Family meeting
Montelli Manor, family meeting room.
Five people sat on either side of the long table.
Luca Montelli, a 62-year-old man with gray curly hair, is the cousin of the family patriarch Francis. He followed Francis on long-distance ocean voyages in his early years and now manages the family's merchant fleet.
Sera Montelli, 57, is the cousin of the former head of the family, Francis, and currently manages the Everard Vault.
Vito Montelli, 31, is the head of the private terminal laboratory, a core engineer of Montelli's self-developed terminal technology, and a junior colleague promoted by Francis. He has short chestnut hair, dresses casually with a work shirt under a dress jacket, and has sharp eyes.
Marta Montelli, 38, is the family's freight manager, responsible for shipping goods overseas.
Enzo, 55, is the head butler of the Montelli Manor. He has served Francis for decades and is not of Montelli blood, but he is a regular attendee at family meetings.
Carlotta had just taken her seat in the main seat.
Luca was the first to speak.
"Carlotta, where are the Kexi people?"
Carlotta didn't look up at him. "I told you, he'll come back."
"Back?" Luca pressed, his voice unhurried. "Carlotta, do you know what's going on outside about Montelli? Order has already given us face by not directly storming the manor to search for him. Once the three-day deadline is up, Alex will have an excuse to send people in and turn the place upside down. Whether they find Kexi or not, Montelli have completely lost face."
"He's my brother." Carlotta raised her head, her gaze calm. "I won't hand him over."
"Of course you won't hand him over." Luca tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Because you raised him. But I must remind you, Carlotta, the Montelli isn't just your Montelli. You sit in this position, managing the entire family, not just Kexi alone."
Sera turned a page of the ledger without looking up. "The Order has stopped the merchant ships from sailing out of Montelli, on the grounds that they suspect we helped criminals escape. Now all cargo ships are completely at a standstill, and the losses will be immeasurable if this continues. These losses are worth more than those in Kexi."
Carlotta glanced at her. "Grandma, your accounts only cover money, not people?"
"Of course, people count." Sera closed the ledger and looked up. "But we can't let the accounts go negative. Carlotta, I reminded you, the investment in the private terminal lab has already exceeded the budget. If the Order really turns against us, Vito's side will have to stop too."
Vito took a sip of coffee and said, "What does the Order's turning against us have to do with terminal technology? The Order has long wanted to cut off our terminal development. The Kexi incident is just an excuse. If we hand over Kexi today, the Order demand that we hand over all the technology we have tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow it will be the Echo in the vault. You think taking a step back will lead to a brighter future? Taking a step back will only make them more arrogant."
Luca's gaze slowly shifted. "Vito, watch your words. Don't bring personal emotions into the family meeting."
"I'm talking about family matters." Vito leaned forward. "Uncle Luca, back when you were sailing the oceans with the old man, the Order blocked our ships, right? What did you do? You went around them. Why didn't you surrender the fleet in exchange for safety? Because if you surrendered once, it would happen again. The same principle applies to the Kexi incident."
Luca didn't reply. His gaze lingered on Vito's face for two seconds before returning to Carlotta.
"Carlotta, I won't argue with you. I'll just say one thing. I've been in this family for forty years. I've followed your father on countless ocean voyages, survived two tsunamis, and been Order six times. I know better than you how this family survived. It's through caution, and by not handing a knife to the enemy."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Kexi is the knife. By protecting him, you're handing the knife to the Order, letting Order stab Montelli."
"He was framed," Carlotta, raising her voice.
Where is the evidence?
Carlotta remained silent.
"No evidence." Luca's voice turned cold. "You have nothing. Only one sentence—'He's my brother.' That sentence is worthless at the family meeting table."
Marta finally spoke from the corner.
Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone quieted down to listen to her.
"Order, Alex met with Fenrico again this afternoon. I don't know the specifics of their conversation, but Alex looked well when he came out. Also, Huanglong sent an official document this afternoon, signed by Changli, demanding a response from Montelli within forty-eight hours. Otherwise, the Jinzhou will intervene on its own."
She paused, then added, "There's one more thing. Kexi's name wasn't mentioned in Changli's document."
"No name mentioned?" Vito frowned.
"She didn't write down who the murderer is," Marta said. "Maybe she's still waiting, or maybe it means something else."
Carlotta took a deep breath, just about to speak.
Luca spoke first.
"Carlotta, I have a motion to make."
"Kexi is suspected of assassinating the magistrate of Jinzhou. The evidence is conclusive, and the religious order Order arrest. If the Montelli Family continues to protect him, they will face sanctions from both the Order and Huanglong. I propose that a vote be held at the family meeting to remove Kexi Montelli from the Montelli Family."
Luca continued, "At the same time, given the serious misconduct of the current family head Carlotta, in handling this matter, and for the sake of the family's interests, I propose a new vote on the position of family head."
There was a three-second silence in the conference room.
"Uncle Luca," Vito's voice turned somber, "You're trying to force me to abdicate."
"I used Article 7 of Chapter 3 of the family bylaws." Luca opened a document in front of him. "The bylaws are very clear. If the head of the family makes a decision that harms the core interests of the family, the collateral branches have the right to initiate a revote. You protected Kexi, Order punished Montelli; that is harming the core interests."
Carlotta stared at him, her jaw clenched tightly.
She really wanted to slam her fist on the table and yell at someone.
She desperately wanted to throw the tea in Luca's face, just as Selina had recounted. But she couldn't.
Vito looked at her, Sera looked at her, Marta looked at her. Everyone was looking at her.
"Let's vote," Luca said. "Let's start by removing Kexi from the list."
The old butler Enzo, stepped forward and placed the ballots in front of everyone.
Carlotta looked at the paper.
She picked up a pen and wrote two words on it.
Enzo collected the tickets and read them aloud one by one.
"Luca agrees."
"Sera objects."
Vito objects.
Marta abstains.
Enzo picked up the last one.
"Carlotta objects."