Revenge Of The Billionaire Heir

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Declan forced himself to ignore the nurse’s insult and hurried down the hallway. His heart beat so loudly he could barely hear anything else. When he reached the small room, he paused at the door, afraid of what he might find inside.

Grandma Nana lay on the bed, her skin pale and her body frighteningly thin. The room smelled of medicine and faint antiseptic, and despite everything, her eyes softened the moment they found him.

“Declan…” she whispered.

He rushed to her bedside and touched her hand gently.

“Grandma Nana, I’m here,” he said, trying to smile.

She looked at him with tired eyes. “You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” he murmured, even though his whole body ached.

“You smell like horses,” she said with a weak chuckle.

He laughed softly. “We both do.”

Nana tried to laugh with him, but the sound broke into a harsh cough. Dark blood stained her lips, and Declan quickly lifted a cup of water to help her sip. The sight made his stomach twist.

When she calmed, she beckoned him closer. Her cold fingers wrapped around his hand, surprisingly firm.

“I don’t have much time,” she whispered.

“You do,” Declan rushed out. His voice cracked. “You just need the surgery. I’ll get the money. I promise.”

She shook her head faintly. “No, child…”

“Don’t say that,” he begged, feeling tears burn behind his eyes.

She smiled weakly. “You have a good heart… better than all the rich people who walk these halls.”

Slowly, she slipped her hand beneath her pillow and retrieved a small velvet box. Her fingers trembled as she placed it in his palm.

Declan frowned. “Nana… what is this?”

“Open it,” she whispered.

He flipped it open carefully. Inside was a deep emerald ring, old and beautifully crafted. The metal looked ancient, worn smooth by time, yet the stone seemed almost alive. It felt heavier than it should have, as though it carried a story older than any of them.

“Nana…”

“This ring has been in my family for generations,” she said softly. “It will help you someday. Take it… it’s my last gift.”

Tears gathered in Declan’s eyes. “No… I can’t take this.”

“You can.” She reached over and placed the ring firmly in his hand, folding his fingers around it. “Keep it. It will guide you.”

He shook his head helplessly. “Don’t talk like this. You’re not going anywhere. I will find the money. I’ll sell my phone, my boots , anything.”

Just then, the door swung open. A young nurse walked in, loudly chewing gum with an irritated look on her face.

“Can you keep it down?” she snapped. “Some of us are trying to work. The old woman is dying anyway. Better she goes quickly.”

Declan froze.

“What did you just say?”

The nurse rolled her eyes. “Poor people like you always come in here hoping for miracles. You waste everyone’s time. You can’t even pay.”

She pushed the metal table near the bed with her hip, knocking over several bottles. They shattered across the floor with sharp cracks. The sound was loud and cruel in the tiny room.

She smirked.

“Oh no… look at that mess.”

She stepped back with her arms folded.

“Well? Clean it. That’s what unfortunate pigs like you are here for.”

Declan stared at her, shaking. “You did that on purpose.”

“So?” Her smile widened. “Pick it up.”

Nana tried to push herself upright. “Please… don’t speak to him like…” She broke into another painful cough.

“Shut up, old woman,” the nurse said without looking at her.

Something snapped inside Declan.

“How dare you?”

The nurse shoved him hard.

“Touch me and I’ll call security. They’ll throw you out on your dirty back.”

He stumbled against the trolley, pain shooting up his spine, but he forced himself to stay calm. On his knees, he picked up the broken pieces one by one. His fingers trembled, and a shard cut deeply into his palm, but he kept cleaning. Blood dripped quietly onto the floor, mixing with spilled medicine.

The nurse watched with a satisfied smirk.

“Good boy,” she said, then turned and walked out.

Declan’s eyes stung with helplessness. His chest felt tight, like he was suffocating.

He moved back to Nana, who was crying softly.

“Declan…” she whispered, her voice shaking.

He knelt by her bed and took her hand again.

“Nana, I will get the money,” he whispered. “I swear.”

She looked up at him with eyes full of love ,warm and gentle, even in pain.

“Even if I go,” she murmured, “promise me you’ll live. Promise me you won’t let this world destroy your heart.”

He shook his head quickly, tears threatening to spill.

“No… please… don’t talk like”

But her fingers loosened in his hand. Her breath slowed.

“Nana…?”

He leaned forward, voice catching.

“Nana?”

No response.

“Nana!” he cried, panic rising.

The heart monitor let out a long, flat sound.

The room fell silent.

“No… no. Nana, please.”

Declan held her shoulders, shaking her gently.

“I’m here. Please… don’t go. Please…”

Tears blurred his vision. His whole body trembled. He kissed her cold hand over and over, hoping somehow she would hear him.

The nurse, who had stepped back into the doorway, sighed loudly.

“Finally,” she said almost lazily. “I thought she’d never stop breathing. Now clean the rest of that mess and get out.”

Declan looked up sharply, but the fury in his eyes died as soon as he remembered the stillness of the woman in his arms. Everything around him felt far away voices, footsteps, even the cold air.

He drew a slow, unsteady breath, stood, and finished cleaning the mess in silence. When he finished, the nurse left laughing with another staff member, gossiping like nothing had happened at all.

Declan walked out of the hospital with numb steps. The night air felt cold against his skin. The city lights were just blurry shapes behind his tears. Somewhere, music played; cars honked; people chatted. It all sounded distant and meaningless.

He held the emerald ring so tightly it pressed painfully against his palm, leaving an imprint in his skin.

He walked back toward the university.

He did not run.

He did not hurry.

He simply walked, as though his soul had stayed behind in that room.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

A message.

Tahlia:

I heard about Nana. I’m so sorry.

Where are you?

Tahlia was his girlfriend.

The only other person he thought cared.

He typed slowly.

Declan:

Outside the field.

Five minutes later, she came running. Her brown hair bounced behind her, and her face was tight with worry.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. “Declan… I heard she passed. I’m so sorry.”

He nodded, unable to speak.

She hugged him, but he barely felt her arms. Her hands were cold. He stood stiffly in her embrace.

After a moment, she pulled away, wiping at her eyes.

“Declan,” she said quietly. “I have to tell you something.”

He looked at her, already knowing something was wrong.

“What is it?”

She hesitated, then spoke, her voice unsteady.

“You begged the mayor’s son today. You got on your knees… you barked like a dog… he slapped you… people saw, Declan.”

He froze.

“I thought you were strong. I thought you had some pride,” she continued, her voice rising. “But you looked so pathetic.”

Declan swallowed hard.

“I did it for Nana,” he whispered.

“Well, Nana is gone now!” she cried. “And I can’t be with someone like you. Everyone is laughing at me. They called you… the mayor’s dog.”

She lifted her hand to his face as if to touch him, but when she saw the dried blood near his eyebrow, she flinched and pulled her hand back as though touching him would stain her.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. It’s over.”

She turned and walked away, wiping her cheeks as she went.

Declan stood there for a long time, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on him. The night felt colder, heavier. He looked at the ring in his hand, Nana’s last gift, the only thing she left him.

His only family, the girl he trusted and his dignity crushed

He closed his fingers around the ring, breathing through the pain until something sharp formed inside him, cold and determined.

“I will rise,” he whispered.

“I will build an empire.”

“And when the time comes…” Declan lifted his head toward the lights of the campus, his eyes burning with a quiet promise.

“They will kneel before me.”