Ever since Gina's parents, the previous helmsmen of the Orange Family family, passed away, Gina, who had only recently graduated from college, came to the United States to take over the mess her parents left behind.
Besides the company that was struggling to develop in America at the time, there was also her younger brother, Dragan, who had been a good-for-nothing since childhood.
Initially, when Dragan first started going astray, Gina tried to pull him back.
While strictly disciplining him, she also placed him in a position within the company.
However, Dragan not only failed to repent but also became addicted to gambling; after several failed attempts at persuasion, he even concealed orders and secretly embezzled company funds.
Completely disillusioned with him, Gina decisively kicked him out of the company, gave him a sum of money, and then left him to his own devices.
Later, in the original owner's memory, the few times she saw this scoundrel uncle, he was always coming to the house to beg for money.
However, in the past two years, Luca hadn't seen him for a long time, and he didn't know what methods his mother, Gina, had used.
Now it seems he's not just gambling; he's also gotten into drugs.
"Why are you here?!"
It wasn't Luca who spoke, but Samira, standing beside him with an unfriendly gaze.
At the same time, she stepped forward, shielding Luca behind her.
Samira clearly understood the character of the man before her.
Of course, Dragan also recognized Samira; upon noticing her undisguised look of disgust, a surge of nameless anger instantly welled up in his heart, but he immediately suppressed it.
"Samira! Don't forget I also have the Orange surname. In this situation, of course, I need to look after Luca."
As he spoke, Dragan glanced at Luca's empty sleeve and the tombstone behind him.
Noticing the disdain in his eyes, Samira, who had watched Luca grow up, immediately became furious.
Luca, however, who also noticed his gaze, showed little change in expression.
He had gotten too carried away during the Battle of New York, directly kicking his mechanical prosthetic limb away like a ball.
That prosthetic limb was, in fact, a special mechanical arm custom-made by the original owner's parents at great expense from Transia, an exoskeleton company laboratory that had a partnership with the Department of Defense.
Although it couldn't achieve the sensitivity of a normal arm, it was already a rather 'sci-fi' prosthetic.
Currently, Luca could temporarily find an ordinary prosthetic hand to substitute, but that would only make him look more like a normal person on the outside; it wouldn't bring much practical convenience to his daily life.
Luca simply chose not to install a new prosthetic for now, patiently waiting for Transia to remanufacture it.
Luca himself didn't care about his disabled status and certainly wouldn't feel angry because of others' opinions.
Gently pressing down on the somewhat impulsive Samira, Luca looked at his uncle with calm eyes and said in a cold tone.
"Uncle? I'll still call you that for now. Thank you for attending Father's funeral."
"However, I recall Mother seems to have already cut ties with you? As for Aunt Samira, I think she is much more trustworthy than certain people."
Hearing Luca's words, Dragan straightened himself up again.
He adjusted his collar, feigning a look of concern for his nephew.
"Kid, New York state law doesn't recognize cutting off family ties."
"Besides, blood is thicker than Water. With my sister in this condition, I, as his uncle, naturally must step forward to take care of you."
As he said this, Dragan provocatively nodded his chin towards Samira.
"Isn't Gina just injured and unconscious?"
"Is he here to seize power?"
"This guy, doesn't he think too highly of himself?"
The guests once again whispered.
Clearly, most people looked down on Dragan, who obviously wasn't a good person.
Only he himself looked around at the guests with self-satisfaction.
Samira, on the side, seemed worried that Luca was still young and didn't understand Dragan's character, so she was about to speak and explain.
However, before Samira could say anything, Luca frowned slightly.
'How did this guy find out about Gina's condition?!'
Gina Orange, Luca's mother.
She was injured and fell unconscious during the Battle of New York; although she was immediately sent to the hospital for treatment after the battle ended.
However, the Doctor's explanation was that Gina currently seemed to be suffering from 'Neural Synaptic Callus Syndrome'.
This condition is essentially caused by continuous high-frequency energy impacts, leading to the terminal nerves of the cerebral cortex being encased by abnormal proteins, which causes a decrease in nerve signal transmission efficiency and the brain to enter a semi-dormant state.
Originally, this condition was extremely rare in the medical field; recorded patients only experienced symptoms like slowed reactions, drowsiness, and forgetfulness.
However, in this Battle of New York, suddenly more than ten injured individuals developed this condition.
Those with milder symptoms could barely manage their daily lives, while those with severe symptoms were pronounced dead within a few days.
Conversely, for cases like Gina's, which were neither light nor severe, neither the hospital nor the private Doctor team had effective treatment methods, so they could only wait.
In fact, in the past few days, Luca had specifically asked Samira to arrange for Stephen Strange, the future Doctor Strange, to be invited.
He should be considered the most outstanding neurosurgeon in all of New York at present.
However, after hearing about the condition, he didn't even listen to the consultation fee quote, directly refusing the Doctor Samira had entrusted, on the grounds that he was too busy with work recently.
Now, Luca could only follow the Doctor's advice, opting for conservative treatment to stabilize the patient's condition, hoping for new treatment options to emerge.
It's just that, logically, very few people currently knew this information.
How did Dragan, who had been missing for nearly two years, was addicted to gambling and drugs, and was a complete waste, hear this news?
Seeing the situation on the verge of spiraling out of control, Luca immediately ordered in a cold voice.
"Aunt Samira, escort him out. Don't let him cause trouble at Father's funeral."
Samira immediately stepped forward, grabbed Dragan's shoulder, and was about to lead him away from the scene.
However, Dragan not only didn't restrain himself but instead arrogantly shouted.
"Hmph, kid, are you scared? The law, um… a person without civil capacity, requires a new general meeting of shareholders to vote for a decision-maker."
As he spoke, Dragan's nostrils flared, his pupils slightly constricted from excitement, and his speech became increasingly incoherent.
"Don't think, um, absolute control. You haven't inherited those shares yet. At the shareholders' meeting, dead people and comatose patients can't attend!"
"What did you just say, you bastard?!"
Samira's eyes widened in fury upon hearing this, and she immediately grabbed Dragan's collar, actually lifting him up.
"Gina? A comatose patient?"
"Didn't they say Ms. Orange was just temporarily unconscious?"
Many of the guests were either collaborators with Orange Industries or even employees of the company; upon hearing this news, they all looked at Luca with surprise and uncertainty.
Luca himself, however, paid no attention to their gazes but instead noticed the problem in Dragan's words, his voice as chilling as an ice pick.
"Shareholders' meeting? What does that have to do with you? What makes you think you can influence the shareholders' decisions?!"