New Gods of North America.

Chapter 732 Cousins
After the Secretary of State finished his conversation and took his leave, he got into his carriage and sped off towards the city.

Wayne couldn't figure out what the other party's purpose was in coming all this way.

The stated reasons have been explained in general terms.
The Pryor family, or perhaps this Secretary of State, probably think they've figured out Wayne's intentions and have decided to support the detective agency's "civilization reform" of the dockside gangs, and will no longer try to interfere with the agency's specific development in the dockside area.

Compared to previous "alternative" solutions, this support is actually relatively more "shallow".
This is equivalent to relaxing some restrictions, but correspondingly, there will be no more specific support. It's a bit like letting the detective agency "fend for itself," but also allowing the detective agency to "play freely" in the dock area.

From Wayne's perspective, it's not hard to guess why Mr. Pryor made this judgment—

The other party's current priority is to resolve his own mess and deal with that banker, Mr. Schwartz, in order to achieve a result that satisfies all parties.
The detective agency seems to have both vested interests with the Fisk family and is working for the cathedral, making it more of an "ally" than an "enemy."
Since the detective agency has only been causing trouble in the dock area recently and has not affected the other party's current core interests at all, the other party simply prefers to avoid trouble and chooses to let it go for the time being, and even takes the initiative to appease them to avoid causing any further complications.

However, this still doesn't explain why the other party would make a special trip to visit in person.

The detective agency's strength is such that it could probably crush any gang in the dock area on its own, but compared to those from local powerful families who hold high positions, they are still just "small fry".
Therefore, for such "minor matters" involving the detective agency, the other party only needs to ask their confidential secretary to make another trip to explain the matter directly. Doing so would not be considered impolite at all, and there is absolutely no need to have the person in charge come to the door in person early in the morning to discuss it.

— While Inessa and Lina are indeed quite formidable fighters, and the agents are all extraordinary individuals, they can easily acquire Jason, a mere seventh-tier on paper, and persuade a host of powerful families with a few words. The gap in resources between the two sides is still quite significant, and the detective agency's manpower cannot withstand such attrition.

The only explanation is that the other party is being courteous to talented individuals or trying to build a good relationship.

While Wayne wouldn't underestimate himself, he also didn't think the detective agency's potential was that great in the eyes of outsiders.

Well……

Am I worthy?
...Could it be that the "wise sage" behind Lina has been accidentally exposed?
What truly makes this matter seem easier to understand is the old Mr. Basque of the Beaton family.

After seeing the Secretary of State off, Wayne planned to first go to the safe house to talk to the twins and see if he could confirm that he was still safe. Then, in the afternoon, he planned to explore Richmond and gather more information.

Before he could finish the remaining slices of pizza, which were already half-cold, the Beaton family's butler arrived again, saying that the old man from the Basque family had something to discuss with Wayne.

Wayne felt that the chef's special canned pineapple pizza for today was somewhat unlucky, and decided to remove it from the detective agency's daily menu from now on.

He quickly finished his breakfast and then called Sanders to go out.

Upon arriving at the Beaton family's estate, the old man from Basque's first words surprised Wayne:
“Wayne, your grandfather seems to be unwell lately. One of your cousins ​​arrived in Richmond yesterday, specifically to see you at your grandfather's request. Apparently, there are some matters concerning his will that he needs you to handle.”

???

Wayne looked on with a puzzled expression. What the hell is this? Which scoundrel is trying to harm me?

While family ties in the United States are far from the "disowning of children after they reach adulthood" narrative some people claim, they are indeed "clearly defined" in certain aspects.
For example, daughters of wealthy families often take away the family's property that belongs to them when they get married—usually jewelry, cash, or shares, but rarely land or other real estate—and in principle, they no longer have any inheritance rights to the family's property.

Therefore, not only Wayne himself, but even the long-deceased Mrs. Constantine should no longer have any inheritance relationship with his "Grandpa in the Wilderness" who appeared out of nowhere.
Unless all the relevant relatives on that side are dead, or there are some strange twists in the old man's will, according to the current inheritance rules, even a distant nephew or someone who is not related to him at all would be far more qualified to inherit the estate than a direct grandson like Wayne.

This set of rules and regulations, inherited from the Old World, is quite complex when explained in detail, but its underlying logic is very clear: to ensure that the "surname" and "family bloodline" can be passed down as much as possible, and to prevent the family's titles and property from being completely taken away by "outsiders".

So, just from hearing what the old Basque gentleman said, Wayne knew there was definitely something fishy going on.

Since there are still "cousins" alive, it means that the situation on that side has not reached the point where there is "no one left to inherit."

Rather than saying "a pie fell from the sky," it's more accurate to say "trouble came knocking on our door from afar."

Wayne made a connection for a moment: "You've recently contacted my grandfather? And you talked to him about me?"

The old Basque gentleman nodded: "This is good news, and of course I will write to my old friend to tell him as soon as possible."

Wayne then added, "I suppose local big families like the Pryor family already know that my cousin came to see me?"

“Probably.” The old Basque man’s expression became a little subtle. “Your cousin just arrived in Richmond last night and was invited to a ball. Even the fact that he ‘came specifically to have you handle matters related to his will’ was something Pastor told me after he came back from the ball.”

Well……

The "Past" that the old Basque gentleman mentioned was actually the good-for-nothing "father" in the Beaton family.
Wayne took a moment to think it over and realized that his wild cousin seemed a bit unrefined in his dealings with others.

Originally, the news about himself was told to him by the old Basque gentleman.

When the other party arrived, instead of paying their respects to the Beaton family first, they went to the ball to spread the word, leaving the old Basque gentleman to "hear" the follow-up news from elsewhere.

Although it is not yet clear whether his "cousin" is dissatisfied with this arrangement,

But Wayne suddenly understood something else, such as why the Secretary of State's attitude had changed this morning.

Wayne tried to close the loop in his guesses, so he asked a question to continue the discussion: "I didn't expect my cousin to have such a wide social circle, that he even has acquaintances in Richmond."

Mr. Basque seemed to be shaking his head: “It’s just the social custom of high society. With your grandfather’s potential influence in New York and in Congress, as long as there is no conflict of interest, the direct descendants of the Auster family will be welcome guests in any city on the East Coast—don’t be fooled by how clearly the newspapers distinguish between ‘Southerners’ and ‘Northerners’; they are actually always getting along well in social situations.”

The Auster family...

Wayne secretly recalled the newspaper articles in his mind. If he wasn't mistaken, the "New York Auster family" that occasionally appeared in newspapers from other places was actually a single, unique family...

Holy crap, thinking about it now, it actually makes sense.
He's a low-profile real estate tycoon who made his fortune in trade, and New York was one of the original northern states in the United States, with a land situation different from that in the south.
For example, if you want to develop land in places like New York, you really need connections in the political arena to keep it.

(End of this chapter)