Ethan awoke to the gentle buzz of the city life outside his window. Dawn's early light seeped through the curtains, softly illuminating his cramped and messy room.

"What... time is it?" he mumbled to himself.

Sitting up slowly, memories from the night before flooded back, causing his heart to race. His gaze quickly shifted to his phone on the nightstand.

'It couldn't have been real, could it?'

Eager for answers, Ethan grabbed his phone and unlocked it. To his astonishment, the screen displayed the interface of the Unlimited System.

The very same system that had indicated he now had access to a billion dollars. A shiver of excitement ran through him.

Determined whether this was reality or just a strange dream, Ethan decided there was only one way to confirm it.

"Let's test it," he whispered, his hands trembling slightly as he opened an online shopping website and headed straight for the digital games section.

He browsed through the game listings, adding to his cart some of the most expensive titles he had always wished for but never imagined he could afford.

At the checkout screen, Ethan saw a jaw-dropping total of $3,500. Hesitating, he lingered on the "purchase" button, his thumb suspended.

"This is insane," he thought, wrestling with the decision. "What if I'm wrong?"

Yet his curiosity improved, and he pressed "purchase." For a brief moment, his heart seemed to freeze in his chest.

As the loading icon spun, Ethan held his breath in anticipation. Then, suddenly, the transaction was complete.

[Transaction successful.]

A confirmation email popped up immediately. Everything had gone through without a hitch—no alerts, no errors, just a smooth transaction.

Ethan had just spent $3,500 on games, which he had effortlessly paid despite insufficient funds to cover the purchase.

Shocked yet intrigued, Ethan realized he needed more evidence, something more conclusive, to test the system's limits.

He quickly searched and found a custom-built gaming PC, a high-end gaming chair, and a desk totaling over $9,000, which was far beyond what he could typically afford.

Without a second thought, he added the entire setup to his cart and clicked "purchase" again.

"I'll worry about what to tell Mom and Dad later," he said.

Again, the loading wheel spun. Ethan's stomach churned with nerves. What if it didn't work? What if it had all been a fluke? But then—another confirmation.

[Transaction successful.]

Ethan was in shock. Holding his phone, he could hardly believe what he saw on the screen. It was all real. The system that promised unlimited money wasn't a scam.

The money was actually there!

"What's actually happening?" Ethan wondered aloud, setting his phone down with utmost care. His mind raced with what this could mean.

A mix of excitement and disbelief surged through him. This wasn't a dream or a figment of his imagination. He really did have access to unlimited money. However, he knew he had to keep this a secret for now.

Taking a deep breath, Ethan swung his legs off the bed and stood up, trying to calm the whirlwind of emotions inside him.

He had to act like everything was normal, even though his life had changed dramatically.

"I should help my parents first," Ethan thought.

Quietly, he opened his bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. The comforting sounds of his home—dishes clinking and his parents' voices softly conversing in the kitchen—greeted him.

His mother was busy making breakfast, and he saw his father flipping through the morning newspaper at the dining table.

When Ethan walked into the kitchen, he saw his dad, Aaron, intently searching through newspaper job ads, marking some with a pen.

Aaron's face showed signs of wear and worry, indicating he was intensely focused on finding a solution to a tough problem.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Morning," Ethan said, trying to sound relaxed.

His dad briefly looked up and responded, "Morning, son," before returning to his job hunt with a sigh, turning to the next page of the newspaper.

Ethan's mom, Elise, was busy at the stove, preparing eggs and bacon. She looked over and gave Ethan a warm smile.

"You're up early. Sleep well?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ethan lied, having spent a restless night worrying about the activated system. "It smells great in here."

"Breakfast will be ready in a bit. Your brother and sister will wake up soon," she said, focusing back on the stove.

Right then, Ethan's younger siblings, Lily and Jacob, came into the kitchen, still in their pajamas and looking sleepy.

Lily managed to smile a sleepy smile for Ethan and sat down while Jacob went straight to the fridge to get some juice.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Ethan joked, playfully ruffling Lily's hair as she passed him.

Lily glanced at him, too groggy to respond; the early morning wake-ups were not her thing.

Taking a seat at the table, Ethan's heart was racing. He took a moment to observe his father, who was engrossed in circling another job ad in the newspaper.

'Don't worry anymore, Dad. This will all be over soon,' Ethan silently promised himself.

He was determined to finish his mission quickly, to better his and his family's lives. They had been through enough hardships, particularly his parents.

Now was their time to live happily and without stress. They had earned it, after all.

For months, the tension of financial worries and the constant hunt for more work had lingered over them.

Ethan saw how hard his father worked, and it pained him to see him struggle so much.

But now, he had a chance to change everything. He could lift the burden off his parents' shoulders.

Yet, explaining it would be difficult.

How could he casually say, "Hey, I've just come into a billion dollars; it's no big deal"?

His train of thought was suddenly broken by the sound of dishes clattering as his mom set a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him.

"Eat up; you've got a long day ahead," she said, smiling.

Ethan nodded, his mind still preoccupied. He ate quietly, his thoughts racing with what was to come.

The excitement of the morning purchases still buzzed under his skin, but he forced himself to stay calm, to act like everything was normal.

After breakfast, Lily and Jacob shuffled into the living room, the television clicking on as they settled on the worn couch.

Ethan watched them for a moment, his heart tightening. They were too young to understand the full extent of the stress over the family, but Ethan knew they could sense it.

The constant worry about money, the tension that sometimes boiled over into arguments, wasn't lost on them.

Ethan picked at his food, his mind racing. After a few minutes, as the sound of cartoons filled the background and his parents sat down to eat, he decided he couldn't wait any longer.

"Mom, Dad," he began, his voice steady but filled with a quiet urgency, "how much do we need for rent and bills this month? Exactly?"

Both his parents looked at him, confused. His mother furrowed her brow. "Why do you want to know that?"

Ethan, trying to keep his voice light, said, "I just… I want to help. We've been stretching every dollar, and I want to do more. Maybe take some of the load off."

Aaron, his brow furrowed in concern, responded, "Ethan, you're already doing so much. You're juggling two jobs and your studies."

With a concerned look, he added, "You shouldn't have to worry about covering the rent or the bills on top of that."

Ethan faced his father, a mix of guilt and determination stirring within him. He didn't want to see his dad take on another job, nor did he want his mom to work overtime to make ends meet.

'I can fix this,' he thought to himself.

He needed to convince them.

Turning to his mother, Ethan persisted, "Mom, please. Just let me know how much we need."

After sharing a look with Aaron, Elise replied, "The rent is behind by $2,500 and for the utilities and groceries for the rest of the month... it's probably close to another $1,000."

Ethan calculated the amount in an instant—$3,500. A sum that might have seemed insurmountable before, but now? It was barely a drop in the ocean of what he had at his disposal.

And yet, as he glanced at his parents, seated across the table with their tired faces and the weight of endless worries etched into every line, he knew they couldn't even imagine how easily he could fix this.

"I'll take care of it," he said quietly, his voice steady and certain.

His father froze mid-bite, setting his fork down as he looked up, startled. "What do you mean, 'take care of it'?" Aaron asked, his tone edged with disbelief.

For a moment, there was silence, broken only by the faint hum of the television in the next room. Aaron's eyes, sharp and searching, locked onto Ethan's, and his expression shifted to something more cautious, more concerned. It was the look of a man who had asked too much once before and carried the regret of it like an old wound.

"Ethan," Aaron began, his voice quieter now, "that's not your responsibility. I know I asked for your help before, but I realized it was wrong."

He paused, sighing deeply as though each word carried its own weight. "Don't worry about this. I've been looking for extra work, and your mom's picking up more shifts at the clinic. We'll manage—just like we always do."

But Ethan shook his head, a quiet resolve burning in his chest. "No, Dad, I'm serious," he said, pulling his phone from his pocket.

His heart thudded as he unlocked the screen and opened his banking app. For a brief moment, he hesitated. It wasn't the amount that gave him pause, nor the thought of giving it away—he was more than willing.

It was the knowledge that everything was about to change, that this act, simple as it seemed, would be the first step toward lifting the veil of struggle that had hung over their family for so long.

The numbers on the screen were as steady as ever, the balance unchanged by the earlier purchases that had once felt impossible. He smiled—a small, quiet smile—as he navigated to the transfer page.

"I've got this," Ethan said, his voice calm but firm.

"Ethan—" Aaron started again, leaning forward, but Ethan didn't give him a chance to finish. His fingers moved quickly, selecting his father's bank details, which had been saved as a favorite from past transfers.

He doubled the amount his mother had mentioned—$7,000—and pressed send.

The phone vibrated a moment later, and the familiar notification appeared on the screen.

[Transaction successful.]

Ethan looked up, his heart pounding in his chest. "Check your account," he said, his voice lighter now, almost playful.

Aaron hesitated, glancing at Elise, who raised her eyebrows in a silent question. Finally, with a faint sigh, Aaron picked up his own phone, his movements slow and deliberate. He tapped through the screens, squinting slightly as he opened the banking app.

And then he stopped.

"What…?" Aaron's voice was barely audible, the word catching in his throat as his eyes widened. He stared at the screen as though it had just shown him something impossible, something that defied all logic and reason.

Elise leaned over his shoulder, her hand flying to her mouth as she gasped. "Ethan, where did this come from?" she asked, her voice trembling with a mixture of shock and amazement.

Ethan couldn't hold back his smile any longer. For the first time in what felt like forever, the crushing weight on his chest began to lift. "It's okay," he said softly, meeting their wide, astonished eyes. "I've got it covered. You don't have to worry anymore."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The room seemed to hold its breath as though the very walls were trying to understand what had just happened.

Slowly, the tension on their faces eased, replaced by something else—relief and maybe even a glimmer of hope.

They didn't know how or why. They couldn't even begin to understand. But for the first time in months—perhaps years—they felt the heavy burden they carried shift, ever so slightly, as if someone had taken it from them and carried it away.

And for Ethan, this was just the beginning.