Deceiving

Old Wayne Tower.

As the elevator door dinged open, Chen Tao had just stepped onto the 14th floor when he saw Lincoln March standing there, like a silent, elegant statue.

"Bruce, I was just saying how grateful I am that you came to meet me. I can imagine how busy you must be these days."

"Not too busy to meet Lincoln March, the 'Next Gotham City Mayor'—"

"Is that what the gossip is saying these days?"

"Something like that." Chen Tao smiled at him. "But I don't doubt the truth of gossip. I've been reading about you, the self-made finance prodigy turned philanthropist."

"Your story is fascinating, and perfect."

Lincoln March felt that when Bruce said the word "perfect," it carried a hint of looking elsewhere, but looking into his sincere eyes, he felt it was just his own overthinking.

"You've done good deeds too, you've funded the Boys' Home and started after-school reading classes."

Chen Tao took out a check and wrote on it.

"So, what do you think? Does this number look satisfactory?"

"Bruce, I'm not here to ask you for money, but don't misunderstand—every penny is appreciated."

Lincoln March said, "Damn it, Mayor Carlo has about 10 credit lines operating around the clock, and the source of the funds is questionable at best."

"If you're looking for public support, I'm afraid I can't give it."

"I don't want public support either, all I truly want is your vote."

Chen Tao silently watched Lincoln March perform.

The man's expression was sincere.

Tsk. If he likes playing games so much, why not play along?

"My vote. You came all this way just for one vote, Lincoln."

"Yes, but what you're doing right now is also my belief. The Gotham Reconstruction Project is a good thing, and frankly, I see you as a friend."

"Cynics would say you see an opportunity."

"Yes, cynics would also say that your New Gotham Project is essentially for company image, because it's a publicly held project, etc., etc., but serves private purposes."

"Is that what the gossip is saying these days?"

"Something like that. Maybe they're right. I should go. I'll leave the check on the table."

"Bruce, you know, I lost my parents when I was a child too."

Chen Tao's footsteps halted.

Here comes the main course, the classic parent opening.

No matter what, when you want to deceive Batman, first steer the conversation into an area he doesn't understand.

"It's strange, isn't it? I only remember the details, the minutiae. I can barely recall my mother's face. But I remember that brooch she—I remember it clearly.

The brooch she wore on the day of the accident. A ceramic brooch I made for her at school, small, heart-shaped, completely lopsided, one side bigger than the other, but she pinned it to her beautiful dress, my ugly little brooch.

I don't remember the drunk driver who hit us.

I don't really remember how the accident happened... but I remember when the paramedics were taking me away, I saw the brooch lying on the ground, intact, unbroken, uncracked, just lying there on the road. I just hoped someone would pick it up."

"After I lost everything that night, I was in complete despair for a long time. I hated the world."

"But then I received tuition, which funded my studies at the city college. This city saved me, Bruce. Gotham saved me."

"When I was alone, this city gave me purpose. I bet it did the same for you."

"I look at you, and I see an ally, a true ally. You must know there aren't many allies in this city, and they're far apart, especially now."

Chen Tao smiled.

"Mr. March..."

"I've always believed that the best way to understand a city is to walk its streets."

He turned and stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, stretching his body and gazing at the scattered lights of human life in the distant night sky.

"Feel the cracks in the pavement beneath your feet..."

An indescribable aura enveloped Lincoln March. He didn't understand what was happening, he just felt—

Just seeing Bruce Wayne standing there with a wine glass... made him feel somewhat suffocated.

"The strange, bright silence of a parking lot covered in snow..."

"The sparks flying from the elevated train passing overhead on Third Street."

"The ticking of the traffic lights in the dead of night..."

"But do you know what's most interesting?"

He saw Bruce Wayne turn around, the light from behind him illuminating the room, casting half of his face into shadow.

"Everything about Gotham is so obvious on the surface, but if you try to understand Gotham on a deeper level, you'll spend your entire life... and still know nothing about it."

"Isn't that right, Mr. March?"

"Gotham has an underground cave."

Lincoln March didn't know why the topic had suddenly veered off course.

"There's only one, actually. This sole cave is in Kane County, located directly beneath the Willow Creek Children's Aid Center. Many years ago, this was Gotham's affiliated hospital for treating children with mental illnesses and neurological disorders, operating until 18 years ago."

Lincoln March's expression changed little by little. This was a secret known only to him and the Court. They had kept it well hidden all these years. How had Batman obtained this information?

Of course, he learned it from reading comics.

Chen Tao watched his solemn appearance and secretly chuckled.

He continued:

"I once had a younger brother, Thomas Wayne II. Mr. March..."

As Chen Tao spoke, he secretly observed Lincoln March.

He chuckled inwardly and continued, narrating a story that had been altered by a transmigator:

"When I was three years old, my mother was pregnant with him. We were in a car accident. I don't remember the accident, but there are records. He was my younger brother, a premature baby with congenital defects."

Lincoln March felt his heart beat faster and faster.

Bruce Wayne knew far more than he had anticipated. This meant... all his previous assumptions about the other party would have to be rethought.

"Records from Gotham Mercy Hospital show that my younger brother, little Thomas Wayne, was delivered by emergency C-section. He was given a name and quickly put on life support—but the doctors said he had severe neurological damage. It was so severe that he was very likely to become permanently vegetative, to get through the initial trauma."

"He survived."

"My parents secretly sent him to Willow Creek Hospital for treatment. They always felt that the car accident was unusual. To protect that little infant, to prevent any potential mastermind from harming him, they sent him to Willow Creek."

Chen Tao stared intently at Lincoln March's face: "My parents loved my brother. But what no one expected was—"

"Half a month later, that little infant disappeared."

Chen Tao said, "My parents searched for him until the day they died, and I've been searching too, for so many years."

Lincoln March's hands were trembling.

"We never found him."

"Tell me, March, where might that child be?"