Back at the Tucker Mansion household, the family too had received the gilded invitation to the gala.
"The Queen of London, huh?" murmured the intrigued Hela Tucker, her sharp voice carrying across the grand hall as she adjusted her spectacles and read the letter aloud.
She straightened her back in her velvet armchair, her presence commanding as always.
The chandelier above shimmered faintly against the polished marble floor. In her hand was the envelope, edges trimmed with gold, its wax seal already broken.
"Dear Family of the Tuckers," she read slowly, her tone full of irony, "you are hereby invited to Her Majesty's gala on Friday."
Hela snapped the envelope closed with a sharp flick of her wrist and let her gaze sweep across the gathered family—Hana, Bictor, and Tom sitting closest to her in stiff silence.
Further back, the new faces lingered—Jada, Shanti, Dehu, Reynold, Parthiban, Tasha, and Jani—each of them adjusting their postures nervously under Hela's hawk-like stare.
As Hana's eyes wandered, she noticed the absence that weighed heavily in her mind. Her son was not among them. She lifted her chin and addressed her mother directly, her tone hesitant but firm.
"Mother… did you not include Shen?" Hana asked, her brow furrowing.
At once, the crack of Hela's twisted wooden cane echoed like a gunshot against the marble tile, making several members of the family flinch. She leaned forward slightly, her face twisting with disdain.
"He's not worth mentioning, Hana,"
Hela spat coldly, her knuckles tightening around the handle of her cane.
Hana exhaled heavily, lowering her gaze. Just how deep did her mother's hatred for Shen run?
To disown her own grandson, while at the same time spoiling Zac—Shen's younger twin brother, who even now rotting in jail for money embezzlement and fraud—was a bitter irony.
"Grandmother,"
spoke up Shanti Tucker, Shen's cousin, her voice curious yet cautious,
"I heard that the Queen's most prestigious and personal friend is coming to the gala as well. Is that true?"
Hela's eyes narrowed slightly, and then her lips curled into a sly smile.
"Yes,"
she answered with deliberate weight.
"Shen Goddem, founder and chairman of the most prestigious multinational trading empire, Black Dragon Group."
The room shifted with murmurs at the name. Tasha, sister to Shanti and Shen's second cousin, smirked in delight, tilting her head as though savoring the sound.
"Hmhmhm… a fine man that all women want," Tasha said, her voice dripping with amusement as she toyed idly with the chain of her necklace.
"Oh please, you should see his bitch of a secretary, Xin Yin Jin,"
sneered Dehu, who had been flipping through a glossy magazine. He turned the page to reveal a sultry photo of Xin Yin Jin, posing boldly on the front cover in a revealing bikini. He held it up with a grin that made several others shake their heads.
"Tch, men and their pervertism," scoffed Shanti, rolling her eyes with disdain at Dehu's crude display. She folded her arms, her sharp heels clicking as she shifted her weight.
"I suggest all of you be on your best behavior,"
Hela interjected, her voice slicing through their squabbles. She tapped her long, bony fingers rhythmically on the carved armrest of her chair, each tap like a warning.
"If any one of you is able to secure a connection—even the smallest—with Shen Goddem or his empire, then the Tucker family could rise back to power again."
Her words lingered in the air like smoke, filling the hall with a heavy silence.
"But mother,"
Hana dared again, her voice softer now, though her hands clenched in her lap,
"we should also bring Shen Tucker as well. You know… to at least complete the family tree?"
The suggestion made several heads turn toward Hela, waiting for her reaction. The matriarch's eyes hardened, the faintest twitch in her jaw betraying her temper.
Her cane tapped twice against the marble, the sound echoing through the mansion's high ceiling.
The tension in the room thickened, everyone waiting for the storm of Hela Tucker's decision.
"Tch… when good times are coming, of course you've changed just because I agreed to bring back that waste as a pawn for the chairman seat only,"
Hela Tucker said, her voice sharp and cold, pacing slowly across the polished marble floor. The cane in her hand tapped with each step, echoing like a metronome of wrath.
"Let me make myself clear, Hana. Your son, Shen Tucker, is only chairman of the Tucker family until Zac returns. So what if he's rich? Once Zac is released, he will bring the Tucker family back to glory,"
Hela continued, pointing her cane as if she could punctuate her words with pain.
Hana sighed, her fingers trembling slightly as she handed over today's newspaper, making sure everyone in the room could see it.
"Read today's headlines, Mother. See what Shen has done to the T Group Company yesterday."
Hela raised a brow, her sharp eyes scanning the front page. The headlines screamed:
'New Chairman Strikes Deal with the Ugan Family Company. Contract to Be Discussed at the Queen's Gala with Her Personal and Prestigious Guest.'
Bictor spat out a mouthful of Sprite, splattering across the polished floor in shock.
Shanti's jaw dropped so wide it looked painful.
Dehu blurted, "Oh my good dog!!!"
Tom crumpled the newspaper in jealousy, his hands shaking.
"Impossible!!!" Hela Tucker bellowed, her face turning crimson. "How did this trash strike a deal with the Ugan Family in Nigeria?!!!"
Her cane thumped twice against the floor as she demanded, "Hana, call Shen immediately!"
Hana hesitated for a heartbeat, then dialed.
"Shen?" she said tentatively.
"What is it, Hana?"
Shen's calm, collected voice came from the other end, muffled slightly by the phone but full of authority, as he sat in his office at the Black Dragon Group, surrounded by glass walls that reflected the Kuala Lumpur skyline.
"About the Ugan Family…?" Hana asked carefully.
"Ah yes, the Ugan Family. What about it?"
"Umm… what kind of deal did you make, son?"
Shen stood from his luxurious rolling chair, glancing out at the black-glass skyscrapers of the city. His tone was cool, almost hatred.
"Don't call me son… or did you forget what we discussed?" he replied.
Hela snatched the phone from Hana's hands, her face contorted with fury.
"To hell with your sweet motherly talk!"
she yelled, placing the phone on speaker for the entire room to hear.
"Shen Tucker!!!! How dare you!!!"
Shen moved the phone slightly away from his ear, his lips curling in a smirk, fully aware of whose voice was screeching.
"Man, shut your dog-fucking weed-up mouth, old hag,"
he snarled, calm and unapologetic.
"Old hag? OLD HAG!!!"
Hela's voice cracked like a whip, the cane bouncing violently on the floor with each word.
"Uhh… yeah? Old hag?"
Shen said, the faintest amusement in his tone, as if he was playing a dangerous game of chess with her patience.
"You wretched imbecile! In what Brahman's knowledge did you get the balls to strike a deal with the Ugan Family?!!!"
Shen placed the phone carefully on his desk, leaning back into his chair.
"Oh, simple,"
he said coolly, watching Hela's blood pressure soar off the charts.
"The Ugan head family and I crossed paths. I decided to use that to my advantage and strike a deal."
"WHAT DEAL IS IT!!!"
Hela screamed, veins bulging in her forehead, her cane raised as if she might throw it.
Shen smirked knowingly, savoring the chaos he'd created.
"Simple,"
he continued, his voice smooth as silk.
"I offered the Ugan Family a 25 percent share in the T Group, and in return, they will provide a 10 percent stake in Kuwait Dinar. And… my mother, Hana Tucker, will handle the contract signing."
The room fell into stunned silence, everyone processing the audacity of Shen's maneuver.
Even Hela froze mid-step, her cane hovering in the air, eyes wide, mouth slightly open—speechless for the first time in decades.
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Chapter 15 — End