My Revenge Starts with a Black Card

Reborn, I faced my impeccably suited biological brother again. Rubbing his temples, he tossed a black card on the table. Five million as compensation, he said coolly. Theres a penthouse for you downtown. Move out today. Lisa gets so upset seeing you she ends up in the ER every time.

Lisa, the fake heiress who replaced me years ago.

He hesitated briefly. "Ill meet any reasonable demand. Just dont come back."

In my past life, I refused the money, afraid it would cut my last blood tie. To win his love, I worked nights to buy him a birthday gift, only to be killed by a drunk driver on the way.

When Preston heard, he wasnt grieved, but relieved. "That nuisance is finally gone."

The family bond I longed for was just a burden to him.

This time, I didnt cry. I took the card calmly.

"Thanks. One more condition: make it ten million, and were done forever."

"What did you just say?"

Preston stared at me, sheer disbelief etched into his features.

I met his gaze calmly, my voice steady as glass.

"Give me another ten million, and I will sign away my rights to this family. You will never have to look at my face again."

"That way, your precious Lisa won't have to visit the hospital every other week because of my existence. Ten million to guarantee her perfect health. That's a hell of a bargain, isn't it?"

Preston went dead silent. The sheer absurdity of my request seemed to short-circuit his brain for a few seconds.

"A bargain?" he finally sneered.

"Are you really that desperate for cash? You'd sell out your own flesh and blood for a measly ten million? You'd sever our family bond for a check?"

I looked right at him and nodded.

Yes. I was exactly that desperate for money.

In my last life, forget ten million. Even to make a thousand bucks, a high-school grad like me had to stand on a factory assembly line for ten days straight, barely eating, barely sleeping.

In this lifetime, family bonds and blood ties meant absolutely nothing. Cash was the only armor that mattered.

Given a second chance at life, I just wanted to live on my own terms.

"I just want the ten million."

Preston's chest heaved with suppressed rage.

He was probably disgusted. It humiliated him to share DNA with a gold-digger who only saw dollar signs.

"Fine. Fifteen million total, right?" he spat.

"Sign this voluntary severance agreement, and the funds will be wired to your account immediately."

I didn't hesitate. I picked up the heavy fountain pen and signed Sloane on the dotted line.

Under Preston's complicated, burning gaze, I gripped the fifteen-million-dollar black card and walked right out the front door of the estate.

"Miss Sloane, the boss instructed me to drop you off at your new residence."

The family chauffeur hurried over, pulling open the door of the Bentley.

I glanced back over my shoulder. Up on the second floor, Preston's silhouette was reflected in the massive glass windows.

In my past life, he started off being just this considerate.

It was those tiny, breadcrumb moments of warmth that tricked me into thinking he actually cared. It was why I threw myself into the fire trying to please him.

But the truth was, it was just basic courtesy. A rich man's pity.

The only sister he held in his heart was Lisa.

Snapping back to reality, I offered the driver a polite smile.

"No thanks. I'm good."

I pulled out my phone and ordered an Uber.

Since I had already agreed to cut all ties, I wasn't going to ride in their luxury cars anymore. I didn't need a single drop of his fake charity.

Three days later, inside a high-end downtown caf.

"Miss Sloane, the paperwork is finalized. You are officially a major shareholder in Apex Innovations."

The moment I walked out of that mansion with fifteen million dollars, I knew exactly where every cent was going.

Now, that money had successfully transformed into a legally binding equity contract.

Fifteen percent of Apex Innovations.

Victor, the CEO, practically vibrated with excitement as he shook my hand.

"Thank you for believing in us. I promise you, every dollar of this capital will be used to scale the tech. You won't regret this."

I nodded slowly.

I knew damn well I wouldn't regret it.

Apex Innovations was destined to become the largest autonomous drone manufacturing empire on the planet, securing a solid spot in the Fortune 500.

This fifteen-million-dollar seed investment would multiply a thousand times over in the years to come.

"How about I take you out to dinner sometime this week? I'd love to walk you through our operational roadmap," Victor offered genuinely.

I shook my head.

"I appreciate it, Victor, but let's skip the dinner."

"When it comes to the business side, I trust you completely. I leave the professional work to the professionals. I don't just invest in tech. I invest in people."

I paused, adjusting my bag on my shoulder.

"Besides, I have to get to class."

Victor blinked, clearly thrown off. "Class?"

"Yeah. I enrolled in an executive finance bootcamp. Teaching the grit of project valuation and ROI."

I gave a self-deprecating smile. "My foundation is a bit shaky. I need to build it from the ground up."

He studied me for a couple of seconds, his respect visibly deepening.

"Alright then. You're welcome to audit the company whenever you see fit."

Leaving the caf, I headed straight for the corporate high-rise where my classes were held.

The finance bootcamp was on the twelfth floor.

When I pushed the glass doors open, the lecture hall was already mostly full.

I scanned the tiered seating for an empty spot, but my peripheral vision caught a familiar face sitting in the front row by the window.

Lisa.

She was flanked by a couple of girls, laughing softly as she held court.

Just like in my past life, no matter where she went, she was always the center of the universe.

I didn't give her a second glance, making a beeline for the very last row.

But right as I walked past her aisle, she looked up.

Our eyes locked.

She froze for a fraction of a second before a sickeningly sweet smile curled her lips. Her voice was just loud enough for her little entourage to hear.

"Sloane? What on earth are you doing here?"

"Tuition for this cohort isn't cheap. Are you really blowing through the payout Preston gave you already?"

I ignored her.

She frowned, her eyes lighting up with malicious understanding.

"I guess poverty really does limit your vision. You get a little cash in your hands and suddenly you forget your place!"

"Don't tell me you actually think attending a few seminars will magically turn you into a Wall Street hotshot?"

She let out a breathy laugh, not even trying to hide the heavy sarcasm.

"At the end of the day, this is all just useless theory. Without family backing or real capital, memorizing textbooks is a waste of time."

"Unlike me. Preston already gave me a portfolio to manage in the real market. I'm just here to collect the certificate."

One of her lapdogs immediately chimed in.

"Lisa, your brother treats you like absolute royalty."

"Of course he does."

Lisa's eyes formed happy little crescents, but her gaze flicked over to me, sharp as glass.

"I'm telling you guys, theory is dead. You need real leverage."

"Just the other day, this MIT grad, some PhD guy, came crawling to my brother begging for funding. What was his name again? Sheldon something."

"He was groveling like a stray dog. All for a measly five million. My brother practically treated him like dirt, and the guy just stood there and took it, smiling the whole time. What good is a fancy degree when you end up begging like a peasant?"

My head snapped up.

Five million? A PhD named Sheldon?

Sheldon!

It had to be him.

I remembered that name. In my past life, Preston would get drunk and obsess over how badly he fumbled that deal. He regretted it until the day he died.

Because that very man, the one Preston humiliated like a stray dog, went on to build a tech monopoly that made Preston look like a small-town accountant.

A five-million-dollar buy-in right now.

In six years, that equity would be worth fifty billion.

Noticing my intense stare, Lisa assumed her insults had finally hit a nerve. She scoffed.

"What? Finally realizing how the real world works? Realizing your little notebooks can't compete with actual capital?"

She snapped her designer binder shut, spinning around in her chair with a sudden burst of faux generosity.

"Tell you what. Preston bought you that condo, right? It's just sitting there collecting dust. Sell it to me. I'll give you five million cash for it."

"With five million, you can actually try your hand at real-world investing! Think of it as a favor."

She smiled brightly, her eyes practically dripping with condescending pity.

I knew her game. She just couldn't stand the thought of me living in a property tied to Preston. She wanted me completely erased from their ecosystem.

Which worked out perfectly for me.

"Deal," I smiled back.

Lisa blinked, clearly thrown off by how fast I agreed.

But she quickly recovered, a smug smirk taking over her face.

"Great. Text me your routing number."

My phone buzzed a minute later. Five million dollars, cleared.

I stared at the glowing digits, about to offer a polite thank you, when she cut me off.

"Idiot."

Lisa laughed out loud. "I told you poor people have zero vision, and you just proved it."

"Did you even look at the zoning laws for that neighborhood? Do you have any idea what that property will be worth in twelve months?"

"Six million!"

"A guaranteed twenty percent return in one year. That is what real investing looks like!"

"You had a guaranteed goldmine and you just handed it over. Give a peasant a fortune, and they'll just burn it to the ground!"

Her little group giggled, throwing mocking glances my way.

I just looked at her, completely unbothered.

I knew damn well the property value would spike next year.

But six million was its absolute peak.

In the timeline I knew, the housing bubble was going to burst spectacularly shortly after. The longer you held onto that concrete, the harder you bled cash.

Sheldon's tech, on the other hand, was the real goldmine.

It would yield returns that would make the real estate market look like a lemonade stand.

And my top priority right now was simple.

Find Sheldon.

"Settle down, everyone."

The professor walked in, a middle-aged guy with thick glasses. He spoke incredibly fast and clicked through his slides even faster.

I pushed the drama out of my mind, cracked open my notebook, and laser-focused on the lecture.

Honestly, a lot of the material went way over my head.

Things like Internal Rate of Return and Discounted Cash Flow models sounded like an alien language.

But I wrote down every single word. Whatever I didn't understand, I circled in red ink, planning to scour the internet the second I got home.

For two straight hours, I didn't blink.

By the time the lecture ended, my notebook had six pages crammed with dense ink.

I stretched my stiff neck, rolling my shoulders. As I looked up toward the doorway, I froze.

A man was standing there.

It was Sheldon.