Rise Of Billionaire Bruce Ace.

Chapter Five: how it happened.

"Mr. Carter," Mr. Griffin called out with a big smile to the man that had stopped the men from beating Bruce.

He rushed to get a chair for the man to sit on. "Mr. Carter, please have a seat."

"Mr. Griffin, why aren't you beating him up? He almost killed me," Cole whined.

"Shut that arsehole you call a mouth," Mr. Griffin said to Cole, frowning. He turned to Mr. Carter and smiled. "What do you want to have?"

"I want those tiny men you ordered to beat him up, out of here," Mr. Carter said with a frown.

Mr. Griffin turned to them. "You heard him. You all should get out."

One by one, the men began to leave and Bruce watched in awe. He had always heard about Mr. Carter, but it was the first time he'd met him in person. Mr. Archibald Carter was the Chief Operating Officer of AAB groups, the biggest company in town. He had both money and power and Bruce wondered what made the man help him.

"What else do you want?" Mr. Griffin asked, still smiling.

"I want you to leave too."

"Me?" Mr. Griffin looked displeased.

"Yes. You and every other person in this room," Mr. Carter replied.

Mr. Griffin was reluctant but had no choice but to do the bidding of Mr. Carter. Mr. Griffin left and everyone followed suit, including Cole.

"Not you. Stay behind," Mr. Carter said when Bruce was about to leave too.

Everyone left, leaving Bruce behind with Mr. Carter.

"Thanks for helping, but why?"

"Where did you get your looks from?" Mr. Carter asked, without taking an eye off his face.

"Huh!"

Mr. Archibald, COO of AAB groups just asked him where he got his looks from. He was confused. What answer could he give to such a question?

"From my parents, I guess."

"Who are your parents? Do you know who they are?"

"No, I don't know who they are. I grew up in an orphanage."

"Holy mother of God," Mr. Archibald muttered under his breath and Bruce wondered why.

The next word the man uttered shook Bruce to the core.

"Bruce," Archibald said again and Bruce's eyes dilated.

"You know my name?"

"Bruce Ace," Archibald's face lit up. "It's you."

What happened next gave Bruce the greatest shock of his life. Archibald leaned closer to him and gave him a tight hug.

"It's really you."

Bruce heard him sniffing and wondered if he was really crying.

Archibald pulled away from him and Bruce saw that he really cried. His face was wet with tears.

"I don't know what is going on here," Bruce confessed. "Please, tell me how you know my name. Did I say it by mistake?"

"Bruce Ace, your networth is over 700billion USD. Do you know this?"

"What are you saying?" Bruce was confused. "You don't know me."

"I know you. You're a carbon copy of your father." Archibald said with a look of admiration. "Since sixty years of my life, I've never seen such an uncanny resemblance between father and son before. A DNA test isn't needed. You're definitely the son of your father."

"Father? Do you know my father? But, I've never met you before. I don't even know my father. How do you know him?"

"Your father and I used to be close friends," Archibald began. "I know he is your father because you're a replica of him. Nothing can convince me that you aren't Astor Ace's son."

"What did you just say?" Bruce began to wonder if today was just a dream. How can so many things happen in a single day?

"You're Astor Ace's son. You're the lost heir of AAB groups and your father's $700 billion."

Bruce laughed. "What's going on is one of these two things. One is, you're drunk, while the other is that I'm dreaming."

"Son, I'm not drunk. This might be a dream. If it is, then it'll be mine because I've been searching for you all my life." Archibald's face lit up. "I've finally found you and I hope it isn't a dream. If it's a dream, then I don't think I ever want to wake up."

"Are you trying to say that I'm the son of Astor Ace, the richest man to walk on the surface of Earth?"

"Yes, you are. You're Bruce Ace. You're bearing his name."

"I'm not the only one with the surname, Ace."

"But, you're the only one with his face." Archibald laughed at his joke.

Bruce did not find it funny though. He found none of what was going on funny. "No one knows what Astor Ace looks like."

"I'm the Chief Operating Officer of AAB groups and his closest friend. Of course, I know what he looks like."

"And I look exactly like him?"

Archibald nodded.

"You're his son after all."

"Then where is he? What about my mother? Who is she? Where are my parents? How did I end up in the orphanage if I had such a rich parent?"

Archibald's face fell. "Your parents are dead. They were murdered. You had to be taken to the orphanage so you won't get killed."

"Who killed them? Why were they killed?"

Archibald heaved a sigh. "I'd start from how it began. Your mother had just given birth to you. You were just six months old. Then, Astor Ace and Nicholas Athen were business associates. You know who Nicholas Athen is, don't you?"

Bruce nodded.

Nicholas Athen was the CEO of Cetan, a Company worth $ 200 billion. If Jade had not married him, Nicholas Athen would have been her father-in-law.

Myself, your father, and the CEO of Cetan used to be close friends. Then, together with me, Nicholas used to work with your father until he embezzled a large amount of money. The money was for all the workers of AAB groups. On Christmas Eve, your father wanted to give all the staff of AAB groups a large amount of money as a means of appreciating them for their hard work in making AAB groups a huge success. Nicholas was in charge of this money, but he took everything for himself instead. The news reached your father and contrary to how he thought your father would react, your father got angry. Despite how close Nicholas was to your father, he could not tolerate corruption, so he fired Nicholas. Nicholas got angry, but he acted like he was remorseful and your father accepted him again. Unknown to me and your father, he was only finding a weak moment and when he found one, he struck. He sent hired assassins to kill your parents. They killed your father and mother, but before they could kill you, a worker took you out of the house and escaped. I decided to take you to an orphanage, knowing fully well that your life would be endangered if you stayed with me or a close relative. I could not avenge your parents' death because Athen was able to get enough money and power to protect himself. The only person who has the power to deal with Athen was your father. You're your father's son, so you can avenge your parent's death. I could not visit you as I liked because Nicholas kept an eye on me. As time went on, I lost track of where you were taken to."

"So, Nicholas Athen killed my parents."

"Yes, he did, but you can avenge their death. Like your father, you can choose to keep your face away from the world. You're Astor Ace's son and that makes you the owner of all his money, companies, and little shops."

If, Mr. Archibald was right, then those who killed his parents would pay just like those who have ever hurt him will.