Dragan was shaking all over, and the man in front of him spoke in a calm and gentle voice.
"It seems that your relationship with your nephew isn't quite as good as you said, is it?"
Hearing this, Dragan quickly shook her head, smiling nervously without even realizing it.
"He's just a kid—what does he know? Next time! Next time, I'll definitely be able to convince him."
Listening to such contradictory words, Wesley simply shook his head calmly.
A guy whose brain was already ruined by addiction like this. If he wasn't still useful, Wesley wouldn't even bother talking to him.
In fact, Wesley didn't really feel like wasting any more words now anyway. He casually pushed open the car door and called out to the two men in suits still waiting outside.
"Take him down. Don't let him run off!"
Hearing those words, Dragan seemed to realize something, and his mind suddenly cleared up quite a bit.
As he struggled to break free from the grip of the men, he clutched at the car door and begged loudly:
"Wesley!! Believe me, just give me one more chance! I swear I can convince that kid! As soon as I take over the company, I'll definitely pay back what I owe you!"
However, Wesley ignored Dragan's pleas. As his gaze swept over Dragan's wet pants, a look of disgust flashed across his face.
He gave another order coldly:
"Get this man a new pair of pants and clean him up."
After saying that, he didn't even look at Dragan, who was shaking as he was dragged out of the car.
Wesley just pulled out a handkerchief to cover his nose, then took out his phone and made a call.
"Boss."
"How did it go?"
The voice on the phone was a deep man's voice.
Wesley instinctively put down the handkerchief, adjusted his collar, and sat up straight before replying respectfully:
"Dragan messed it up. We lost a man, but the body was recovered, so for now, they shouldn't be able to trace it back to us."
The other end of the call remained silent. After a brief hesitation, Wesley added:
"Next, I'll get in touch with his mother's doctor and have them delay issuing a medical report. We'll state it as a potential recovery for now. That should buy us time before the inheritance is finalized and the board meeting is started."
This time, the voice on the other end finally responded, but his voice had no emotion at all.
"Do as you see fit."
After a brief pause, the man continued with a warning, "I've heard a word that someone in the Upper East Side has already struck a deal with the government to get involved in the alien wreckage recovery efforts."
"The policy changes could come at any moment. We need to wrap things up on the Midtown as quickly as possible."
As the dial tone echoed in his ear, Wesley finally let out a long breath. He gently wiped the phone screen and slipped it into his pocket.
Then, glancing at the spot where Dragan had been sitting, Wesley frowned slightly and gave a cold order:
"Take the car to the car wash."
The engine started, and the car smoothly drove off into the distance.
...
Meanwhile, in another vehicle, Luca was also listening to Samira's report.
"Looks like my dear uncle really found someone powerful to back him up."
After touching his newly installed prosthetic arm, Luca quietly pondered over the situation Samira had described.
"Young Master Luca, they send six armed men after me. That means they're part of an organized group."
"I think while we investigate who Dragan has been associating with lately, we also strengthen your personal security team."
Samira believed that if it had been a fair fight with guns, she could've taken down all six bad guys easily—maybe even more.
But fighting enemies and keeping someone safe are two very different things. Moreover, she couldn't guarantee that she would always be by Luca's side.
Now that they knew someone was secretly watching them, it was only natural to start preparing in advance.
Luca had no objections to that.
He didn't think that just having a few cool gadgets would keep him safe from everything, and expanding the security team was undoubtedly the smart choice.
The only issue was that accessing the company's security personnel wasn't so simple for Luca at the moment.
"Aunt Samira, do you have anyone suitable to recommend?"
He could just hire a good security company for now.
However, Luca couldn't use the company's funds, but his family had some other investments and other sources he could use instead.
Unexpectedly, after hearing his question, Samira hesitated slightly before replying in a quiet voice:
"Actually…"
Seeing her so hesitant, Luca was a bit puzzled, but he gestured for her to go on.
"Actually, your mom has a private combat unit under her command. It's small, but all of them are elite."
Seeing the confusion on Luca's face reflected in the rearview mirror, she continued her explanation.
"This team is officially listed as the company's weapons testing team. They also take on some odd mercenary jobs overseas from time to time."
"'Officially'?"
Samira's wording immediately piqued Luca's curiosity.
"Yes, but mainly to make it easier for them to acquire equipment and move around."
"Well… to be honest, when your mom has… certain problems that she can't deal with directly, she sends them to take care of it."
"Tch…"
Even though Samira was being vague, Luca understood exactly what she meant.
'Holy crap! An assassination squad? Is this what corporate warfare looks like for the arms industry?!"
He never would've guessed that the mom he remembered, kind and caring at home and a strong, capable woman in the workplace, would secretly have such a force under her command.
"Can these people be trusted?"
That question was kind of obvious.
If they did dirty work in secret for the Orange family, they probably had to be trustworthy from the start.
Still, given the current circumstances, Luca was still young, and he didn't know this secret team very well. He needed to make sure everything was clear and safe.
What if they didn't respect him as the new boss and started having their own hidden agendas…
Then, bringing them back to serve as his protection would be no different from inviting wolves into the house.
However, upon hearing his concern, Samira responded with firm conviction:
"Young Master, rest assured! Every member of this team is a veteran who served in the war in Sokovia!"
The moment he heard the name Sokovia, Luca felt noticeably more at ease.
Why did hearing that make him trust them more? That had to do with the origins of the Orange family.
Luca's parents didn't come from normal American backgrounds.
Based on what Samira had told him over the past few days and piecing that together with fragments of the original owner's memories…
Luca's dad, whose name was Herman Von, had a relatively simple background. He was part Italian, and both of his parents were immigrants from a few generations ago.
To put it in more traditional terms, Herman had essentially married into the Orange family and became part of their household.
In contrast, Luca's mother, Gina Orange, came from a far more complicated background.