Chapter 15: Trouble

There are two minor shareholders of the Orange Group were present today. 

After hearing the news, they quickly realized what was going on and looked at Dragan, unsure of what to think.

After all, when Dragan was kicked out of the company back then, he didn't even receive a single share. 

He had no say in shareholder decisions and wasn't even qualified to attend shareholder meetings, yet he was acting as if he still had power.

Dragan's smile froze when he heard that. He subconsciously licked the corner of his mouth with his tongue and seemed even more confused.

"You'd better know your place, kid…"

Dragan's wavering gaze seemed to land on something, and he abruptly stopped speaking.

It was as if he had regained a bit of sense. He was breathing heavily and desperately tried to pull Samira's hand off that was gripping his collar.

"You crazy dog! Let go of me! This is none of your business!"

Seeing that Dragan had no intention of continuing the confrontation, Luca also gave up on further entanglement.

'A guy whose brain's been fried by drugs probably doesn't even know what he wants to say anymore.'

Luca waved to Samira to let go of Dragan and then said to him coldly.

"Get lost. You're not welcome here."

Hearing this, Dragan still seemed like he wanted to approach, but the moment he noticed Samira clenching her fist, he shrank back instinctively.

He didn't care about the strange looks of those around him. He just started cursing and walked off by himself.

However, the mess he left behind still had to be cleaned up by Luca. The originally melancholy atmosphere of the funeral had been completely dispersed.

A few guests closely tied to Orange Industries immediately stepped forward and asked:

"Luca, is it true that Mrs. Orange will never wake up?"

"What that man just said…"

Clearly, as the chairperson of Orange Industries, Gina Orange held considerable importance in the eyes of these people.

If something had truly happened to her, it could have forced these business partners to reconsider their collaborations.

Seeing so many people gathering around, Luca first nodded to Samira to show her he was okay.

Then he stepped forward, raised a hand to calm the crowd, and said in a steady tone:

"I apologize. You all had to see that mess today. As for my mother, she's getting good medical care now and could regain consciousness at any moment. If any developments are going forward, the company will issue an official announcement. I ask for your patience in the meantime."

After saying that, Luca no longer paid attention to the guests, whose expressions had shifted subtly. He pulled Samira with him and headed straight toward a corner of the room.

The guests were surprised to see this fourteen-year-old boy so calm but chose not to press further.

After all, as Luca had said, rather than continuing to bother him here, it was better to wait for an official statement from Orange Industries—or make discreet inquiries of their own.

Besides, even if they tried to pressure him now, it was unlikely this boy would actually reveal anything more.

Meanwhile, once they got to the side...

Luca watched Dragan walking away unsteadily and quietly said to Samira:

"Aunt Samira, would you mind following him once no one's around—"

"You want me to get rid of him?"

Samira's sudden interjection caused Luca to break out in a cold sweat.

'I didn't think Samira was this intense...'

After all, Dragan was his real uncle.

'But… maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea?'

After a brief internal struggle, Luca ultimately decided to stick to his own plan.

"Find a chance to catch him. I want to know why he showed up here today. If something seems off—break his arms and legs, bring him back, and we'll decide what to do then."

If it weren't for the fact that there were a lot of people at the funeral, Luca probably wouldn't have let Dragan leave in the first place.

He asked Samira to follow him so they could figure out why that idiot dared to show his face and cause trouble.

But now it was Samira's turn to hesitate a little.

"Young Master Luca… are you okay being here alone?"

Luca just gave a slight shake of his head.

"I'll be fine. There are plenty of people around—I'm not going anywhere. And besides…"

As he spoke, Luca reached down and patted his waist before continuing, "… it's not like I'm completely defenseless. You should go now. If he gets too far, it'll be harder to track him."

Hearing Luca's words, Samira gave a firm nod, then quickly stepped to the side and followed after Dragan's leaving figure.

Though a few guests who had been watching the scene noticed Samira's movements, none of them said anything.

As he watched the two of them walk away, Luca sank into deep thought.

He was deeply invested in his family's company. From what he could tell, his system seemed to be related to synthesizing items.

In that case, having the company's funding and distribution network behind him would make collecting "core components" and synthesizing materials far more efficient.

And since his family's company was a weapons manufacturer, there were scientists, labs, and machines that could further assist him.

If he could gain control over the research personnel, laboratories, and industrial equipment, then in the future, reverse-engineering items and producing them in bulk to scale up the company would no longer be impossible.

In fact, Luca had saved two "Sticky Missiles" from the earlier [Pencil Missile] encounter with exactly that plan in mind.

The only issue now was that Luca was still only 14 years old.

Orange Industries had always been managed by his mother, Gina, while his father, Hermann, handled the research and development side.

At his young age, Luca had hardly had any opportunity to get involved in the company's affairs.

Now, with his father dead and his mother in a coma, along with the two other minor shareholders who died in the Battle of New York, the company hadn't really been doing much for the past week.

The entire city of New York was terrified, and the fact that Orange Industries had been able to maintain basic operations was already considered a lucky break. 

No one had yet taken the initiative to call for a shareholders' meeting to propose a change in management.

But behind the scenes, there were still complicated issues involving Luca's inheritance and changes to the company's ownership.

There was also a problem with involving Luca's inheritance and changes to the company's ownership.

Usually, the process for Luca to inherit his father's estate could take up to a year, involving verification of the will, asset liquidation, tax audits, and waiting for a court to approve everything.

Moreover, part of his father's estate would also be legally transferred to his mother.

Even though Gina was still in a coma, as long as she hadn't been officially declared dead or permanently unresponsive, she still retained her legal rights to inherit.

However, if she were declared to be in a vegetative state, then—according to the will that both she and Hermann had prepared in advance, everything would be inherited by Luca.

But in that case, at just 14 years old, Luca would also have to face the issue of who would serve as his legal guardian.

There might also be complications involving estate supervision, trust funds, and the proxy holding of company shares, among other troublesome matters.

'That idiot uncle of mine… could he actually be trying to fight for custody of me?'

Luca wondered.

...

150 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter 

250 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter

450 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter

1000 Power Stones = 2 Extra Chapters

2000 Power Stones = 3 Extra Chapters