Causing Trouble

There were two small shareholders of Orange Group present today. After Luca pointed it out, they immediately caught on and looked at Dragan with hesitation.

After all, when Dragan had been driven out of the company, he hadn't gotten a single share. Forget influencing shareholder decisions—he hadn't even been allowed to attend shareholder meetings. So why was he making such confident claims now?

Dragan's smile stiffened at the question. The tip of his tongue unconsciously brushed his lips, but his thoughts grew even more muddled.

"Kid, you'd better learn your place..."

He got halfway through his sentence before his shifty gaze seemed to land on something, and he abruptly fell silent.

He seemed to have regained a little of his wits. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths as he desperately tried to pry Shamira's hand from his collar.

"You mangy mutt! Let go of me! This is none of your business!"

But how could his frail, drug-ravaged body possibly contend with Shamira's strength?

Seeing that Dragan didn't seem inclined to say anything more, Luca gave up on continuing to engage with him.

"Guys like him who've fried their brains on drugs probably don't even know what they're trying to say anymore, do they?"

Luca gestured for Shamira to let him go, then said coldly, "Get out. You're not welcome here."

Dragan had been about to approach again, but when he noticed Shamira's clenched fist, he immediately hunched his shoulders.

Ignoring the strange looks from the people around him, he stormed off, swearing under his breath.

However, his departure left Luca to clean up the mess.

The mournful atmosphere of the funeral had been completely dispelled.

Several guests with close ties to Orange Industries immediately came forward to ask him questions.

"Luca, is Ms. Orange really not going to wake up?"

"What that man said just now..."

Clearly, Gina Orange held a great deal of influence in the eyes of these people as the true head of Orange Industries.

If something had happened to Gina, her partners might have to reconsider their business arrangements.

When he saw so many people gathering around, Luca first assured Shamira that he was fine.

Then he stepped forward, raised a hand to calm them, and addressed everyone in a steady voice.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that scene today. As for my mother, Ms. Gina, she's receiving effective treatment and could wake up at any time."

"If anything changes, the company will issue an official statement. I ask that you remain patient in the meantime."

After saying that, Luca paid no mind to the guests' peculiar expressions. He took Shamira by the hand and headed straight for a corner.

Quite a few people decided not to press him further after seeing how calmly the fourteen-year-old boy had handled himself.

After all, as Luca had said, they were better off waiting for an official statement from Orange Industries or making discreet inquiries of their own.

Even if they kept pressing him here, the boy probably wouldn't tell them anything more.

Meanwhile, after bringing Shamira aside,

Luca watched Dragan's unsteady figure recede into the distance and whispered in Shamira's ear, "Aunt Shamira, follow him. Once he gets somewhere deserted..."

"Should I kill him?"

Shamira's sudden interruption left Luca momentarily speechless.

I didn't realize Shamira was so violent...

That was his "own" uncle, after all.

But... it might not be a bad idea.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Luca decided to stick to his original plan.

"Find a chance to catch him and find out why he showed up here today. If anything goes wrong, break his arms and legs and bring him back. We can decide what to do with him afterward."

If there hadn't been so many people at the funeral, most of them rich and influential, Luca might not have let Dragan leave at all. Making a scene would only cause trouble.

He was sending Shamira after him to find out why that drugged-up idiot had dared to provoke them.

Now, however, Shamira seemed to hesitate.

"Young Master Luca, you'll be here alone..."

Luca simply shook his head.

"It's fine. There are plenty of people here. I'm not going to leave on my own."

"Besides..."

As he spoke, Luca patted his waist and continued, "...it's not like I can't defend myself."

"Go on. He'll be harder to track once he gets farther away."

Shamira nodded firmly, then hurried after Dragan from the side.

Some of the guests who'd been keeping an eye on them noticed Shamira's movements, but none of them said anything.

Watching the two of them leave, Luca fell into thought.

Of course he cared deeply about his company.

His cheat seemed to involve combining items.

With the company's financial resources and distribution channels behind him, collecting "Core Components" and the materials needed for synthesis would be much easier.

And Orange Industries was a weapons company, to boot.

If he could get control of its researchers, laboratories, and industrial equipment,

then reverse-engineering items and mass-producing them to expand the company might not be impossible.

The two "Sticky Missiles" Luca had kept from the [Pencil Missile] were intended for precisely that purpose.

However, Luca was only fourteen.

His mother, Gina, had always managed Orange Industries, while his father, Herman, had been in charge of research.

At his young age, Luca had had little chance to get involved in the company's affairs.

Now his father was dead, his mother was unconscious, and two other small shareholders had died in the Battle of New York. For the past week, the company had effectively been at a standstill.

All of New York was in a state of panic. The fact that Orange Industries was still operating smoothly was already a blessing. No one had been the first to suggest calling a shareholder meeting to change the company's management.

This also involved Luca's inheritance and changes to the company's ownership.

Normally, the process of inheriting his father's estate could take as long as a year, involving confirmation of the will, asset liquidation, tax audits, court rulings, and many other matters.

Some of his father's estate would also go to his mother, Gina.

Although Gina was still unconscious, she would retain her inheritance rights as long as doctors didn't declare her to be in a vegetative state or permanently incapable of waking up.

If she were declared to be in a vegetative state, however, then according to the wills they had prepared long ago, Luca would inherit both estates.

In that case, though, fourteen-year-old Luca would have to consider the question of who would become his guardian.

That might also lead to a host of complications, including oversight of the estate, the involvement of a trust fund, and having someone hold the company shares on his behalf.

There's no way that idiot uncle of mine is here to seek custody of me, is there?