Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Luca had saved his troubled mind in proving that Uncle Ed had in fact been squandering his position. He’d not wanted to come between family, but he had helped them out of the black, and in the short time he’d been there, they were once again turning a profit.
As for Uncle Ed, he hadn’t taken the death threats he’d been sent seriously. The man had absolutely nothing, so he figured his threats were empty.
“I bet you never saw this coming,” Uncle Ed said. “Throw the phone on the floor. Go on, do it.”
Luca had to think of Tillie. He’d not gotten the call to the police, and he needed to keep the man distracted, so he threw the phone down on the floor.
“That’s good. Now the poker. Get it out of the way.”
The poker joined the phone.
“Good, good. Now, fire up your computer,” Uncle Ed said.
This did make him pause, but Uncle Ed just jerked the gun from left to right. “Do you want me to use it? End the happy life you’ve built for yourself, using my family!” The last was said on a snarl.
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, Ed, but this is not the answer.”
“You’re going to give me what is rightfully mine. That company is half mine. You’re going to transfer a hundred million straight to me, and then we’re going to put all of this unpleasantness behind us.”
“A hundred million?”
“Yes, half of what the company was worth. Half of it is mine. I’m only getting what I’m entitled to.”
There was a time when the Goodwin Empire was worth three times, if not ten times that value, but over the years it had diminished, and Luca hadn’t even paid a hundred to acquire it. They’d been so desperate for a buyout in the hope of saving jobs, he’d gotten it at a bargain price.
“You helped ruin the company,” Luca said.
“Shut your fucking mouth and do as you’re told, or do you want to die? Is that it? You want to die, and do you think I won’t go up there and kill my niece?” Ed asked.
“You’ll leave her out of this.”
Ed started to laugh. “You don’t like that, do you? Well, then, let’s make it two hundred million. I’m due what is rightfully mine, and you’re not going to take it away from me. If you do, I’ll kill her. I’ll kill you both.”
Luca started up his computer and hated the fact it worked fast. Ed had stepped further into the room.
“Why did you try to ruin your brother’s company?”
“It’s half mine!”
“Your father gave it to Andrew. The company was in your brother’s name. He inherited it.”
Ed had gotten monetary inheritance, of which Andrew had told him he’d spent in less than six months. Ed was a spender, but he’d not been much of a worker. He liked the benefits of the money, but not putting in the hard work to obtain it. According to Andrew, for a long time Ed had been under the belief that the reason they hired people was to make money for them, that they didn’t need to do any of the hard work.
This is why Luca had also believed Ed hadn’t been much of a threat. Now, he wished he’d taken the death threats more seriously. He couldn’t help but think about Tillie, upstairs in their bed.
“Andrew was always Dad’s favorite. He always got what he wanted, whereas I was the one always left behind. Andrew got everything on a plate, but I had to do everything. Go to college, study hard. Dad was such a fucking asshole, he hated that I paid other kids to do the work for me. I couldn’t do that work, it was too fucking hard. All I needed were the grades on paper to make me look good. I made sure they were well paid, compensated for their efforts. Transfer the money!”
“And you think you should be rewarded?” Luca asked.
With every second that passed, he knew there was not going to be a chance to reason with him.
“I deserve everything. I was making that company shine.”
“You were driving it into the ground. Everything your father and grandfather worked toward was dying, and it was because of you.”
His hands shook. “I will kill you and then what are you going to do?”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tillie, but Ed didn’t. She had a vase in her hands, and she brought it right down on Ed’s head. Much to Luca’s surprise, Ed went down instantly, and Tillie still held onto the vase.
Luca reacted, going toward Ed and taking the gun away, sticking it in the back of his pajama pants. Then, he looked toward Tillie, who was shaking.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay. The police and Dad are on the way.”
He cupped her face and pressed a kiss to her lips. “You didn’t need to do that.”