Ace rushed to the hospital as fast as he could, desperate to find out what state his mother was in.
“Hi, I was told that my mom was rushed here in an emergency. Can you please help me find her?” Ace hurriedly said to a nurse who was standing behind a desk, busy typing on her computer.
The woman didn’t pay any attention to him at first, causing a deep frown to appear on Ace’s face.
“Hello, I’m talking to you,” Ace said again, through gritted teeth. The woman looked up at him, wondering if she knew him from somewhere.
“Who are you looking for?” she asked calmly.
“Mrs. Winchester,” Ace uttered, his patience wearing thin.
“Yes, that poor woman. She was brought here after suffering a heart attack. I heard it was because her house was taken away from her and—hey! You can’t go in there!” The nurse was mid-sentence when Ace abruptly walked away.
He couldn’t understand why the nurse was rambling on, but Ace was burning with anger and hatred. He knew Richard had something to do with it, and he was determined to find out what.
Ace walked around the hospital, searching, until he saw his mother through a window. She was asleep, and a strange man was with her.
The man looked familiar, and it irritated him.
“Is that the doctor?” Ace asked himself as he stepped into the room.
Suddenly, the man reached out to touch his mother.
“Step away from her,” Ace growled as he entered the room, causing the stranger to flinch.
“Welcome, Ace. It took you long enough to come to see your mother,” the man said, standing up from the bed and facing the wall.
“He’s not the doctor,” Ace muttered to himself. Ignoring the man, he went straight to his mother, trying to check on her.
“She’s going to be fine,” the man spoke again. His voice sent chills down Ace’s spine, but Ace wasn’t fazed.
Ace took his mother’s hand and kissed it. “I’m sorry for not coming sooner, Mom,” he whispered, hoping she could hear him.
“You know who did this, and you can stop it. You can make things better,” the man said with a small smile on his face. He turned to face Ace, who was glaring at him.
“What are you doing here, Luther?” Ace spat angrily. The stranger’s voice had confirmed all his suspicions, and he was far from pleased to see him.
“I came to bring you back. We need you. I need you,” Luther said, lowering his voice.
“You can keep your invitation. I’m not interested. I like my life here,” Ace responded, half-truthfully. He wasn’t interested, but he didn’t like his life here either.
“Don’t lie to yourself, Ace. I know about your relationship. Everyone knows, except that I had your face blurred out before the photos were spread. However, everyone at your school knows you’re good for nothing,” Luther’s voice was harsh and angry.
Ace kissed his mother’s hand and closed his eyes.
He stood up and faced Luther. Luther felt suffocated by the intensity of Ace’s aura.
“It seems you’ve forgotten your place, Luther. I’m not accepting your invitation, and I want you out of my mother’s room. I came here to forget that place and its issues. Don’t drag me back,” Ace said, turning away.
“If you don’t make a change, your mother will never truly be at peace,” Luther called out to Ace, but the man was already gone.
Ace ensured his mother was well taken care of with the little money he had left, and he knew he had to fix the issue with Lisa. He decided to go see her father.
“Yes, I’ll do that, and he’ll help me talk to her,” Ace thought as he headed to the Dean’s office. He never knew Lisa’s father was the dean until she told him why she hated the school.
Ace greeted the receptionist, who was familiar with him, and walked into the Dean’s office. However, he was surprised to see Lisa stepping out, followed closely by Richard.
“Lisa, wait,” Ace said, grabbing her hand, but she turned and slapped him.
“Never touch me with your filthy hands again,” Lisa snarled, then left. However, deep down, she regretted going overboard and slapping him, but it was too late, and she wasn’t about to apologize.
Ace stood dazed for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and walking into the Dean’s office.
“Good day, sir. I’d like to talk to you about me and Lisa,” Ace began.
“I don’t want to hear anything. You think you can just walk into my office and demand to speak to me?” the Dean snapped.
Surprise crossed Ace’s face. “I don’t know what you discussed, but you’ve got it all wrong. I didn’t—” Ace was cut off.
“You think I’d believe a stranger over my daughter? You cheated on her, and now you’re back here? You’ve got some nerve for a lowly peasant. I don’t want to hear another word. Your scholarship has been terminated,” the Dean announced with hatred.
“You can’t do that!” Ace stood up in anger.
“I can’t, but Richard’s father owns 40% of the school, and he’s close friends with Mr. Winchester, who owns the rest. It’s funny how you share the same last name with Mr. Winchester, but you’ll never be as great as him. You’ll die a lowly nobody. With their help, you’re out of this school. Now, get out of my office, or I’ll call security,” the Dean said, pointing a finger at Ace and driving him out with words of pure spite.
Ace was shattered. He walked out of the office and out of the school.
A sigh escaped his lips.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He slapped his forehead. Richard and Lisa had gone too far. They betrayed him, lied about him, attacked his mother, and stole what he had worked for.
“I have to make them pay,” Ace chuckled to himself. They had pushed him too far.
Just then, a dark Mercedes pulled up in front of him, causing him to frown.
The window rolled down, and Luther peered out with his white hair.
Ace walked to the car as the door opened for him.
“Welcome, Master Ace. I’m glad you made this decision,” Luther said, smiling.
“Save it, Luther, and take me to my mother. I need to check on her and see what’s going on. We can continue with the other procedures later,” Ace said, looking out the car window.
“A lot has happened since you left,” Luther muttered.
“I said, Let me see my mother first, Luther,” Ace sighed. He knew he had issues to deal with once he stepped into his new role.
But first, he had to confirm something.
“I don’t want my return announced just yet. Are my accounts still active?” Ace asked.
“Yes, a total of twenty trillion dollars,” Luther replied without hesitation.
Ace’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot; that’s not what I remember,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
“I invested for you, sir. I knew you would return,” Luther said with a large grin, waiting to be congratulated.
Ace nodded without saying anything and relaxed.
There was a lot to do.
***
The ride to the hospital was tense and silent. Ace kept thinking about the investment Luther had mentioned, and something struck him.He had always assumed there was another person with the name ‘Winchester,’ but it had been him all along. Luther had used his name to partner with the school.Ace wondered how big his name had become without his knowledge. It had to be pretty significant if there were twenty trillion dollars in his account.“We're here,” Luther said in a sing-song voice, but his expression changed when he saw the annoyance on Ace’s face.“Wait for me, and call the top doctors here,” Ace ordered as he stepped out of the car.“But these are top doctors; they’re usually very busy,” Luther hesitated, trying to suggest Ace call someone else.“I want the best for my mom, Luther. Nothing should interfere with that,” Ace declared, not looking back.It had only been yesterday when he last visited his mother, and he wanted to know what had happened since then.Ace walked to his m
Doctor James was dumbfounded."Sell my hospital? Impossible! Not even to this man," he thought furiously.Ace looked at him, knowing full well that James would never agree to sell his hospital, and that was exactly what Ace was counting on—so he could utterly crush him.“I can’t sell my hospital to the likes of you. I don’t know how you managed to get such legendary doctors to work for you, but I don’t believe you could afford anything in this building. I refuse to sell anything to you,” Doctor James snorted in disgust as he picked himself up from the floor.Ace merely glanced at him, then turned to Luther.“Call the General Commanding Police Commissioner and tell him that Winchester is on the phone,” Ace ordered Luther, who immediately picked up his phone.Doctor James sneered at Ace’s statement. “You think a simple bluff will scare me? There’s no way you can do that.”Luther handed the phone to Ace.“Hello, GCPC Gideon…” Ace directed his smile at James, whose face had turned white.
“What do you want, Quinn? Spill it,” Ace demanded.The lady sitting beside Quinn looked up at Ace with a frown. “How dare you speak to my grandfather like that? You should know your place,” she spat in disgust.Ace glanced at her but didn’t say a word, turning his attention back to Quinn and completely ignoring the girl.“You’re wasting my time here, Quinn. I have other matters to attend to,” Ace spoke again, causing Quinn’s granddaughter to flush with anger.Quinn placed a calming hand on the girl’s shoulder as she started to rise. “But Grandpapi?” she protested, unable to understand why her grandfather tolerated such behavior.“Sit down, Andrea. It is because of this man that we have our wealth now,” Quinn replied in a different language, and the girl fell silent.Ace understood what Quinn had said, and he grinned at Andrea.“I want you to accompany my granddaughter to her convocation and inauguration as the new owner of all my industries. I know there will be a lot of my enemies ar
Ace had chosen a well-tailored outfit for the job he had received from Quinn.“I think you look rather handsome in that suit,” Luther had remarked as Ace was about to leave, but Ace waved it off.“I don't need your snarky comments, Luther. I'm already aware of how good I look,” Ace replied with a subtle smile.He had slept in a hotel the previous night and mentally noted that he would need to find his own place soon.“I want to drive the car,” Ace declared as he snatched the Lamborghini keys from Luther.“Please don’t scratch it,” Luther pleaded, his eyes wide with concern as he watched Ace open the car door with more force than necessary.“Get another one, Luther, and let me be. If you don't see me by midnight, get reinforcements,” Ace ordered, slamming the car door shut, making Luther wince.Ace drove to the General Chancellor's house at a leisurely pace, his expression stoic. His midnight blue suit added an air of royalty and majesty to his presence.Ace arrived at the house a minu
“What is he saying?” the gang leader asked the person beside him.“He said that he alone is more than all of us here,” the person answered.The leader burst out laughing and pointed a finger at Ace. “You should be in the circus for your funny behavior. How can you say that one of you is more than the thirteen of us here?” The leader snarled in disgust.Ace ignored the remark and looked at his watch. He needed to be at the event before Andrea's speech.“Hurry up with whatever you're planning. I'm running behind schedule,” Ace said coolly.The gang leader’s anger flared. He had taken time to come out here, and this guy was acting like it was nothing.“Who do you think you are? Get him, boys!” he ordered, and they rushed at Ace with their knives and weapons, ready to cut him down.Andrea, who was sitting in the car, couldn’t clearly see what was happening behind the tinted glass, but she saw them rush at Ace.Suddenly, her car door was yanked open, and someone forcefully dragged her out.
Even the media was drawn to the sweet sound of Andrea’s laughter.“Ace? Poor? You must be mistaken. You’ve lost a good man,” Andrea said to Lisa, recalling the scene of Ace saving her during the ambush.“I don't care. He never gave me anything, and he has nothing. I don't want someone who is nothing,” Lisa’s ego took a hit from Andrea's comment, and she retaliated.“Ace? He's a million times better than your current man,” Andrea replied with a smirk.Andrea knew that Ace would disappear after completing his job, but her curiosity got the better of her; she didn't want him to leave just yet.“How do you know that?” Lisa asked, glancing at Ace and then back at Andrea. “Have you two been seeing each other?” Lisa questioned.This time, Ace stepped forward.“Not everyone would stoop as low as you have, and furthermore, what I do with my life is no longer your concern,” Ace retorted sharply.“How dare you speak to her like that?” Richard rushed forward, ready to punch Ace, but Andrea's voic
"Sir, please forgive me, just one..." Julius desperately knelt on the ground, his trembling hands clutching at Ace's pants. His face was full of remorse, cold sweat running down his forehead. His voice was choked, as if he had only one last glimmer of hope left in his despair.Ace bent down, his icy gaze locking onto Julius without a hint of expression. “Forgive you? Do you think you deserve to say that? Do you remember how I begged you during the scholarship decision?”Julius trembled, desperately searching for something in Ace's eyes, but found nothing. His hands slowly slipped away, his head bowed in defeat. “I… I was wrong… but please…”“Shut up.” Ace cut him off, his voice like cold steel. “You had your chance, and you betrayed my trust. Don't think I will be merciful this time.” He turned his back and walked away, leaving Julius collapsed on the ground.Julius had nothing left to say, kneeling there quietly in shame and regret, watching as Ace left him behind. In the distance, Q
Ace rushed into the thick smoke, the heat from the blazing fire scorching his skin. The explosion moments ago didn't just shake the entire building, but also sent electrical sparks shooting through the dark hallway, making everything unstable.All around were the creaking sounds, like signs of an imminent collapse. Everything was terrifying!In an instant, Ace glanced back and saw Luther had safely led Quinn away. But that didn't stop him from charging towards the burning room. "Julius, where are you?"His voice choked, as if swallowed by the crumbling space, echoing without any reply.Ace's steps didn't slow down. He knew that if he didn't move fast, Julius would be burned alive in the very prison his own mistakes had created. Ace's heart pounded loudly in his chest, time felt like it was shattering.But deep inside, Lisa's voice echoed like a silent plea. "My father .. please, save my father."The smoke thickened, obscuring his vision, but Ace was used to this feeling. His eyes lock