The House of Orange

Although Gina Orange was of mixed Sokovian and American descent, she had grown up in Sokovia.

In fact, the Orange family was once considered a long-standing, influential power in Sokovia.

The family held a hereditary barony, and if one traced their lineage back further, they even possessed royal blood.

However, the days of tsars and monarchs had long since passed in Sokovia; the nation's official international name was the Republic of Sokovia.

Moreover, the country had been trapped in a state of constant warlord infighting.

With various factions meddling and providing support, this small Eastern European nation had rarely known a peaceful day.

The leader in the public eye was nothing more than a slightly more powerful warlord than the rest.

While the family's centuries of accumulated wealth had granted them a higher status and more resources within the country, they were ultimately no match for the predatory vultures and wolves coming from abroad.

During the generation of Gina's father—Luca's maternal grandfather—after enduring repeated exclusion and suppression from various internal Sokovian factions, they learned their lesson and decided to move to America to develop.

As large sums of capital were transferred overseas, Orange Industries was established in America.

Gina even spent her entire university career in America.

It was during their time at MIT that Gina and Herman met and fell in love.

However, the entry of outsiders was never as easy as they had imagined.

After the initial phase of throwing money around to expand, the commercial growth of Orange Industries essentially stagnated, and in some areas, even regressed.

But by then, if they had wanted to return to Sokovia to manage their ancestral assets, there was no longer a place for them in the country.

This remained the case until Luca's maternal grandparents both died in an accident.

Shortly after marrying Herman, Gina resolutely took over the company and decided to go all-in, completely abandoning everything the family had operated for centuries in Sokovia to dive headfirst into the capital-soaked quagmire of America.

Fortunately, with Gina's excellent management skills and Herman's outstanding scientific research capabilities, Orange Industries finally found its footing and gradually moved onto the right track.

Especially a few years ago, when they successfully secured a subcontracting order for Stark Industries' weapon components thanks to the analysis chip patent developed by Herman, the company embarked on a path of rapid development.

The family also moved to New York along with the company headquarters.

Of course, the fact that a certain playboy later had a change of heart and completely shut down his weapons division—not only leaving their employees unemployed but also devastating the entire downstream supply chain and nearly bankrupting Orange Industries, which had already begun its transition with 70% of its factories refitted with custom equipment—is a story for another time.

In fact, four years ago, after the Stark Industries order was canceled, Gina pulled some strings and reached a partnership with Hammer Industries, which was rising rapidly after absorbing a significant amount of vacant resources.

Well, everyone knows how Hammer Industries turned out.

Two years ago, due to the "self-developed" combat robot legion going berserk at the Stark Expo, the founder of Hammer Industries, Justin Hammer, was sent to prison.

Most of his assets were promptly carved up by the military and rival companies, leaving only the company's name and shell struggling to survive.

Small fry like Orange Industries were naturally caught in the crossfire once again.

In short, after gaining a deeper understanding of his company through Shamira these past few days, Luca could only say one thing:

The fact that the company hadn't gone under yet meant his mother, Gina, was truly incredible!

The topic had drifted a bit.

Although the family had been developing entirely in America for years and had almost no influence left in Sokovia, centuries of accumulation could not be erased so easily.

Furthermore, Gina, who grew up in Sokovia, had served in the Sokovian military before graduating from university and taking over the company.

Whether it was her former comrades-in-arms or the secret loyalist forces cultivated by the family, having a few absolutely trustworthy, die-hard subordinates was really nothing out of the ordinary.

Take Shamira, for example; not only had her family followed the Orange family for generations, but she was also Gina's comrade from their time in the military.

During this period, aside from the information and documents left by his parents, Luca had learned much of what he knew through the help of Aunt Shamira.

Of course, it was possible that this squad was only the one Shamira knew about.

Luca suspected there might be other, deeper hidden cards, though it was impossible to know if they had lost contact due to Gina's coma.

Since he had confirmed these people could be trusted, he did not hesitate any longer.

Luca had always believed that trust was something that, once a foundation was established, could be fully solidified through time and shared interests.

He simply asked Shamira directly.

"How long will it take for the people you mentioned to arrive? Do I need to prepare identities and equipment for them?"

After all, Shamira had mentioned that this squad usually operated overseas most of the time.

If they couldn't make it back in a short while, he couldn't just keep his bodyguard team vacant waiting for them.

However, this time, Shamira gave a prompt answer.

"Two days at the latest. Those guys have been operating near the Mexican border recently. As long as it takes them a day or two, they can all be in place."

"In fact, they had been following the reports from New York, and after they couldn't reach the Madam, they took the initiative to contact me."

"It's just that the Madam's condition... is still uncertain, so I advised them to remain on standby."

Seeming to fear that Luca might misunderstand, Shamira added another sentence.

"I do not have the authority to command them directly. It is only because I occasionally act as a liaison for My Lady to carry out missions with them that they reached out to me after losing contact."

Luca nodded upon hearing this.

He understood that Shamira likely hadn't been able to confirm his mother's status earlier, and had wanted to shelve less important matters until Gina regained consciousness before making any decisions.

That was why she hadn't explained it to him directly.

However, hearing Shamira mention "carrying out missions together," the corner of Luca's mouth couldn't help but twitch again.

"First, arrange for someone to investigate the origins of the group protecting my uncle."

"I will minimize going out over the next few days, and remember to assign two people to protect my mother."

"Additionally, postpone the meetings with the trust fund representatives and lawyers who reached out earlier for a few days. Once this matter is resolved, have them contact me again."

As Luca methodically arranged the follow-up procedures, he took out his phone, preparing to check his messages.

However, the next moment.

The car, which had been driving smoothly, slammed on its brakes.

A sharp, ear-piercing screech of tires against the road filled his ears.

At the same time, he heard Shamira's voice, laced with urgency.

"Young Master, look out!"