At that moment, Lucius's secretary suddenly called.
Lucius listened for a moment and then looked up at Bruce, "Atreus wants to meet with you now."
Bruce's eyelid twitched.
Ten minutes later, in the conference room next door, Bruce and Lucius sat on one side of a long table, while Atreus sat on the other.
By the way, this typical negotiation table was ten meters long.
"What exactly do you want, Mr. Atreus?" Bruce leaned on the table with his elbows, his hands in a prayer-like position, fingers touching his sharp nose. Interestingly, the guy across from him mirrored the exact same posture, even wearing a very similar suit.
If there weren't only one person across the table, Lucius would've thought his boss was staring into a mirror.
Lucius suddenly felt like an unnecessary presence in this father-and-son-like standoff.
Atreus spoke up, "Mr. Wayne, I understand your concerns. You've developed a fusion reactor that doesn't rely on mineral energy, but you're afraid it could blow Gotham to pieces. I can promise you this—if all shareholders dilute their shares equally and give me a portion, I'll inject $3 billion in liquid capital into the company and shelve your reactor. This way, Wayne Enterprises can continue running smoothly, and you'll have fresh funding for your research games."
Generous!
It was too generous!
Even Lucius, as an outsider, found the offer tempting.
This wasn't a takeover bid from a competitor; it was overwhelming support.
Wayne Enterprises' financial struggles were about to go public, and the stock price was expected to plummet soon. Atreus's offer to inject capital at this moment was a textbook white-knight move.
Unexpectedly, Bruce remained unmoved, his lips trembling behind his hands, uttering just a few words, "And what's the price?"
"Nothing much. All I want is respect—an apology," Atreus paused, "an apology to a woman named Ann, who passed away many years ago."
It was a grand and righteous request. As a son, Atreus's demand was fair and reasonable.
But unfortunately, Bruce's mind was elsewhere at that moment.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Atreus, I don't know what you're talking about."
Atreus lowered his hands and stood up. The way he pressed his palms on the table exuded a commanding presence without needing to raise his voice.
"Okay! Negotiations are over! Mr. Wayne is the kind of man who would rather trust women over himself. Your stupidity and stubbornness don't surprise me. Since Wayne Enterprises' leader has shown absolute distrust in me, I see no point in playing the bad guy. Starting immediately, I'll sell off all the Wayne Enterprises stock I own."
Atreus's abrupt exit caught both Bruce and Lucius by surprise.
Bruce remained expressionless, "Thank you for your support, sir. I hope Wayne Enterprises didn't cause you too much of a loss. Mr. Fox, please show him out."
As Lucius approached, Atreus suddenly said, "Mr. Fox, I'm quite satisfied with my house and car in Gotham. Interested in selling them? I'll buy at market price. And if you don't mind, I'd like an account of your expenditures since age seven."
In the modern world, everything's recorded by computers.
Just like Bruce could easily dig into Catwoman's past, Atreus, with enough power and wealth, could just as easily trace his own financial origins.
The atmosphere grew icy, colder by the second.
It was a clear severance.
Lucius sighed inwardly, sensing the cold stare from behind, "As you wish, Mr. Atreus."
After Atreus stepped out the door, and it closed with a heavy thud, Lucius turned to stare at Bruce.
"I'm just an employee, and I'm not here to question your decisions, Mr. Wayne. But I must remind you, this isn't a good idea. Even if Atreus doesn't short Wayne Enterprises, other Wall Street vultures will pounce."
Bruce was silent for a few seconds, "I have good reason to suspect Atreus took out Black Mask."
"Whoever took out *Black Mask* would be hailed as a hero."
"It's the judge and jury's job to punish criminals. I'm only responsible for delivering them to court."
Lucius fell silent.
This wasn't just a personal matter between father and son; it was a moral conflict.
No matter what, Bruce Wayne would never allow someone who took the law into their own hands to inherit his legacy. In his eyes, anyone who resorted to vigilante justice was nothing more than an executioner.
Undoubtedly, Bruce was a great man, but a man like him was destined only to be admired. His ideals could never become a universally accepted value system.
Lucius sighed, "Let's discuss the new project I've been tinkering with in the Secret Science Division."
He led Bruce into the secret warehouse within Wayne Tower...
Meanwhile, just after leaving Wayne Tower, Atreus got into his Rolls-Royce, where Miss Black Canary sat in the back, holding a laptop.
Dinah fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously, "Failed?"
Atreus shrugged, "As expected."
Sarah, seated in the front, turned her head, "So, proceed as planned?"
Atreus nodded, "No choice. If I don't make a move, someone else will. Better for me to profit than anyone else."
Even if Atreus hadn't targeted Wayne Enterprises, plenty of Wall Street sharks had already set their sights on the company's faltering finances. With Atreus leading the charge by selling off his shares and shorting the stock, it was the opening shot in a brutal attack.
Wayne Enterprises' stock plummeted almost instantly—by 30% in a single night.
As Atreus was busy tearing down Wayne Enterprises, the next morning, Bane and his men stormed Gotham's stock exchange.
"Ratatatat!"
Bane led a dozen thugs, effortlessly taking out the guards at the entrance and barging into the crowded trading floor. He shot a few stockbrokers he didn't like the look of, then unloaded a full clip into the stock ticker above, causing the screen to explode in sparks and flames.
The traders inside were stunned.
One of them, shaking with fear, looked at the towering Bane and stammered, "This is a stock exchange, there's no cash to rob!"
"I know."
Bane's goals went far beyond money.
A hacker, connected through internal lines, breached the exchange's systems using fingerprints Catwoman had stolen from Bruce Wayne's safe while pretending to steal a pearl necklace, allowing them to pull off a major operation under Bruce's name.
No one knew exactly what the criminals risked their lives for, with thousands of police officers hunting them down as they stormed the exchange. Even Batman himself joined the chase but couldn't uncover any useful information—until the third day, when the sun rose.
Lucius knocked on Bruce's door.
"Mr. Wayne, someone used your electronic signature and fingerprints to play the stock market, leveraging all your Wayne Enterprises shares. From the outside, it looks like you bet on futures and lost everything. Your shares will be seized by the bank as collateral today."
Bruce Wayne felt like he'd been struck by lightning, "Are you saying…"
"Unless we can find solid evidence proving this was a fraud, I'm afraid I have to inform you—you're bankrupt."
From billionaire to pauper, life had its ups and downs.
It took Bruce a while to collect himself, and just then, his phone rang.
Lucius glanced at the caller ID, "It's Atreus. I suggest you take it."
Bruce, speechless, answered the call and put it on speaker.
"Mr. Atreus, are you calling to deliver a victor's speech?"
Atreus's voice came through the line, "Mr. Wayne, I'll be honest with you. Yes, I did have a hand in shorting Wayne Enterprises stock yesterday. But my terms haven't changed. All I want is an apology..."
From anyone else, Bruce might have been able to handle the threat of bankruptcy with calm detachment.
From Atreus?
No way!
An infuriated Bruce cut him off, "Enough! Save it."
"No, no, no! I swear on my father's name—I have nothing to do with Bane or Daggett. If I break this oath, may my father be struck by lightning, torn apart by wild horses, and never find peace, even in Hell!"
(End of Chapter)