Chapter 14: Uncle

Since the passing of Gina’s parents, the previous leaders of the Orange family, Gina, who had just graduated from college, came to the United States to take over the mess they left behind. Besides the company struggling to establish itself in America, she also had to deal with her wayward younger brother.

At first, when Draggan began to go astray, Gina tried to help him. She disciplined him sternly and even placed him in a position within the company. However, Draggan not only failed to reform but also fell into gambling. After several failed attempts to counsel him, he went so far as to falsify orders and embezzle company funds. Completely disappointed, Gina decisively expelled him from the company, handed him a sum of money, and left him to fend for himself.

In the original narrative, Draggan was mostly seen coming to their home begging for money and help. Yet, over the past two years, it was unclear what methods Gina employed, but Luca had not seen him for a long time. It now seemed that Draggan’s vices extended beyond gambling to drug addiction.

“Why are you here?” The voice was not Luca’s but came from Samira, who stood beside him with a hostile gaze. She stepped forward and positioned Luca behind her protectively, clearly aware of the man’s character.

Draggan recognized Samira and, upon noticing her undisguised disdain, felt a surge of anger but quickly suppressed it. “Samira! Don’t forget I share the Orange name. In this situation, I naturally need to check on Luca.” He cast a glance at Luca’s empty sleeve and the tombstone behind him.

Noticing the contempt in Draggan’s eyes, Samira, who had watched Luca grow up, was instantly filled with rage. Yet Luca, who also caught Draggan’s gaze, showed little change in expression.

During the previous intense battle in New York, Luca had kicked off his mechanical prosthetic arm in the heat of the fight. That prosthetic was a special mechanical arm custom-made by Transia, an exoskeleton company collaborating with the Department of Defense, at great expense by his parents. Although it wasn’t as sensitive as a natural arm, it was quite a remarkable piece of technology.

For now, Luca had found a simple prosthetic to temporarily replace it, mainly to maintain a semblance of normalcy in appearance, though it brought little practical convenience. He had chosen not to install a new arm yet, awaiting Transia’s after-sales service to remake it.

Luca did not mind his disability and certainly wasn’t angry because of others’ opinions. Gently restraining the impulsive Samira, he calmly faced his cheap uncle and spoke coldly, “Uncle? I’ll still call you that for now. Thank you for attending my father’s funeral.”

“But I recall Mother had long severed ties with you. As for Aunt Samira, I believe she is far more trustworthy than some.”

Upon hearing this, Draggan straightened up, adjusted his collar, and feigned concern for his nephew. “Kid, New York law doesn’t recognize severed family relations. Besides, blood is thicker than water. With your sister in her current state, I, as your uncle, have to step in and take care of you.”

As he spoke, Draggan provocatively nodded toward Samira.

“Isn’t Gina just injured and unconscious?”

“Is this a power grab?”

“This guy takes himself way too seriously,” murmured the guests.

Most looked down on Draggan, who was clearly a good-for-nothing, while he arrogantly surveyed the crowd.

Samira, worried Luca was too young to understand Draggan’s true nature, was about to explain. But before she could speak, Luca frowned slightly.

‘Where did he get news of Gina from?!’

Gina Orange, Luca’s mother, had been injured and was unconscious after the New York battle. She was immediately hospitalized, but doctors diagnosed her with “Neural Synaptic Encasement Syndrome,” a rare condition caused by repeated high-frequency energy shocks leading to abnormal protein buildup around the brain’s cortical nerves, severely reducing neural signal transmission and plunging the brain into a semi-comatose state.

This disease was exceptionally rare, with known cases only showing slowed reactions, drowsiness, and forgetfulness. But during the New York battle, over a dozen casualties suddenly developed this condition.

Those with mild symptoms barely managed daily life; the severely affected died within days. Patients like Gina, with moderate symptoms, had no effective treatment yet and were kept alive by hospitals and private medical teams.

Luca had even asked Samira to contact Stephen Strange, the future Doctor Strange and currently the best neurosurgeon in New York. Yet upon hearing the diagnosis, Strange refused to even quote a consultation fee, citing a busy schedule.

Now, Luca had no choice but to follow the doctors’ advice, opting for conservative treatment to stabilize Gina’s condition while hoping for new treatments.

But this information was scarcely known.

Draggan, who had vanished for nearly two years and was a gambling and drug-addicted waste, where had he heard this?

Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, Luca ordered coldly, “Aunt Samira, please escort him out. Don’t let him cause trouble at Father’s funeral.”

Samira immediately stepped forward, grabbing Draggan’s shoulder to lead him away. But Draggan only grew more defiant, shouting boastfully, “Hmph, scared, kid? Legally, you’re… you’re incompetent. The shareholders’ meeting must be reconvened to elect a decision-maker.”

His nostrils flared, pupils contracted with excitement, and his speech grew more erratic. “Don’t think that, uh, having absolute control means you’ve inherited those shares yet. At the shareholders’ meeting, dead and comatose people can’t attend!”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!” Samira’s eyes blazed with fury as she grabbed his collar and hoisted him up.

“Gina? Comatose?”

“Wasn’t Ms. Orange just temporarily unconscious?”

Many guests, some partners or employees of Orange Industrial, looked at Luca with suspicion and doubt upon hearing this.

Luca himself paid no mind to their gazes but focused on Draggan’s words, his voice icy and cutting. “Shareholders’ meeting? What does that have to do with you? What gives you the right to think you can influence the shareholders’ decisions?!”