Harry frowned deeply.
He found that Finn was always like this, provoking him in such childish and foolish ways, clamoring to obtain things that did not belong to him.
But then, from time to time, he would show him such an innocent and harmless expression.
"Considering you are my brother, I can act as if you sold the shares you think you should inherit to me." Harry didn't want to waste any more time with Finn, speaking in a cold voice.
Harry wrote a number on a piece of paper for Finn.
Finn raised an eyebrow in surprise; the estimation was actually quite close to what Elias had calculated.
"I want shares," Finn said, shaking his head.
Finn Osborn, how many times do I have to remind you?" Harry was laughed at by Finn's audacity, a sneer curling at the corners of his mouth. "Greedy ambition will only leave you with nothing in the end.
Finn was naturally not provoked by Harry's contemptuous and arrogant tone; instead, he pulled several photographs from his pocket and placed them on the desk in front of Harry. In the photos, a charred corpse lay amidst a scene of devastation, the smell of burning seemingly palpable in the air. Finn's fingertip tapped the silhouette of the corpse in the photo, he said in a very calm voice, "Max Dillon, an electrical engineer for the Osborn Group. Two nights ago, he died in the Electro-man containment area."
The mockery on Harry's face froze instantly, even the heavy aura surrounding him suddenly stiffened.
"You weren't aware of this, were you?" Finn asked in return.
Harry took a deep breath, the irritation in his heart surging even more—for such a massive matter, he hadn't heard even a single whisper of it.
"How did you know?" Harry stared at Finn with cold eyes.
"Marcus told me," Finn said candidly, showing no intention of covering for Marcus.
Fine, very well." Harry's knuckles turned white as he gripped the photograph tightly; of course, he could immediately figure out what kind of filthy intentions Marcus had to cover this up. Moreover, to hide the death of an electronic engineer so thoroughly, even covering up the news of the laboratory explosion layer by layer so perfectly—such methods meant that Marcus was already capable of controlling the flow of information within the group, could even establish information vacuums right under his nose. "I underestimated him.
Marcus wants me to expose this at the press conference," Finn said slowly, revealing Marcus's schemes, "Of course, the goal is to paint you as a cold-blooded capitalist—one who turns a blind eye to the fatal safety lapses that killed employees, who forcibly covers up their deaths to protect the Osborn Group's reputation, merely sending them off to the morgue to settle the matter.
“He also said he would teach me what to say and what to do.”
Ensure that at that highly publicized press conference, Harry Osborn will completely fall into the role of a sinner, condemned and judged by the public.
Harry's Adam's apple bobbed, the atmospheric pressure around him dropped to its absolute limit. He stared fixedly at Finn, every word squeezed out from between his teeth:
“Are you telling me all this now.. to threaten me?”
[Yes! Yes! Yes!]
Finn thought to himself that he should have just said it directly, pushing the relationship between him and Harry to an irreparable impasse. This would allow Harry to completely cast aside the brotherhood that wasn't much to begin with, meaning he would no longer have to hold back against him, could instead deal with him and torment him without any reservations.
But when Finn looked at Harry's extremely gloomy face and saw how exceptionally pale and haggard he looked due to his illness flaring up, his throat felt as if it were choked by something.
[How could a human be this cruel?]
No," Finn said, ultimately remaining composed. "I know how much negative impact this will have on the Osborn Group. I am indeed competing with you for the Osborn Group, but that doesn't mean I want to destroy it.
"Not too stupid." Harry curled his lips, squeezing out a very faint chuckle.
Covering up the death of an employee might not be very difficult, but suppressing an accident like a laboratory explosion at the same time requires the cooperation of resources from multiple departments within the Group. The fact that Marcus can make everyone in every department obey him and can also perfectly hide it from you proves that he has already secretly gathered enough influence," Finn continued. "Furthermore, Marcus said that as long as I can publicly expose this scandal at the press conference and use it to topple and crush you, they will all stand by my side.
“Tell me, who are these people?” Finn looked up, meeting Harry's gaze directly.
Harry's mind raced, a clear list had already taken shape in his head.
"I'll handle this," Harry said, his voice low and cold.
Is that so? Then do you know where Max Dillon is right now?" Finn met Harry's gaze and then casually dropped another bombshell, "He's still alive.
"You're saying he's still alive?" Harry stared at the charred corpse in the photo, finding it utterly unbelievable.
"He's mutated." Finn nodded, then pulled another photo from his phone.
In the photo, a man surrounded by eerie blue electricity was grinning at the camera, his white teeth glaring brightly under the blue light, his smile carrying a hint of shyness that was completely out of place with his terrifying appearance.
It was enough to make Harry's vision go black.
He knew all too well how much of a storm it would cause if the Osborn Group produced another mutant at such a critical moment.
“We just sent a Doctor Lizardman into the city, now, if an Electro-man pops up from the Osborn Group, do you have any idea how much damage that would do to the Osborn Group's reputation?" Finn understood this perfectly well as he looked at Harry and asked, "To an outsider, it would look like we're a corporation that specializes in researching mutants."
What a fine reputation the Osborn Group has.
First, a lab doctor turned into Lizardman, now even ordinary employees are turning into Electro-man.
It was practically enough to create an absurd recruitment slogan—
Join the Osborn Group and fulfill your dream of transformation.
The group slogan didn't even need to be "Make Osborn Great Again"; it might as well just become "Make Osborn Exceptionally Great."
"Where is he?" Harry took a deep breath, forcing down the agitation in his chest; this matter had become even more troublesome.
"Why.. should I tell you?" Finn retorted, for he certainly remembered that his persona was one of opposition to Harry.
Harry suddenly realized that even if Finn didn't want to collude with Marcus, it didn't mean he intended to help him sincerely. By holding the key figure Max Dillon in his hands, he possessed more bargaining chips for negotiations with him.
Heh, he was indeed smarter than he had expected.
This bit of cleverness only served to make the fury in Harry's heart burn even more intensely.
"Does Marcus know about this?" Harry asked, suppressing his anger.
I don't know, he only thought that Max Dillon was already dead," Finn said. "When I found Max Dillon, he had already mutated into this form. I can only tell you that I have kept the news well under wraps; Max Dillon is in a safe place.
To Harry, Finn's words also sounded like a threat, as if he were playing with leverage.
“I've said it before, I will not give up any shares of the Osborn Group.” Harry looked into his younger brother's green eyes and saw a cold calculation, much like his own, which instantly filled him with an indescribable sense of loathing.
As soon as the words fell, a sharp, piercing pain stabbed into his brain, causing the veins at Harry's temples to throb violently.
Harry suddenly turned his body, fumbling to grab the wine bottle from the corner of the table. Without even caring to steady the glass, he began to gulp down the liquor. Since the onset of his condition, he had developed a habit of drinking, even in the office. It was as if only the burning sensation of alcohol could temporarily suppress that bone-deep irritability and pain, allow this increasingly cold body to feel a trace of warmth.
"Name your price. Just tell me how much you want," Harry said coldly.
But in the next second, Harry's fingers suddenly stiffened, his right hand began to tremble uncontrollably.
The wine glass slipped from his palm, crashing heavily onto the floor and shattering into shards of glass everywhere.
The amber liquid spilled in all directions, leaving unsightly stains on the floor.
A crisp cracking sound exploded in the silent office, causing the air to stagnate for a moment.
Harry fell silent. He lowered his eyes, staring intently at the mess at his feet. Amidst the scattered glass shards, his face appeared as pale as paper, his demeanor was nearly manic, lacking even a trace of the composure expected of the head of the Osborn Group.
Finn was also stunned at this moment.
The deliberate edge of confrontation in those green eyes quietly receded, replaced by shock and complexity.
Before Harry could even react, he saw Finn bending down in front of him to begin picking up the shards scattered all over the floor.
As Harry watched the young man's long, pale fingers about to touch the sharp shards, the anger in his heart surged even more violently. He suddenly reached out, grabbing Finn by the collar and wrenching him up from the ground: "Someone else will clean this up; I don't need you doing this kind of thing!"
Harry even felt that Finn should have been more ruthless in mocking him, provoking him, ridiculing him for being just as foolish and being played without even realizing it; he should have scolded him for this irritable and violent behavior, saying he was not fit to run the Osborn Group, instead of—
Like this, he had suddenly begun to act submissive again for no reason, trying to make amends.
"How much do you want? Just say it!" Harry stared at Finn and demanded.
“I..”
Harry's expression looked so terrifying at this moment that even Finn trembled, not daring to persist in saying that he wanted the shares.
"Help me, PP!" Finn was trembling in his heart. [I think that instead of me, Harry is the one who should see a psychiatrist.]
System PP: 【Then.. Host, why don't you try to persuade him?】
Finn: ".." Do you think I dare speak now?
"Get out first." Harry could see that Finn was frightened by him, he also knew that his emotions were spiraling out of control.
Harry slowly released his grip on Finn's collar, his tone softening slightly but remaining cold and devoid of any warmth.
The flare-ups of his condition were sometimes completely uncontrollable; both the mental and physical burdens were dragging him down step by step. Yet, he had to maintain an appearance of being indestructible, because people like Marcus were watching him like a predator. If he showed even the slightest weakness, the other would pounce immediately and utterly crush him.
Harry needed some space to calm down as quickly as possible and re-examine the Max Dillon incident.
Finn did not dare to linger. Hearing Harry tell him to leave, he immediately turned and headed for the door.
Harry slumped into the wide leather seat, his dark green eyes fixed intently on Finn's panicked back. Suddenly, those nonsensical words Peter Parker had chased him with last time rushed into his mind without warning—
You know, is Finn a people pleaser?
Why can't you just communicate in a normal way? You know, setting aside the topic of the inheritance.
[Just like family.]
Family?
Harry sneered silently in his heart.
But how should one communicate with family?
Harry Osborn's memories were excellent, but there were no words for familial warmth or affection in his memories.
Although he and Finn were brothers by blood, they had never lived together like brothers.
The reunion of the two began at the bedside of Norman Osborn during his final moments.
And after his father's passing, all of their intersections revolved around the struggle for the inheritance.
Time and time again, there were inefficient, repetitive arguments.
Harry thought of Andrew asking him the same thing in this office again—
You know, that night Finn went to that wasteland again to find that stray dog, then he had that accident where he crashed into a tree just to avoid me; he was running a fever that day too.
After that accident happened, the first thing he thought of was calling you..
Why do you think Young Master Finn just wanted you to step in and help him solve his problems, instead of him simply wanting you to comfort him because he was scared? Even if it was just a single word.
[Are you.. not his family? Do you not care about him at all?]
Is that really the case?
Would Finn want his care?
Harry thought back to the scene when he went to Finn's house again. In the young man's eyes as he looked at him from the sofa, there was that same trace of indifference as his own, as well as the words that had escaped his lips back then—"Sorry, those of us from the Osborn family have never been idealists; we have always been thorough realists."
Thinking of this, Harry only felt it was becoming more and more ridiculous, but just as he caught a glimpse of the young man's hand resting on the doorknob, he spoke up again subconsciously:
“Finn.”
Having been called by name, Finn naturally stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him with confusion.
"Come here," Harry said coldly.