ground.

My private security pinned his arms behind his back, pressing a knee directly into his spine. "Miss Genevieve." The lead bodyguard stepped forward, adjusting his cuffs. "Orders?" I brushed a piece of lint off my coat. "Ziptie him." Zane thrashed against the asphalt, his eyes bulging. "You knew!

You set me up!" I stepped forward. My heel clicked against the concrete. I crouched down, grabbed his jaw, and slapped him straight across the face.

The crack echoed through the empty garage. "You really are an idiot, Zane. Letting Aspen play you like a fiddle." I had mapped this out days ago.

The second the first fifty million hit my accounts, I didn't buy a sports car. I bought a private security detail. Highly trained, exmilitary, and shadowing me twentyfour seven.

I knew Aspen would try to serve me up. I knew a rat like Zane would come hunting.

Thanks to my PI, I had every single text, location ping, and whispered threat handed to me on a silver platter.

Chapter 6 Zane spat a glob of blood onto the concrete. "Looks like Aspen wasn't lying.

You really hit the jackpot." His eyes darted between the massive security guards pinning him down. "Hiring muscle like this… I underestimated you." He craned his neck, a greasy, desperate smirk twisting his face. "Don't act so high and mighty, Genevieve.

I'm still your sister's boyfriend. And I've got a whole camera roll of her private photos." He jerked against the zipties. "Pay me, or I hit upload.

I will ruin her." Staring down at his pathetic, ratlike face, my stomach turned. In our last life, Aspen had clung to this deadbeat like a life raft.

I had begged her to drop him, warned her he was nothing but radioactive trash. She had just glared at me, her eyes brimming with tears. "Mom and Dad are gone, Genevieve!

I thought you understood me!" she had screamed. "Zane is my everything.

If you make me leave him, I'll kill myself." She had literally held a bottle of pills over the sink just to prove a point. Back then, watching my own sister break down, I caved.

I played the dutiful older sister, cleaning up his messes, bailing him out, swallowing my disgust.

Now, listening to his little blackmail pitch, I didn't even blink. "Do it," I said. "If you need better WiFi to upload them, I can give you the guest password.

I'll even hire a PR firm to blast them to the tabloids. How does that sound?" Zane froze.

The color drained from his face, replaced instantly by a flushed, ugly red. "Are you even human?" he choked out. "Aspen said you worshipped the ground she walked on.

She said you'd take a bullet for her! How can you say that?" The muscles in his jaw ticked. His ultimate leverage had just dissolved into thin air. Take a bullet for her.

I let the phrase roll around in my head. It was true. I used to be that pathetic. I would have bled out on the pavement if it meant Aspen got a happy ending.

And what did I get for it? A oneway ticket to the bottom of the ocean. "Worry about yourself, Zane." I tapped his cheek twice, hard enough to sting. "Armed robbery. Home invasion.

Attempted murder.

That's a lot of years in a concrete box." The wail of sirens cut through the quiet neighborhood, growing louder by the second. "You called the cops?!" His voice cracked. "Genevieve, you're crazy!

I'm your sister's—" I let a slow, terrifying smile stretch across my face. "Not anymore." I stood up, smoothing the front of my coat. "Aspen is a little busy juggling her three new boyfriends right now.

In fact…" My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, glancing at the fresh text from my private investigator. "The three billionaires just made their move.

The game is over." Zane's face contorted, his mouth opening to demand answers, but two squad cars screeched into the driveway, cutting him off.

The cops swarmed him, yanking him up by his elbows and shoving him into the back of a cruiser.

With the highdef security footage and the mountain of evidence I handed over to the detectives, Zane wasn't seeing sunlight for at least a decade.

An hour later, the police tape was gone. I was sitting on the patio of my private garden, the scent of freshly planted hydrangeas mixing with my Earl Grey tea.

Martha, my housekeeper, set down a plate of scones, looking at me with mild surprise. "You actually have free time today, Miss Genevieve?

You're usually glued to your laptop." I picked up my teacup, the porcelain warm against my fingers. "Just waiting for someone, Martha." "Who?" Chapter 7 I didn't answer.

I glanced down at the watch on my wrist, counting backward in my head. Ten. Nine. Eight… Three. Two. One.

Right on cue. "Genevieve!" The scream ripped through the garden, raw and unhinged. Aspen stumbled onto the patio.

Her designer silk dress was shredded, the expensive fabric stained with dark mud.

Her face was gaunt, her hands balled into tight fists as she marched toward me. "What did you do, Genevieve?!" She stopped at the edge of the stone pavers, her chest heaving. "They proposed!

All three of them confessed, they handed me the rings, they swore they were going to marry me!" She gripped her own hair, her voice cracking into a frantic pitch. "But I woke up, and they were gone.

Total ghosting. Their numbers are disconnected. I just saw on the news… they all announced their engagements to other women! What is going on? Tell me!

Did you set this up?!" I slowly looked up from my tea. The sheer wreckage standing in front of me caught me off guard. Before the Systems, Aspen was obsessed with her image.

She would skip meals just to afford the perfect outfit, always playing the flawless, untouchable beauty.

Now, that fivefigure couture gown was practically rags, dragged through the dirt. Mascara ran down her cheeks in thick, black rivers.

But the memory of her shoving me over the railing of that cruise ship flashed behind my eyes.

The muscles in my face turned to ice. "Is it really that hard to figure out?" I picked up my cup, taking a slow sip. "They played you, Aspen." "No!

That's impossible!" All the blood drained from Aspen's face. Her knees buckled, sending her crashing to the hard stone