Cole was even more dumbfounded now than before, this was definitely not the kind of thing he'd expect his father to say. But he understood it now better. This family had a sickness, they just couldn't help themselves. So it would be better to put his foot down and put an end to any stupid business before it gets too far.
There was silence as everyone took in what Cole's father had said and tried to figure out a way that they could react to it. But then again h0ow could you react to something like this, Henry was coming from a place of pain. He had already buried a son, and apart from his own brother, there wasn't a single person here that understood what that felt like. He had earned the right to throw threats even if he did not have the power to back it up.
"I understand your frustrations Henry and I promise you as a family we will all walk and go through this tragedy and crisis together and we will over c0me everything that has been thrown our way. I'm much too old to be worrying about leadership at the moment, and I doubt that my brothers would be all too keen to see their elder sister rule over them even if its for a little while.
At the moment, government, cosmic entities and the system are not things we can worry about. I have it on very good authority that some of the families here in Abuja are about to make a move, some of them even our allies. They think we're cornered, wounded and that it is only a matter of time before every single last on e of us is wiped out from the face of the earth.
We have enemies that are banging down on our doorsteps at this very moment, so in the end the best thing for us to do would be to clean house. To take care of all our rivals and make sure the whole city and any other operations within it's neighboring territories would be under our full purview and control. That's what's important right now, as a family we will tackle every issue as they come in order of importance.
For now this first thin g we all should worry about would be how to survive and thrive. This is a war and much like many of you I believe my brother, our leader needs to answer for the carnage that has gone down. If we can not hold ourselves accountable for our mistakes as a family, then the world out there would be a much harsher judge and they would do worse. Let us govern ourselves wisely and smartly. I do not want to lead but I do support the motion that Henry should probably step down for a little while or just go ahead and get an early or rather a well deserved retirement."
You could hear a pin drop across the entire ballroom, there was fire in his grandfather's eyes. Not that Cole gave a shit, the man had lost a lot of respect that he would never be able to gain back. He was standing because they had to keep as much power in the family within their hands, if at all they should be able to save anyone here.
Cole was letting anybody in this family have control over him again, the devil you know is better than the angel you don't, and Cole did not believe for once he was surrounded by angels. He was a demon....game recognizes game, monsters recognize monsters. That's why they're all here together, birds of the same feather and all that shit.
Kaito on the other hand looked panicked, if there were camps within this civil war the main family had, he was solely with his grandparents, uncle and aunt. Their grandfather loosing power would mean the same for the matriarch, someone that Cole noticed no one has got the balls to call out. And she has been quiet through out the proceedings even though her position as Matriarch of the family was at stake.
"No offense but...who would lead us then Grand aunt.....if you will not do it." Darius asked, fresh bandages around his hands. But seeing as he did not look like he was in pain, Cole doubted he was injured as he was a few minutes ago. Cole looked up, watching as what seemed to have been a clone or an illusion of Darius faded away from the chandelier he was hanging off of.
Seems Darius was a lot more formidable than Cole gave him credit for. Their eyes met briefly before it shifted back to their grandaunt. Waiting to hear what the elder had to say about the question that has been asked. The old lady took a sip from the glass of water in front of her, taking her time with theatrics as the rest of the family watched on with baited breaths.
"I don't see any reason to mess with a method that functions well. My brother, his son, daughter and grandsons, Cole included would have to answer for raising their hand against their own blood, and my brother for not having enough control over his family to do so. As such I believe we can all be in agreement when we say that Kaito and Cole and their descendants cant not rule this family and should be disqualified from succession of any sort."
That caused an outrage as Cole's grandfather smashed his hands into the table. But his sister did not even seem the least bit bothered. "Calm yourself Jerome, we're not denying your murdering grandsons their inheritance. Not when we need the help of one of them to actually survive! But this family must be able to hold itself accountable for bad choices or we will truly destroy ourselves.
The first grandchildren of the family, the twins are the natural heir as they are the first children of the first son. Their own grandfather Henry, and your son Jerome will take over as head of the family. His business acumen and the fact that he is more emotionally connected to everyone here than you makes him the right candidate to lead us.....the matriarch is actually in agreement with this, so I believe this is the right thing to do...right Lady Shion?"