Rise To Ascension: The Poor Zillionaire

Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Hospital Rivalry

I stared at him, confused by the contradiction between his harsh words and the ones that was in his thoughts.

"Carter," I managed to croak out, my throat dry from not speaking or eating for a week. "Come to gloat?"

"Naturally," he smirked, though his eyes remained serious as he continued speaking.

"Someone has to remind you of your place while you're getting pampered here."

*They're watching. Always watching. Be careful what you say.*

What game was he playing? Why would the man who'd pulled me from my burning car now be acting like my enemy? And why was I suddenly hearing people's thoughts?

"I think that's enough excitement for now," Lily said, giving Damien an apologetic look. "Alex needs his rest."

*I need to get Damien alone. That merger discussion can't wait another day.*

"Of course," Damien replied smoothly. "I just wanted to see the damage for myself." He looked directly at me, his expression cold but his thoughts flickering with concern. "Try not to die, Snow. It would be disappointing to lose such easy competition."

With that, he turned and left the room. My in-laws made their excuses shortly after, leaving me alone with Lily.

"You should sleep," she said, patting my hand mechanically. "I need to make some calls about the company. I'll be back later."

*Need to talk to that driver. Make sure he knows to keep his mouth shut.*

As she left, I finally allowed myself to process what was happening. Either I was having the most vivid hallucinations of my life, or I had somehow gained the ability to read minds—and discovered that my wife had tried to have me killed.

I shifted slightly, feeling something hard in the pocket of my hospital gown. Reaching in, I pulled out a small note with a phone number written on it.

Wrapped inside the note was a simple silver ring with strange engravings.

Where did these come from? And what did they mean?

I slipped the ring onto my finger, expecting nothing. Instead, it glowed briefly with an inner light, warming against my skin. The instant it settled, my head cleared, the constant background noise of thoughts fading to a manageable hum.

And then my phone, which someone had placed on the bedside table, began to ring.

The smartphone screen lit up suddenly with an unknown number. It was the same number that was written on the note I'd just found.

For a moment, I debated within myself whether to answer it or ignore it. My whole world had been turned upside down in the space of minutes.

My wife was a would-be murderer, my in-laws despised me with passion, which hurt to have it confirmed and somehow I could hear people's thoughts, which was something that I was still struggling to understand.

And then there was Damien Carter, who was supposed to be my worst enemy and rival, the same person who had saved my life and was now insulting me in the presence of my family, probably trying to put up the facade that he hates me. Which means that non of my family knew who had saved me. And Damien was not planning on letting that knowledge public anytime soon.

I picked up the phone.

"Hello?" My voice sounded weaker than I'd intended it to sound.

"Young Master Snow," a male voice responded politely as if he was happy to be speaking to me.

"I'm relieved to hear you're conscious and now in recovery mode. The ring has activated, which means you've passed the first test."

"Test? What test? Who is this?"

"All will be explained in due time. For now, know that you are not who you think you are, and you are in grave danger. My name is Jensen, and I serve the Yggdrasil family—your family."

"There must be some mistake," I said, glancing at the door, a bit nervous to make sure no one was coming back to see me. I had no explanation to give them.

"My name is Alex Snow or just merely Alex. I married into the Snow family."

"A convenient lie that was necessary and forced on you without your full consent," Jensen replied calmly, as if trying to convince me that my entire life was a lie and he had undeniable proof of it.

"Your true name is Alexander Yggdrasil, and you are the sole heir to the Yggdrasil fortune. You were hidden away for your protection as a child, when things got bad for the family and they were being targeted, also your memories were altered to help you integrate into normal society without feeling like you didn't belong there. The accident and your near-death experience have triggered the failsafe protocol."

I almost laughed out loud. This had to be some elaborate prank that was being played on me and I was falling for it. "You expect me to believe I'm secretly a billionaire?"

"The Yggdrasil wealth makes billionaires look like paupers, Young Master. And I expect you to believe nothing without proof of what I am saying. That ring on your finger, it responds only to true Yggdrasil blood. It's been searching for you for twenty years."

I looked at the silver band, now simple on my finger, looking like any normal ring that could be bought in a store and worn.

"And what exactly does this ring do?"

"It helps to amplify your natural abilities, protects your mind from intrusion from enemies, and serves as identification wherever you may go. The fact that it activated confirms what we've known all along—you are the lost heir."

I was about to tell this Jensen person that he was insane when I heard footsteps approaching my room.

"Someone's coming," I whispered.

"My team is already heading to the hospital, where you are located." Jensen said quickly. "They'll be there within the hour. Trust no one, especially not your wife. The ring will help you pick the truth from lies. We'll speak again soon."

The call ended just as my door opened. A nurse entered, pushing a medication cart.

"Time for your pain meds, Mr. Snow," she said cheerfully.

I focused on her, testing this supposed mind-reading ability.

*Poor guy. That wife of his hasn't been here nearly as much as she's telling everyone. Been seeing her slipping out to meet some businessman in the parking lot.*