As I talked more with Aunt Heather "Why Old Greek?" I asked, genuinely curious. "I mean, from what I know, that language isn't even used anymore."
"I just wanted to learn it and didn't think much, and since it wasn't really that hard, I just did it," Aunt Heather replied, turning to look away from me, a faint flush on her cheeks.
"You wanted to learn Old Greek?" I emphasized the unusual choice.
"Ugh... don't mention it," she mumbled, a clear sign of embarrassment.
"Why?" I pressed, intrigued.
"There was a book I wanted to read, and it was in Old Greek," Aunt Heather confessed, her actual motivation revealed.
"Couldn't you just have it translated?" I asked, finding her dedication impressive but slightly impractical.
"Where's the fun in that!?" she spoke loudly, a playful glint in her eyes.
"Yeah, whatever suits your plate," I said, shaking my head.
"So you can fight, know multiple languages, and are well-versed in business, politics, and finance?" I listed, genuinely astonished by her myriad talents.
"Yeah."
"Aren't you pretty much omnipotent?" I quipped.
"I can't cook," Heather Rand stated with a deadpan expression.
"Have you ever learned?" I challenged.
"No."
"Great! Let's do that as well," I declared, suddenly inspired.
"Sure," Heather Rand agreed easily.
Reaching Gorakhpur, we were greeted by a man waiting for us at the bus stop. He handed over our flight tickets to Madurai airport, our next destination.
"But if you are that capable," I began, unable to resist, "how in the bloody hell did the Danny of my future turn out so dumb?"
"Ugh... that's mean," she said, though I could clearly see her suppressing a smile.
"No, I think that's either a genetic defect or someone in Kunlun hit him too hard on his head," I insisted, genuinely perplexed.
"Please, let's just leave this topic alone," she pleaded, her smile finally breaking through.
"Fine. So what do you plan to do now?" I asked, shifting to a more serious tone.
"I don't know. I haven't made any plans yet. I'm still not over what happened in the last few days," she confessed, a wistful look in her eyes.
"Well, we have time right now, so instead of moping around, let's plan!" I said, hoping to give her a new focus.
"What kind of plan?" she asked, her gaze returning to me, a spark of interest igniting.
"You know, the kind that's against Harold Meachum and his accomplices," I hinted, a mischievous grin forming.
"You are already scheming something, aren't you?" she said, narrowing her eyes playfully.
"Well, I wouldn't call it a scheme, I mean..."
"Tell me," Heather Rand commanded, her tone suddenly serious.
"Let me ask you first, do you have knowledge of the internal workings of the company?" I began.
"Yes, I am in charge of most of the internal management, and Wendell deals with all the rest and all the outside stuff."
"Great. Do you guys have a will?"
"Yes?"
"Do you have the authority to modify it?"
"Yes."
"How much modification is allowed to you?"
"Everything," she said with a firm voice, and I could see that she was definitely starting to get interested in my ideas.
"Everything?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"Do you mean, you can even—sell all the shares you both own collectively and claim all the money for it as your own—type of everything?" I pressed, testing the limits.
"Yes," she said, a triumphant smile spreading across her face.
"Damn! Wendell Rand was a henpecked man," I muttered, shaking my head in amusement.
"You! What nonsense are you spouting!" she exclaimed, playfully knuckle-punching me on the head.
"I mean, you are awesome, but how?" I clarified, genuinely curious about the legalities.
"Rand Industries was made when Rand Shipping and Duncan Corp merged. Since Duncan Corporation was much bigger, the inheritance of my father already made me the largest shareholder, and Wendell's share in his absence came under my custody, followed by Danny," Heather Rand explained. "So since I can claim their custody, I can do as I wish."
"So, what percentage of shares do you have right now?" I asked, cutting straight to the chase.
"Around 43%," she replied.
"And Harold? What's his slice of the pie?"
"He's got 22%," Heather confirmed, a slight edge to her voice.
"What about all the shareholders combined?" I pressed.
"That's 88.5%," she said.
"Holy cow! So, unless everyone gangs up on you, you've pretty much got free rein, huh?" I concluded, a grin spreading across my face.
"Yeah. So, what's your big plan?" Heather Rand asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"Quit," I stated simply.
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
"I mean we slowly sell the shares bit by bit and quit. We'll create a new company as we buy the stuff from Rand Industries that they neglect, using the money earned from selling the shares, and we slowly eat away at their market and wealth," I explained my intricate plan. "And since you already know all the internal information, there will surely be loopholes you could exploit."
"Your plan is good on paper, but it won't work, if I turn up to make any deals with them they will surely hunt me down instead of letting me profit." Heather Rand countered, a practical frown on her face.
"You are right. That is why, using your capacity to modify the will, you create a new phantom shareholder and use your new identity to conduct business, as long as you involve a representative and maintain a certain amount of disguise, they won't even know who they are dealing with."
"That's possible." Heather Rand conceded, a thoughtful look on her face.
"Yeah, and with that, you not only get your money and weaken your enemies you can even get away from all the mess they will make in the future because of illegal and dishonest dealings." I elaborated on the ingenious methods to deal with the problem. "You can even leave Wendell's part of the share untouched for now with another phantom shareholder so that you can have access to the company's internal affairs at any time."
"That's a wicked idea, but also quite ingenious." Heather Rand admitted, a slow smile spreading across her face.
Heh, welcome to the dark side.
After a long flight, about three hours journey in the bus, and a long cab ride totalling a whole 23 hours after departing from Siddharthanagar, I finally reached my grandparent's home in Rameshwaram.