The Rise Of The Orphan Billionare

Chapter 5: The Return

“What? Isn’t that the guy who got into that fight?”

“Wait… is that Nelson?”

“How did he even get out of prison?”

“Look at him… the poor kid.”

The whispers crawled through the school yard like snakes in the grass.

Nelson had barely stepped through the school gate when all eyes turned on him. Students paused mid-step. Some standing in clusters, others pretending to check their phones, all slowed down to stare. Whispers rose, then fell, like a wave following him as he walked.

Some laughed under their breath. Others whispered with curiosity, like they were watching some kind of walking scandal. A few just stared at him with eyes that said one thing: You don’t belong here anymore.

Nelson didn’t raise his head. Hands stuffed in his pockets, shoulders tense, he walked straight like the stoic Alpha male he was. But his heart was heavy. Everything had changed.

Just days ago, he was invisible. A nobody. Another poor kid drifting through the halls. Now, he was a headline. A rumor. A target.

But deep down, Nelson didn’t care about their stares anymore. Not like before. Because none of them knew the truth. None of them knew what he had seen, what he had held in his hand, what he carried in his pocket even now.

They didn’t know about the black card.

They didn’t know that the boy they laughed at yesterday now had the kind of power they couldn’t dream of.

And that was enough for Nelson to keep walking.

“Nelson! Nelson, wait up!”

Two voices cut through the noise. Miguel and Robby. His brothers in everything but blood, running toward him like he was their lifeline.

“How’ve you been, bro?” Robby asked first, grabbing his shoulder with concern. “Man, how did you even get away from the police? We thought it was over for you!”

Miguel nodded fast, his eyes wide. “We were calling your phone all night, bro. You didn’t pick up. We even tried going to the station but those bastards wouldn’t even let us in.”

Nelson stopped. Looked at both of them. For a moment, the weight on his chest loosened. These two —they were the only ones who ever gave a damn.

Part of him wanted to spill everything: the interrogation, the mysterious man, the thirty billion dollars, the title of “Young Master.” But his lips sealed. Not yet. Some secrets were too heavy to drop all at once.

“It’s all right,” Nelson said simply.

Robby frowned. “It’s all right? That’s all you’ve got to say?”

Miguel crossed his arms. “Nah bro, you’re hiding something. You don’t just walk out of jail like it’s nothing.”

Nelson exhaled through his nose, then smirked faintly. “Fine. Game night’s on me. Dinner too. Whatever you want, it’s covered.”

They both froze.

“What?” Robby’s jaw dropped. “Dude… you got dragged to prison last night and today you’re offering to pay for game night? What the heck happened in there?!”

Nelson nudged him with a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Let’s just say… some good old fellow bailed me out. Heard my story, decided to help. Got lucky.”

Miguel’s face lit up like Christmas. “No way! For real?!”

“Man, that’s wild,” Robby said, shaking his head.

Nelson just shrugged. “Yeah, yeah. It’s on me. Don’t overthink it.”

“Yessss! Respect!” Miguel shouted, giving Nelson a playful punch on the arm. “Nelson the man of the day!”

“Boss Nelson!” Robby added with a grin, though he still looked like he didn’t buy the story.

Nelson forced a smile. He didn’t mind keeping the truth buried—for now.

They split off toward their different departments, but the whispers followed Nelson down the hall.

And then —silence.

The moment he stepped into his classroom, every head turned. The air shifted.

Because sitting there —front row, side by side— were Kyler and Rachel.

Kyler’s smirk was already waiting for him, smug and poisonous, like he had been rehearsing it all night. Rachel sat stiff, her face pale, her eyes darting anywhere but Nelson’s.

Nelson’s gaze locked on them. He didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch. His whole body felt like it was caught between rage and ice.

The classroom buzzed.

“Is that him? He came back?”

“Didn’t Kyler almost die because of him?”

“I heard his grandma bribed the police.”

“No way. She is a poor old woman. She probably begged on her knees.”

“Still… how’s he not expelled?”

Kyler was shocked, confused, but more angry than any other emotion surging through his veins.

How was this possible? His father had paid off the police, paid the judge, even paid the damn officers at the station. Nelson was supposed to rot in a cell, broken and forgotten.

And yet, here he was —standing in front of him.

Kyler’s knuckles tightened on his desk. His jaw twitched. The room’s whispers grew louder, feeding his anger, making his face burn red.

“This isn’t right,” he muttered under his breath, his eyes locked on Nelson. “You were done. Finished.”

Nelson didn’t say a word. He just kept walking, his expression unreadable, his head steady like a man who had already chosen not to stoop down to Kyler’s level.

But silence was deadlier than words.

Every step Nelson took toward his desk felt heavier, louder, even though the room was still. His classmates’ eyes darted between him and Kyler, waiting for a spark, waiting for one of them to explode.

Rachel shifted uncomfortably. She bit her lip, unable to look Nelson in the eyes. The guilt on her face was clear —but so was the choice she had made. She sat closer to Kyler now, like she had already picked her side of the battlefield.

“Don’t just stand there, Nelson!” Kyler suddenly barked, his voice cracking through the tension. “What the hell are you doing back here?! You think you can just walk in like nothing happened?!”

No answer.