Chapter 48: Deception

Old Wayne Building.

As the elevator door dinged open, Chen Tao just walked into the 14th floor and saw Lincoln March standing there, like a silent and elegant statue.

"Bruce, I was just about to say how grateful I am for meeting me. I can imagine how busy you must be these days."

"Not so busy that you don't have time to meet Lincoln March, the 'next mayor of Gotham'--"

"Is that what the gossip says now?"

"I guess so." Chen Tao smiled at him: "But I don't doubt the authenticity of the gossip. I've been reading about you, a self-made financial prodigy who turned into a philanthropist."

"Your story is wonderful and perfect."

Lincoln March felt that when Bruce said the word "perfect", it seemed to point to something else, but looking at his sincere eyes, he felt that this seemed to be an illusion of his own overthinking.

"You also did good things. You funded the boys' home and opened an after-school reading and writing class."

Chen Tao took out a check and wrote something on it.

"So what do you think? Does the number look satisfactory?"

"Bruce, I'm not here to ask you for money, but don't get me wrong - every penny is appreciated."

Lincoln March said: "Damn it, Mayor Carlo has about 10 credit lines running all day, and the source of funds is questionable at best."

"If you want public support, I'm afraid I can't give it to you."

"I don't want public support either. All I really want is your vote."

Chen Tao silently watched Lincoln March act.

The other party looked sincere.

Tsk. Since he likes to play so much, why not play with him?

"My vote. You came all the way here for one vote, Lincoln."

"Yes, but what you're doing right now is also what I believe in. Bruce's Gotham reconstruction plan is a good thing. Frankly, I look at you like I see a friend."

"Cynical people will say you see an opportunity."

"Yes, cynics will also say that you launched the New Gotham plan for the company's image, because it is a publicly held project, etc., but it serves private purposes."

"Is that what the gossips say now?"

"Is it, maybe they are right. I should go, and I will leave the check on the table."

"Bruce, you know, I lost my parents in my childhood."

Chen Tao paused.

The sex scene is coming, the classic parents' opening.

In any case, when you want to deceive Batman, first bring the topic to the field that the other party does not understand.

"It's strange, isn't it? I can barely remember my mother's face, only the details. But I remember her - I remember her very clearly.

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

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

I don't remember much about the accident...but I remember when the paramedics took me away, I saw the brooch lying on the ground intact, not broken, not cracked, just lying there On the way, I just hope that someone will pick it up. "" I lost everything I had that night, for a long time, I was in a state of hopelessness, and I hated this world. Give you. "" I look at you, I see an ally, the real ally, you must also know that there are not many allies in this city, and they are far away, especially now. "I feel the gaps on your walking on the sidewalk ..." A unspeakable momentum shrouded Lincoln Machi. "The strangely bright silence in the snow-covered parking lot..."

"The hissing sparks of the elevated train passing over Third Street."

"The ticking of the traffic lights late at night..."

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

He saw Bruce Wayne turn around, and the light shone into the room from behind him, making half of his face hidden in the shadows.

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

"Isn't it, Mr. March?"

"There is an underground cave in Gotham."

Lincoln March didn't know why the topic suddenly turned to here.

"There is only one. In fact, the only one is in Kane County, located below the Willow Grove Children's Rescue Center. Many years ago, this was an affiliated hospital for Gotham to treat children with mental illness and neurological dysfunction. It was still in operation until 18 years ago."

Lincoln March's face changed a little bit. This was a secret that only he and the court knew. They have been hiding it well over the years. How did Batman get this information?

Of course, he learned it from reading comics.

Chen Tao looked at him with a solemn look and laughed in his heart.

He continued:

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

Chen Tao said while secretly observing Lincoln March.

He laughed in his heart and continued, telling a story that was changed by the time traveler:

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

Lincoln March felt his heart beating faster and faster.

What Bruce Wayne knew was far beyond his expectations, which meant... all his previous assumptions about the other party had to be rewritten.

"The records of Gotham Mercy Hospital show that my brother Thomas Wayne Jr. was forced to be born in an emergency. He was given a name and was soon put on a life support tube - but the doctors said he had severe neurological damage. Because it was too serious, he was very likely to become a permanent vegetable in order to survive the initial trauma."

"He survived successfully."

"My parents secretly sent him to Willow Grove Hospital for treatment. They always felt that the car accident was unusual. In order to protect the little baby and prevent the possible behind-the-scenes person from hurting him, they sent him to Willow Grove."

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

"Half a month later, the little baby disappeared."

Chen Tao said: "My parents kept looking for him until they died, and I have been looking for him for so many years."

Lincoln March's hands were shaking.

"But we didn't find him at all."

"You said, March, where will the child be?"