The Whole Story

"Clang."

Luca tossed the iron rod he had picked up to the side, looking down at Dragan, who lay at his feet like a dead dog. His expression remained calm, and he did not utter a word.

He reached out to take the clean handkerchief Shamira handed him, wiped his mechanical prosthetic limb casually, and then fell into deep thought.

At first, Dragan had racked his brains trying to absolve himself of blame.

Unfortunately, the man named Barton was far more sensible than him. Knowing he had been caught, he had honestly confessed everything he knew, asking only for a quick death.

As for Dragan, he was never a tough guy to begin with, and after Shamira applied a few minor methods, he broke.

Having already understood the general situation, Luca filled in the remaining pieces of information.

According to Dragan, two minority shareholders at Orange Industries had always maintained a certain level of cooperation with Kingpin.

After the Battle of New York, these two unlucky shareholders "happened" to die, which drew Kingpin's attention to Orange Industries—or rather, to Luca, a child holding a gold brick.

Perhaps Kingpin wanted to use Orange Industries as a springboard to secure contracts for cleaning up alien debris in Manhattan after the disaster, or perhaps he simply coveted the assets of Orange Industries.

In any case, after some investigation, Kingpin personally sought out Dragan, who was struggling to survive in Las Vegas.

He wanted to use Dragan's status as an Orange to swallow the entire company in one gulp.

Initially, Kingpin likely had two plans in mind.

Either the gentle approach: have Dragan manipulate the "naive" Luca into voluntarily handing over control of the company.

Or the efficient approach: kill Luca directly and make Dragan his puppet.

However, despite Dragan having no cards in his hand, he had his own little schemes.

Clearly, even as a puppet, he preferred to control Orange Industries himself, so he had directly sabotaged that "long-awaited reunion" with Luca.

As for the subsequent car accident, Dragan vehemently denied it.

Luca also believed it was likely Kingpin's doing; after all, it had happened far too quickly.

"Perhaps some change occurred that made Kingpin feel urgent?"

Under normal circumstances, that kind of car accident was essentially a kill shot, and the timing had been perfectly set for shortly after Luca left the cemetery.

Afterward, Kingpin only needed to pull a few strings, and without evidence, it would not have affected his subsequent encroachment on Orange Industries.

However, Luca had come out of the accident completely unscathed, and Kingpin seemed to have learned that Pepper Potts had appeared at the funeral.

The famous Tony Stark might have some unclear, complicated relationship with Luca.

Not wanting to provoke Iron Man, Kingpin had decisively abandoned the high-profile assassination and prepared to seize Orange Industries through "legal" means, ensuring he could distance himself regardless of the outcome.

And Dragan, naturally, became the chip in his hand.

"But this night raid..."

Looking at the pathetic Dragan, Luca shook his head in silence.

These men were indeed Kingpin's subordinates, but they had not been sent by Kingpin to assassinate Luca.

Their true role was to act as "bodyguards" assigned to watch over Dragan.

However, relying on the silver tongue he had honed through scams and schemes in Las Vegas, Dragan had successfully persuaded these men to eliminate Luca for him, promising them a large sum of money afterward so they could flee. That was why they had chosen to send everyone out to attack the villa where Luca was staying in the middle of the night.

"So, where was this 'large sum of money' supposed to come from?"

As he spoke, Luca stepped down and ground his heel into the three fingers of Dragan's right hand, causing him to howl in agony once more.

"Ahhh! It's gone, there's no money! I lied to them, I gave them all the money I had! Ahhh! Spare me!"

"No money left? These people would have to run after betraying Kingpin. If you can't pay them, aren't you afraid they'll kill you before they flee?" Luca asked with some curiosity, his foot pausing for a moment.

"They... ah, they wouldn't dare. If they just... killed you, they would be helping Kingpin, and Kingpin wouldn't bother hunting them down. But if they killed me, it would mean ruining Kingpin's entire plan. Kingpin would never let them go."

"Besides, as long as I'm alive and in control of the company, I would definitely make up the payment later! Really!"

By now, Dragan's mind had completely collapsed, and he spilled everything, hoping only to suffer a little less.

Seeing him in that state, Luca rolled his eyes behind his lenses.

"It seems he does have a brain, but only a tiny bit..."

For a moment, he didn't know whether to admire his courage and confidence or mock his ignorance and arrogance.

Dragan's logic was simple: if he were the only remaining heir to Orange Industries, Kingpin would keep him alive as long as he didn't want the company's assets to fall into the hands of the government.

When that time came, even as a puppet, he could at least enjoy the wealth and prestige on the surface.

But...

It stood to reason that if he could convince his guards to betray Kingpin for non-existent money while being held captive, he should have had some talent.

But had he never considered whether Kingpin would turn around and kill him once the deed was done?

Or did he truly believe that after "cooperating" with Kingpin, he could sleep soundly forever?

However, having obtained almost all the intelligence he needed, Luca couldn't be bothered to dwell on these trivialities and asked his final question.

"Who has the share transfer contracts for the two deceased shareholders?"

Upon hearing this, Dragan, who had been trembling, suddenly went rigid, his face filled with undisguisable despair.

Seeing that look in his eyes, Luca nodded with a calm expression.

"Understood."

At these words, Dragan felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar.

The next moment.

Luca raised the Dominator in his hand.

"Bang."

A single gunshot rang out.

Dragan's body on the ground twisted violently, and his upper torso was instantly blown into a pile of mangled flesh.

Looking at the few specks of blood splattered onto his suit jacket, Luca clicked his tongue in secret.

As expected, I shouldn't use Lethal Eliminator mode at such close range; it's fucking disgusting!

Seeing this, Shamira, who was standing to the side, said with a hint of reluctance, "Young Master, you can let me handle it next time. There's no need for you to dirty your own hands."

Luca merely waved his hand indifferently, took off his blood-stained suit jacket, and tossed it over Dragan's gruesome corpse.

Young Master Luca was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to look at such a bloody scene.

"Young Master, shall we begin staging the kidnapping scene?" Shamira asked.

Yes, according to Luca's original plan, he intended to frame this incident as him being attacked at home and then abducted to this location by thugs.

In the end, he and his loyal bodyguard, Shamira, would use their wits to successfully kill the enemies and escape.

Once finished, he would either call the police or summon Tony Stark directly.

In this way, everything he did today would be reasonable and legal, and he wouldn't leave a bad first impression on Iron Man, that superhero.

However, after understanding the full story, Luca began to hesitate.

Beyond just solving his troubles and taking revenge on Kingpin, Luca now had other ideas.

Well, to put it bluntly, he had his eyes on the shares currently held by Kingpin.

And... he didn't want to pay for them.