Wells Family
Jason was sitting in his office when he got a call from his secretary. The Wells Family would hold another meeting today, and every core member of the family has to be present.
"Sir, they want you to arrive quickly."
"Alright, I understand, I'm on my way," Jason replied calmly.
"I'll inform them that you're on the way."
"Good."
Jason put his phone down as he walked towards the lift. This was not the first time the family held a meeting. It has occurred several times in the past and as the future successor of the family, he had no choice but to attend. It was never his decision that mattered in the family, but his presence alone was required.
'That Ivan brat really can't wait any longer, did he?'
Over the past few weeks, the number of family's meeting the Wells Family had increased several times. It was unknown whether the family truly required them or not, but it was certain that the family was getting impatient. The greatest matter that they couldn't come into terms was regarding the letter of invitation that the government sent.
Ivan is his cousin. The two of them have similar countenance, but there were still some differences. For example, Ivan's eyebrows looked sharper than Jason. Jason's hair glowed under the light while Ivan didn't.
As Jason thought about what he should say in the meeting, his car had arrived in Wells Family's main residence. Similar to the Nali Family, the Wells Family also has their own main residence. The place was large, spanned thousands of meters with a beautiful garden there.
"Young Master Jason, the family has been waiting for you."
"I understand," Jason replied calmly.
The servant eyed Jason from behind. She had heard about Jason's name as the perfect successor of the Wells Family. However, not a single one of them knew how the boy has always been coerced in the family. The name of the perfect successor was given to him by those people who never knew how hard it was to survive in this family.
Jason walked calmly to the main hall. Although he had not come inside, he could feel the tense atmosphere. His brow creased, the Wells Family truly full of hidden danger.
He knocked on the door as he stepped inside. "Jason Wells has come."
The moment he walked inside, the elders' gaze landed on him like a hawk. It was clear that they didn't like this young man at all from their hostile gaze. However, Jason paid no heed to them all; his attention was fully focused on his father, the Wells Family Head.
"Sit down," Wells Family Head said solemnly. He pointed to the seat, which Jason calmly sat down on.
The elders threw him an annoyed glare. They knew that the media termed him as the perfect successor of the family, but not all of them liked Jason. Although he was the son of Wells Family Head, his ability often made them feel suffocated. In their eyes, he was far more dangerous than any other people.
"Jason, you're late again," one of the elders snarled.
Jason glanced back at the elder. Somehow, he was reminded of his previous teammate, Tom, who often scolded him for being late. However, the tone that this elder used was clearly trying to push him down.
"My apologies, Elder. I was busy dealing with the companies of Wells Family that has far away location from here."
The elder's face turned dark. They all knew about the location of Jason's office. It was indeed one of the farthest from them all. There was nothing weird with Jason coming a bit later than the others. After all, the young man needed more time to reach this place.
The elder just wanted to reprimand Jason, but Jason would not back down when he was not in the wrong. Facing their accusation, he was not afraid.
Not long after that, several other people also come to the hall. There were many of them that eyed Jason with hostility. Even inside the family, Jason's presence was not welcomed. Unfortunately, there was nothing much that they could do.
His nickname was not without any cause. He's truly a 'perfect' young man, which made it hard for them to find any fault in him. Woman? He barely batted an eyelid towards them. Money? He was practically swimming inside them. Drinking? No one has ever seen him drunk, so they couldn't say anything.
"Now that everyone has arrived, we shall begin the meeting," Wells Family Head announced.
After that, the discussion turned hotter as they wanted to talk about Wells Family business. As the largest family in this city, there were a lot of businesses that the family held. The discussion stayed for a long time before it reached the most sensitive topic that they had always talked about.
"Regarding the invitation letter that the government offered for the Wells Family, what should our response be?"
The moment the question was uttered, the people's attention gathered into two young men. Only these two were brave enough so far to voice out their opinion directly, which was actually the opposite of each other.
"I suggest our family stay away from the matter and not accept it," Jason replied calmly.
Ivan, who stayed not far from him, sneered. "Do you think that the government will accept that kind of answer? Have you not seen the condition of the other families from after rejecting the offer? Doha Family is on the brink of destruction, Nali Family is on the edge, do you want to make our Wells Family the same?"
"The letter directly stated that we have to help out in their research," Jason maintained his calm. "Even though the public doesn't know what kind of research that they do, all of us know that. It's unwise to participate in such a questioning act of research."
The research that the government mentioned was regarding the talent of someone. So far, the research has been mild with little progress here and there. Things changed when Ferdinand took over. He made the research to push forward at lightning speed. At the same time, he caused the death of many innocent people, who were unfortunate enough to have 'higher' genes.
"There's nothing wrong with participating. Those people are nothing but livestock. Their existence meant nothing," Ivan scoffed. Those were only commoners who didn't have many things to achieve in their life. There was no need to care about them.
Jason passed a glance at Ivan. If this was him a few years ago, he might not care so much about the life of other people. However, the life he had experienced along with Kanae and the others in Fiore Group taught him how precious life was.
When they accepted a mission, Kanae always tried her best to avoid the killing mission unless it was truly a criminal. It might be kind of one-sided justice, but they knew how useless it was to bring the matter to the court. People with a lot of money could easily overturn the case in their side, leaving those who needed justice with none left.
Besides, he knew that someone's fate might change in a matter of time. There was no telling what the future for those people would be. He didn't want to bet their future in this research.
"Human's life is precious, my dear cousin. What if they can achieve bigger than you?"
"That's only an 'if' and nothing is certain. Their current life is filled with nothing but hardship. Being an experiment will grant them the peace that they longed for," Ivan snorted.
"How do you know that they want it?"
"Who would not want it? Rather than living a life filled with hardship, it's better for them to end them all and become useful."
Jason shook his head. He had seen how those people were content with what they had. Only some of them, who dreamt of the better future, would feel dissatisfied with their condition.
"Humans are unique. Even if they're staying in a rather low-cost house, having to work all day, they can adapt very quickly. Soon after that, they'll get used to their life and accept things as they are."
Some elders nodded their head when they heard Jason's argument. It was rather true that many of the poor people were actually happy. Even though they didn't have a lot of money, having to live in a rather poor place, they still enjoyed every single day that they had. Only those ambitious people would not feel content with what they had.
Jason's mind pictured the little girl that he knew. She would prefer to work harder than to receive money for nothing. Even if her life was hard, she always did her work to the best of her ability.
Sometimes, he even thought that her hard work was not equivalent with the money that she received.
Ivan looked at Jason. "Don't speak as if you know them. You're living in a world filled with riches."
"Is that so?" Jason replied nonchalantly.
Seeing the indifferent expression on Jason's face, Ivan felt irked. He took out a document on his bag and eyed Jason sharply. "Originally, I plan to hit you at a more crucial time, but it seems that this is already more than necessary. I know why you know so much about them, Oro from Fiore Group."