Chapter 10: Big, Fat Paycheck

Third cousins, distant grandaunts, great-grandchildren from family branches that were almost unheard of! All of the Lucas family extended members decided that they would show their faces today and they were all gathered in the main mansion of the Lucas family in order to pay their respects to George Lucas.

“Ugh, I hate coming here. It’s so terrifying being close to these gangsters. What if someone thinks we’re one of them and shoots us! I mean, look at all the men with guns standing around, it’s like some sort of military barracks.”

A woman wearing an expensive black dress and high heels that cost more than a car spoke with a frown as she glanced around at all the guards standing in the estate. Her husband was walking beside her, and he spoke in a low voice so that only she would hear him.

“Shut up and smile. It’s a fucking funeral, so don’t do anything stupid. This might be our only chance to get something from this fucked up family.”

The woman squeezed her face in distaste, but she didn’t argue back as she kept moving. Another couple at the side were having a similar conversation about the funeral. The woman had a more stern look on her face and her husband seemed to be shaking in his boots as he spoke.

“Mauve, are we really welcome here? They won’t think we’re overstepping? I mean, we haven’t even spoken to them in decades. It feels like we’re trying to intrude.”

The woman clicked her tongue at her timid husband! She couldn’t believe he was also a Lucas with how terrified he was all the time! No wonder he was never involved in the family business! The woman spoke with authority:

“You better get a grip and focus! Make sure you talk to that stuck-up bastard Fredrick Lucas and express your sincere condolences! George Lucas left a fortune of billions behind after he died, and all of it is going to that boy! Use that timid personality of yours and make sure you show as much empathy as possible! Maybe if you grovel properly, they’ll give us a few million dollars off the top.”

Mauve’s husband was the third nephew to George Lucas on the maternal side and he ran a consultation firm in the Fifth District of the city, but Mauve and her husband had never been invited to the family all this time because of how timid her husband was! Mauve knew that this was the only chance that they would have to get money from the Lucas family, so they had to wring them dry for everything they could!

This same thought was going through the heads of many of the family members who had come to the funeral that day! It is said that there are more well-wishers at your funeral than you would ever have at your deathbed, and there was no better way to prove that this was the truth than when a rich man dies. Rich men were always treated with respect and praise when they were young, but the moment they got older, everyone around them begins to wish that they would die quickly just so they could get their hands on the immense wealth they had gathered! George Lucas had never seen many of the people at this funeral for more than three decades! Even when he finally calmed down in his old age and allowed more of his family members to visit him, they still never came around.

But now that he was dead, everyone couldn’t wait to come and show their respect! They didn’t see the man who died! All they saw was the big, fat paycheck he left behind!

“Straighten up, kids. Make sure you greet the matron when you get to the door.”

“Honey, did you bring the wine? We’re going to give it to Fredrick to show our support.”

“Hey, is my makeup okay? I need to look good before meeting Fredrick. Maybe I can become his concubine.”

“You know, the matron is going to be lonely now that the boss is dead. Should I try to get in with her?”

“No, what the fuck are you talking about? She’s like sixty years old.”

“But she’s rich. It doesn’t matter as long as she’s rich. I’d sleep with a fucking goat if it had that much money.”

The people were talking in low whispers as they heard from the door, and once they got close, they all began to plaster on fake smiles and empathetic looks as they paid their respects to the Matron and her first son who were standing at the entrance to welcome them.

The Matron of the Lucas family was an older woman with a head of white hair and some wrinkles on her skin, but she carried herself with a grace and poise that you wouldn’t even see on some of the younger women today. She wore a long black gown that came all the way down to the floor and on her head was a large hat with a net that covered her face. There was a large black diamond necklace around her neck, and many of the women who passed beside her couldn’t help but glance at it greedily! That necklace alone was worth more than all their net worths combined and they knew that the matron had worn it as a way to both show off their family wealth and prove to everyone coming that her husband had truly loved her.

Beside the matron stood a tall man wearing a well-fitted black suit. He had a head of black hair and strong black eyes with dark circles around them. His facial structure was extremely similar to George Lucas’, and if not for the fact that he was so young, then they would have thought he was George Lucas’ brother! This boy was Fredrick Lucas, the first-born son and heir apparent to the Lucas empire. Fredrick put on a smile when another pair of well-wishers came up to them.

“Please accept our genuine condolences. I can’t believe he’s really gone.”

The man who came to them spoke in a grave tone, and the woman beside him seemed to be on the verge of tears as she clung to her husband’s side. Fredrick nodded and thanked them before he told another man at the side to collect the basket of flowers and wine that they brought. The man took the gifts and put them beside the hundreds of other gifts that surrounded a picture of George Lucas. Fredrick then turned to the couple once more and spoke.

“Thank you for your wishes. My family will not forget your kindness.”

The woman suddenly put her hand over her mouth and doubled over with an anguished cry while saying that it just wasn’t fair! George Lucas was such a good man! Why did he have to die!? Her husband rushed to help her up with a sad look, and Fredrick just had to stand there with a strained smile on his face as he watched both of them walk away. The matron never even bothered to smile once throughout the interaction and Fredrick waited until the couple were gone before he finally spoke to his mother.

“It wouldn’t kill you to give them a smile, Mother.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep