The Overnight Student Trillionaire

Chapter 6

Lorenzo stared at the man in shock, his heart pounded so hard it felt like it might crack through his ribs. He was completely and painfully lost as the weight of everything unfolding pressed on him like a collapsing world.

His mouth opened, then closed again. No words came out. None existed for the kind of truth that shattered a life in one breath.

“I…” he tried, but his voice failed him.

The old man’s face softened with grief, not impatience. He looked at Lorenzo as if every second he had left depended on this moment. “Lorenzo,” he whispered again, “I know this is overwhelming,” the man said. “But you have to be ready for this.”

The man let out a weak cough, one that rattled painfully in his chest. Derek immediately stepped forward, placing a steadying hand on the old man’s shoulder, but the old man lifted a trembling hand to stop him.

“I’m fine… let me speak,” he whispered hoarsely.

He wasn’t fine. Anyone could see that. His breaths were shallow and his cheeks were drained of color.

Lorenzo stood there rooted in place, guilt and confusion.

The man gestured for Lorenzo to come closer to him, which Lorenzo did. He slowly took his seat beside the old man again.

The old man, Adrian, slowly held Lorenzo’s hand and looked into his eyes. His grip was weak and trembling, but the emotion behind it was unshakable.

“Listen to me, child,” Adrian whispered. His voice was thin and cracked from age and pain. “I don’t have much time left. My days… they are numbered.”

Lorenzo’s throat tightened. He didn’t know Adrian, not truly, but watching the man cling to life just to speak to him made something inside Lorenzo ache.

Adrian’s frail fingers curled a little tighter around his hand.

“I waited twenty years for this moment,” he murmured. “I prayed, every night, that you were alive. That the fire did not swallow all of you and seeing that I found you, I can finally die in peace.”

Adrian’s voice broke on the last word, and a tear slid down the corner of his eye.

Lorenzo’s chest tightened painfully. He didn’t know what to say. How could he? How was he supposed to respond to a man who had spent twenty years mourning him?

“Don’t… don’t talk like that,” Lorenzo whispered, his voice unsteady.

Adrian gave a faint smile. He slowly raised his hand to gesture to Derek. “Bring the boxes,” he said slowly.

Derek didn’t hesitate. He crossed the room quickly, retrieved three wooden boxes from the table in the corner. One was old and dull with age, the carvings faded but still elegant.

Derek handled them on the bed between Lorenzo and Adrian.

Adrian's hands slowly moved to the first box, the largest of the three. His fingers trembled as he traced the worn carvings along its lid.

“This one,” he said softly, voice thin but deliberate, “contains the properties. Everything the Byers family owns across the world, homes, estates, land, holdings you have a right to.”

Lorenzo’s eyes widened. He reached out hesitantly, lifting the lid with a shaking hand. Inside were papers, maps, and deeds, carefully stacked and tied with red ribbons. Cities, countries, islands, names he had never heard of, were listed, all belonging to a family he had only just discovered.

Lorenzo sank back slightly, overwhelmed. The sheer scale of it was dizzying, an empire of land and wealth stretching across continents, all belonging to him. He ran a trembling finger over one of the maps, tracing borders he had never imagined owning.

“This… this is real?” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “All of this… mine?”

Adrian nodded slowly, a faint, proud smile tugging at his lips despite the pain etched into his face. “By blood, by right… it has always been yours. Your father built this foundation, and now it is your turn to carry it forward.”

Derek set the second box beside the first. It was heavier, denser, almost suffocating in its weight.

“This,” Adrian continued, voice hoarse, “contains the companies. Over forty of them under the Byers name, with investments, shares, and partnerships that span the globe. You are a major shareholder in every one of them.”

Lorenzo’s fingers shook as he lifted the lid. Inside were certificates, legal documents, and folders filled with financial records. His eyes scanned the names, each one more staggering than the last.

Then, a folder caught his attention, a name he knew intimately: his school. His pulse jumped as he read the documents. The Byers family owned fifty percent of it.

“You… you own half of my school?” he asked, voice cracking. “All this time… I’ve been walking the halls of a place my family controlled?”

Adrian’s eyes glistened with unspoken emotion. “Yes, Lorenzo. Even in the life you lived unaware, your roots were never severed. Your inheritance… it has always been part of you.”

Finally, Adrian reached for the smallest box, the most worn. Its wood was dulled and faintly cracked.

“This,” he said, struggling to keep his voice steady, “is the most important. These are your memories, your family. Pictures of your parents, letters, keepsakes, the life you were meant to know.”

Lorenzo’s hand trembled as he opened the box. Inside were photographs of his parents smiling, a young boy, which seemed to be himself, though he barely recognized the face. There were small toys, letters in delicate handwriting, even a locket his mother had worn. The faint scent of old leather and paper filled the air, and for a moment, Lorenzo felt as if the world had tilted entirely off its axis.

Tears welled in Lorenzo’s eyes as he traced a finger over a photograph of his mother. “I… I remember nothing,” he whispered. “Nothing at all.”

Adrian’s grip on his hand tightened slightly. He squeezed Lorenzo’s hands tightly and said, “That is why this box exists. To remind you. To anchor you. To show you who you are, Lorenzo. No matter where life takes you, never forget.”

Adrian watched as Lorenzo battled with his emotions. The weight of twenty years of lost time, stolen identity, and unimaginable inheritance pressed down on him, and Adrian could see the conflict etched across his face.

“Take your time, Lorenzo,” Adrian said softly, his voice ragged but steady. “There is no rush. You do not have to understand it all at once. But you must know, these boxes… they are your life. Your past, your present, and the future that is waiting for you.”

Lorenzo’s eyes flicked from the properties, to the companies, to the smallest box of memories. His mind swirled. It felt unreal, like stepping into a dream he could not wake from.

“I… I… don’t know.”

“You must, son… you must,” Adrian said before he gestured to Derek again. “Bring it,” he ordered.

And instantly Derek pulled out an envelope and handed it on Lorenzo’s lap. “What is that?” Lorenzo asked in confusion.

“That is a transfer of property document,” Derek said quietly, his voice steady. “You are the legal owner of the Byers family estates and holdings. Everything shown to you are all yours, if only you will sign it right now.”