บท 59: A Trap of Smoke and Shadows
Even before reconnecting with Avery, it had been long enough that if any woman had conceived, the child would already have been born by now.
Besides…
Bruce was always extremely careful. In his past affairs, he'd taken every precaution, and he personally disposed of any used protection, ensuring it couldn't be stolen to conceive a child without his consent. After all, he knew of other wealthy men who had experienced just that. For him, the chance that anyone could be carrying his child was effectively zero.
So only one possibility remained: Jeffrey's daughter's supposed pregnancy was simply a ruse—a pretext to lay claim to Bruce's fortune. Even if suspicions arose about the child's legitimacy and the coerced nature of the transfer led to a formal investigation, Jeffrey's true aim was likely to rapidly siphon Bruce's wealth and disappear before anyone could intervene.
Bruce thought grimly, This man likely plans to grab everything he can and vanish before anyone even has a chance to stop him.
Even though this scheme carried big risk, Jeffrey seemed to think it was trivial—not worth a second thought. After all, organized crime had its dangers too, but that hadn't stopped him.
Harvey, too, quickly grasped the depth of Jeffrey's calculations. Whether or not the child actually existed—and whether or not it truly belonged to Wayne—was irrelevant. By making Harvey the witness, Jeffrey could use this leverage against him. With this setup, it would appear that Harvey, the prosecutor, had conspired in Bruce Wayne's murder, thus binding him to Jeffrey's camp with no way out.
In Jeffrey's mind, this leverage would force Harvey to drop any public charges against him, closing the matter for good.
A fox, Harvey thought grimly. Only a cunning old fox could set a trap like this so quickly.
Harvey stood speechless, his mind racing for a way out.
"Have you made up your mind?" Jeffrey raised his half-lidded eyes to look at Harvey, who stood frozen in place.
"I…"
What could he do?
"I…"
What on earth was his next move? How could he navigate this crisis?
Harvey stood there, wracking his brain for solutions as a bead of cold sweat rolled down his temple. Meanwhile, Bruce, on the sidelines, had quietly begun loosening his ropes, ready to surprise his captors.
Time ticked by excruciatingly slowly, and the room was so silent that every breath was audible. For Jeffrey, the man who had orchestrated this silence, Wayne's fortune would be an unexpected prize if he could get it. If not, it didn't matter. He could simply toss both of these men into the river and be done with it.
Confidently, Jeffrey accepted a coffee from one of his henchmen, waiting patiently for them to either cave or choose death.
But just as he lifted the cup to his lips, a colorful egg-shaped object bounced to the floor in front of him, bobbing a few times before coming to a stop.
He frowned. "What's this?"
The guards around him immediately tensed up.
And then, more of the eggs were tossed into the room. By now, everyone could sense that something was off, and several guards were about to move closer to inspect.
But before they could, the eggs suddenly cracked in half, releasing thick white smoke.
In an instant, the room was filled with dense smoke.
Realizing the trap, Jeffrey barked at his men. "Smoke bombs! Someone's lying in wait—get them out of here! We're leaving, now!"
While the smoke itself posed no direct harm, it created a thick visual barrier, making it dangerous to remain. But as Jeffrey and his men were distracted, they didn't notice the ropes binding Bruce's wrists slip to the floor.
Now that his hands were free, Bruce wasted no time. He tore away the blindfold and, surrounded by dense white smoke, began to locate Harvey's position. Thankfully, Harvey wasn't far, and Bruce quickly found him.
Meanwhile, outside the window, a gang of men in clown masks stood ready, adjusting their guns and poised to make their move.
Far away, Avery, still traveling back to Gotham, had no idea how chaotic Bruce's day had been. Nor did he know that Bruce had just been labeled as a father of an unknown child
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