Uncle

Ever since the passing of Gina's parents, the previous heads of the Orange family, she had been left to shoulder the burden.

Having only recently graduated from university, Gina arrived in the United States to take over the mess her parents had left behind.

Among the wreckage, aside from a company struggling to find its footing in America, there was also her younger brother, who had been a good-for-nothing since childhood.

When Dragan first started going down the wrong path, Gina had tried to pull him back.

While disciplining him strictly, she even forced him into a position within the company.

However, Dragan not only failed to reform, but he also became addicted to gambling. After several failed attempts to reason with him, he eventually resorted to falsifying orders and embezzling company funds.

Completely disillusioned, Gina decisively kicked him out of the company, tossed him a sum of money, and left him to his own devices.

Later on, in the memories of the original owner of this body, the few times he had seen this scoundrel of an uncle, it was always because he had come to the house begging for money.

But for the past two years, whether due to some method Gina employed, Luca had not seen the man in a long time.

Looking at him now, it was clear that beyond gambling, he had even become hooked on drugs.

"Why are you here!"

It was not Luca who spoke, but Shamira, who stood to the side with a hostile glare.

She stepped forward, shielding Luca behind her.

It was clear that Shamira was well aware of the man's character.

Naturally, Dragan also recognized Shamira. Noticing her undisguised look of disgust, a nameless fire surged in his heart, though he immediately suppressed it.

"Shamira! Don't forget that I also carry the Orange name. In a situation like this, it is only natural that I should be concerned about Luca."

As he spoke, Dragan glanced at Luca's empty sleeve and the tombstone behind him.

Noticing the disdain in the man's eyes, Shamira, who had watched Luca grow up, was instantly filled with rage.

Luca, however, who had also noticed the man's gaze, showed little change in his expression.

He had been too reckless during the Battle of New York, ending up kicking his own mechanical prosthetic limb away like a ball.

That prosthetic was, in fact, a special mechanical arm custom-made by his parents at great expense from a laboratory at Transia, an exoskeleton company that collaborated with the Department of Defense.

Although it didn't quite reach the sensitivity of a real arm, it was already a fairly "sci-fi" piece of equipment.

For now, Luca could find a common prosthetic to serve as a temporary replacement, but it would only make him look more like a normal person; it wouldn't actually provide much convenience for his daily life.

Luca simply decided not to install a new prosthetic for the time being, patiently waiting for the after-sales service at Transia to manufacture a replacement.

Luca didn't care much about his disability, and he certainly wouldn't feel any anger over the judgment of others.

Reaching out to gently press down on the impulsive Shamira, Luca looked at his cheap uncle with calm eyes and spoke in a cold tone.

"Uncle? I'll call you that for now. Thank you for coming to my father's funeral."

"However, I recall that my mother severed ties with you a long time ago, didn't she? As for Aunt Shamira, I think she is far more trustworthy than some people."

Hearing this, Dragan straightened his posture.

He smoothed his collar, putting on a fake display of concern for his nephew.

"Kid, the laws of New York State don't recognize the severing of family ties."

"Besides, blood is thicker than water. With my sister in her current condition, I, as her brother, must step up to take care of you."

As he said this, Dragan pointed his chin at Shamira with a provocative look.

"Isn't Gina just injured and in a coma?"

"Is he here to seize power?"

"This guy, isn't he taking himself a bit too seriously?"

The guests began to whisper among themselves once more.

Clearly, most of them looked down on Dragan, who was obviously no good.

Only he remained smug, looking around at the guests with self-satisfaction.

Shamira, seemingly worried that Luca was too young to understand Dragan's nature, was about to explain.

But before Shamira could speak, Luca frowned slightly.

How did this guy find out about Gina's situation?!

Gina Orange was Luca's mother.

She had been injured and fallen into a coma during the Battle of New York. Although she was rushed to the hospital for treatment immediately after the battle ended, the doctors had stated that Gina was likely suffering from "Synaptic Cocooning Syndrome."

This condition was essentially caused by exposure to continuous, high-frequency energy shocks, which led to the terminal nerves of the cerebral cortex being encased in abnormal proteins, causing the efficiency of neural signal transmission to decay and the brain to enter a semi-dormant state.

This condition was extremely rare in the medical field; the recorded cases had only shown symptoms like slowed reactions, lethargy, and forgetfulness.

But during this Battle of New York, more than a dozen wounded individuals suddenly presented with this syndrome.

Those with milder symptoms could barely manage their own lives, while those with more severe cases had been declared dead within a few days.

As for Gina, whose condition was neither light nor severe, neither the hospital nor her private medical team had any effective treatment, leaving them with no choice but to let it drag on.

In fact, over the past few days, Luca had specifically asked Shamira to have someone invite Stephen Strange, the future Doctor Strange.

He was arguably the most outstanding neurosurgeon in all of New York at the moment.

However, upon hearing the nature of the condition, the man hadn't even waited to hear the quoted fee before turning the doctor Shamira had sent away, citing that he was too busy with work.

For now, Luca could only follow the doctors' advice and opt for conservative treatment, stabilizing the patient's condition in the hope that a new treatment plan might emerge.

Yet, logically speaking, very few people knew about this news at the moment.

Having disappeared for nearly two years, tainted by gambling and drugs, and being a complete waste of space, where could Dragan have possibly heard this?

Seeing that the situation was threatening to spiral out of control, Luca immediately ordered in a cold voice.

"Aunt Shamira, take him away. Don't let him cause a scene at Father's funeral."

Upon hearing this, Shamira immediately stepped forward, gripped Dragan's shoulder, and prepared to haul him away from the scene.

However, far from restraining himself, Dragan instead clamored triumphantly.

"Heh heh, kid, are you scared? What about the law? In... incapacity, a new shareholders' meeting must be held to vote for a new decision-maker."

As he spoke, Dragan's nostrils flared, his pupils constricted slightly from excitement, and his speech became increasingly incoherent.

"Don't think that, hm, absolute majority control—you haven't inherited those shares yet! At a shareholders' meeting, dead men and vegetables can't attend!"

"What did you say, you bastard!!"

Hearing this, Shamira's eyes widened in fury; she grabbed Dragan by the collar and actually lifted him right off the ground.

"Gina? A vegetable?"

"Wasn't it said that Ms. Orange was only in a temporary coma?"

Many of the guests present had partnerships with Orange Industries, or were even employees of the company themselves. Hearing this news, they all looked toward Luca with suspicion and uncertainty.

Luca himself, however, paid no mind to their gazes. Instead, he focused on the implications in Dragan's words, his voice as piercing as an icicle.

"A shareholders' meeting? What does that have to do with you? What makes you think you can influence the shareholders' decisions?!"