Chapter 43: The Truth of the Matter

"Clang."

Luca tossed the iron bar he had picked up to the side. He looked down at Dragan, who lay sprawled at his feet like a dead dog, his expression calm and his lips sealed. He reached out to take a clean handkerchief from Samira, wiped his mechanical prosthetic limb offhandedly, and fell into deep thought.

Initially, Dragan had racked his brain, trying to find ways to absolve himself. Unfortunately, the man named Patton was far more perceptive; realizing he had been caught, he had honestly confessed everything he knew, begging only for a quick death. As for Dragan, he was never a tough guy to begin with, and after Samira applied a few minor methods, Luca, who already had a general understanding of the situation, managed to fill in the missing pieces.

According to Dragan, two minority shareholders in Orange Industries had been collaborating with Kingpin for some time. After the Battle of New York, these two unfortunate shareholders "happened" to die, which brought Orange Industries—or rather, Luca, the child holding a bar of gold—to Kingpin’s attention. Perhaps Kingpin wanted to use Orange Industries as a springboard to secure contracts for processing alien debris in Manhattan after the disaster, or perhaps he simply coveted the company's assets. Regardless, after some investigation, Kingpin personally sought out Dragan, who was struggling to scrape by in Las Vegas, intending to use his status as an Orange heir to swallow the entire company.

At first, Kingpin likely had a two-pronged approach: either take the gentle route and have Dragan manipulate the "naive" Luca into voluntarily handing over control, or take the efficient route and simply eliminate Luca, turning Dragan into his puppet. However, although Dragan held no real cards, he had his own petty schemes. Clearly, even as a puppet, he preferred to control Orange Industries himself, so he had directly sabotaged that "long-awaited reunion" with Luca.

As for the subsequent car accident, Dragan vehemently denied involvement. Luca also believed it was Kingpin's handiwork; after all, it had happened far too quickly.

"Perhaps some change in plans made Kingpin impatient?"

Normally, that kind of car accident would have been a killing blow, and the timing was perfectly set for shortly after Luca left the cemetery. Afterward, Kingpin would only need to pull a few strings; without evidence, it wouldn't have affected his subsequent takeover of Orange Industries at all. However, Luca had come out of the accident unscathed, and Kingpin seemed to have learned that Pepper Potts had appeared at the funeral. The renowned Tony Stark might have some undefined connection to Luca. Not wanting to provoke Iron Man, Kingpin had decisively abandoned the overtly flashy assassination attempt, opting instead to seize Orange Industries through "legal" means, which would allow him to distance himself from the outcome regardless of success or failure.

And Dragan, naturally, became the pawn in his hand.

"As for this evening's raid..."

Looking at the dog-like Dragan, Luca shook his head in silence. These men were indeed Kingpin’s subordinates, but they were not sent by Kingpin to assassinate Luca. Their true role was to act as "bodyguards" to keep an eye on Dragan. However, using the silver tongue he had honed through years of trickery in Las Vegas, Dragan had managed to persuade these men to eliminate Luca for him, promising them a large sum of money afterward so they could flee. That was why they had chosen to send everyone out to raid Luca’s villa in the middle of the night.

"So, where was this 'large sum of money' supposed to come from?"

As he spoke, Luca pressed his foot down on the three fingers of Dragan's right hand, causing him to howl in agony once more.

"Ahhh! It’s gone, there’s no money! I lied to them, I gave them all the money I had! Ahhh! Spare me!"

"No money left? After betraying Kingpin, these men would definitely have to run. If you couldn't pay them, weren't you afraid they’d kill you before they fled?" Luca asked with a touch of curiosity, his foot pausing for a moment.

"They... ah, they wouldn't dare. If they just... just killed you, they would be helping Kingpin, and he wouldn't hunt them down. But killing me would mean ruining Kingpin's entire plan, and he wouldn't let them off if they did that."

"Besides, as long as I’m alive and in control of the company, I’ll definitely make up the payment for them later! I swear!"

By now, Dragan’s psyche had completely collapsed, and he was desperately blurting out everything in hopes of suffering a little less. Watching him, Luca rolled his eyes behind his lenses.

"He does have a brain, it seems, but only a tiny one..."

For a moment, Luca didn't know whether to admire his courage and confidence or mock his ignorance and arrogance. Dragan’s logic was simple: if he were the only remaining heir to Orange Industries, Kingpin would ensure his survival if only to prevent the company's assets from falling into government hands. Then, even as a puppet, he could enjoy the wealth and fame on the surface.

But...

It was one thing to convince guards to betray Kingpin for non-existent money while under duress—that took some skill. But had he never considered whether Kingpin would turn around and kill him once the job was done? Or did he truly believe that after "collaborating" with Kingpin, he could sleep soundly forever?

Having obtained almost all the necessary information, Luca didn't bother dwelling on these trivialities and asked his final question.

"Who has the share transfer contracts for the two deceased shareholders?"

Hearing this, Dragan, who had been trembling, suddenly stiffened, his face filled with unconcealable despair.

Seeing that look, Luca nodded calmly.

"Understood."

At these words, Dragan felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss.

The next moment, Luca raised the [Dominator] in his hand.

"Bang."

A single gunshot rang out.

Dragan’s body on the ground twisted violently, and his upper torso was blown into a mess of shredded flesh. Looking at his suit jacket, now splattered with a few drops of blood, Luca clicked his tongue in disgust.

"I really shouldn't use the lethal mode at such close range; it's fucking disgusting."

Samira, standing to the side, couldn't help but say, "Young Master, let me handle it next time. There's no need for you to dirty your hands."

Luca waved her off nonchalantly, took off his blood-stained suit jacket, and tossed it over Dragan’s gruesome remains.

Young Master Luca was kind-hearted and couldn't bear the sight of such carnage.

"Young Master, should I begin staging the kidnapping scene?" Samira asked.

Yes, according to Luca's original plan, he intended to frame the event as if he had been attacked at home and abducted to this location by thugs. Then, he and his loyal bodyguard, Samira, would use their wits to successfully counter-kill the enemies and escape. Once finished, he would either call the police or summon Tony Stark. This way, his actions today would be entirely reasonable and legal, and he wouldn't leave a poor first impression on the superhero Iron Man.

However, after learning the full story, Luca found himself hesitating.

Beyond resolving his troubles and taking revenge on Kingpin, Luca had developed other ideas. To put it bluntly, he had his eyes on the shares currently held by Kingpin.

And... he didn't want to pay for them.