But looking at it now, he had only seen the surface.
"When Mr. Norman previously discussed the distribution of the inheritance, Young Master Finn explicitly stated that he does not have the business acumen or mindset for management, that all of the shares of the Osborn Group under Mr. Norman's name should be handed over to Harry Osborn for inheritance." Cross's voice was not loud, but it was like a detonated heavy bomb, exploding loudly in the deathly silent hospital ward.
Everyone looked at Lawyer Cross with looks of disbelief.
Including Harry Osborn.
They had imagined many possibilities as to why Norman Osborn had not left even a single share of stock to his younger son.
The only thing they hadn't considered—
This was actually something Finn Osborn had proposed himself.
To avoid any potential inheritance disputes in the future, Young Master Finn personally signed a voluntary relinquishment of shares statement at that time," Cross continued steadily. "That document was never activated and has been properly sealed in the law firm's vault.
Everyone was stunned.
The shock of this moment completely crushed another part of everyone's psychological defenses, which had already been shaken to the point of collapse.
"So the shares Young Master Finn has been fighting for.. he felt they were things that should have belonged to him all along." Only now did Andrew seem to find his voice again, finally regain his shattered and fragmented train of thought.
As Andrew's voice fell, Harry's body shuddered violently.
His body began to tremble uncontrollably again, he stumbled back half a step, having to lean against the wall to keep himself steady.
At this moment, Harry suddenly thought of something he had never deeply considered before—
That trust fund.. two hundred and fifty thousand dollars every month.
Before this, Harry had always thought this was their father's way of controlling Finn because of Finn's excessive and extravagant behavior. He also thought this was the maximum benefit his father had left him, using it as an exchange to allow him to meet his younger brother's needs and ensure he would be carefree forever.
It is also the living expenses that Young Master Finn calculated himself; Mr. Norman has always indulged him," Lawyer Cross lowered his eyes, his voice carrying a sigh. "But besides that, Mr. Norman also has other arrangements.
Why exactly twenty-five thousand dollars a month? This was not a restriction set by Norman Osborn for his beloved younger son, but rather a financial plan made by Finn himself—the monthly living expenses he had calculated.
The ward fell into absolute silence.
It was so quiet that the only sound was the rhythmic, steady ticking of the medical equipment, one beat at a time.
Telling the secret of Finn Osborn that no one knew.
Norman's favoritism, which no one could understand; the inheritance disputes that the entire outside world was closely watching; and the very source that drove the already distant relationship between the Osborn brothers toward a total breakdown—
So, the truth was simply that.
Didn't you say that interests are the most direct manifestation?" Noah looked at Harry mockingly at this moment, repeating the words Harry had just said himself, "Heh, isn't Finn your brother? That's so very Osborn family.
Harry froze in place, the blood in his body seemingly turning to ice in an instant.
His mind went blank, all his ability to think completely collapsed and disintegrated at this very moment.
[I said, I will not budge on the shares of the Osborn Group.]
[Just name your price, tell me exactly how much money you want.]
How much do you want, just say it!
Regarding that sharp argument in the conference room, he believed that no one could escape the temptation of human nature and self-interest; he spoke with an angry and questioning tone, as if wanting to use money to buy everything off completely, letting Finn directly state his price.
Finn simply stared at him with those green eyes.
He said nothing.
He seemed to have merely covered everything up in a calm yet broken manner.
[He and I are one.]
This wasn't just something said for show at a press conference; Finn actually did it.
Harry stared with bloodshot eyes at Finn, who lay on the hospital bed in a critical condition, pale, weak, fragile, to the point of self-harm.
His younger brother was so young, vibrant, full of life, radiant, yet from his only family member, he could not draw even a single drop of nourishment sufficient to make him shine.
Harry's memories were uncontrollably dragged back to that initial, suffocating funeral. After his brother lost his father, who had always loved and indulged him, after he had meticulously calculated only the basic living expenses for himself, only to generously gift everything to his only older brother..
His brother felt that he had already given everything, so he walked over with trepidation and nervousness to ask him, "Are we going to live together?"
Then, he said indifferently—
[There is no need for that.]
Harry panted heavily. He was in so much pain that he could no longer distinguish where the pain was coming from. He could no longer care how pathetic his expression and posture were at this moment; he simply could no longer hold himself up and slumped down against the wall.
A single simple sentence from him was enough to shatter all the defenses that had already been teetering on the edge for his brother after losing his closest kin.
And so, without him knowing at all—
Everything that followed for Finn Osborn spiraled out of control.
And at this moment, what seemed to crush him was also his very first sentence.
"So that's how it is.." Noah recalled how every time he pressed for details regarding the inheritance distribution, Finn always gave ambiguous answers. He had always thought he was helping Harry cover something up, but it turned out this was the secret Finn had been hiding all along.
Noah's lips curled into a mocking sneer, yet tears fell as he lowered his head weakly and whispered a single sentence:
Little liar.
You really do deceive everyone.
Chapter 45: Blade°Wound
When Finn woke up in the hospital bed, he realized—
He hit the jackpot.
He didn't even know when he had bought the "lottery ticket," but his Misery Value.. was skyrocketing.
It was like a computer restarting after a freeze.
A new Misery Value mission progress box flashed in his field of vision, the glaring numbers causing his pupils to contract sharply.
——【Misery Value: 46.09/100】??
He had spent over two months just to reach a progress of 15.09%! He blinked, it felt as if he had just woken up from a nap, yet he had somehow caught up to all his previous progress and even doubled it!?
This sudden surge caused his already groggy consciousness to lapse into a state of trance-like stagnation.
Of course, he had just woken up, his mind was still groggy.
Finn's mind was still clouded. He heard many people calling his name, urgent and excited cries piercing his ears one after another. It was Catherine, it was Joseph, then Peter and Andrew.. Especially Catherine, who held his hand tightly, weeping uncontrollably, her hot tears splashing one by one onto the back of his hand. Immediately after, doctors and nurses all crowded around him, busily performing examinations and leaning over to ask him questions from time to time.
Finn allowed himself to be manipulated numbly, his brow slightly furrowed as he gazed at his bandaged arm.
"What.. happened to me?" Finn's voice was dry and hoarse as he looked at the person beside him with some confusion.
Finn didn't even know how he had ended up in the hospital.
The people in the ward all froze, staring at the young man on the hospital bed as he looked lost. Looking at the pure confusion in his eyes, their hearts felt as if they were being squeezed, aching with a sour pain, the breath they had finally managed to release grew heavy once more.
The situation seemed to be getting even worse, because just as Dr. Thomas had said before, when Finn committed such acts of self-harm, his consciousness was completely clouded; he had no idea what he was doing at all.
[Misery Value increased, Misery Value +1%]
Finn's body stiffened suddenly, even his breathing subconsciously faltered for a moment.
"I.." Finn didn't know what had happened; he had just asked a casual question!
Finn looked around in surprise, seeing that everyone had a solemn expression, he felt a heavy tightness in his chest.
"I'm sorry." He wasn't even sure where he had gone wrong, but the apology still escaped his lips instinctively.
“Don't say sorry, Finn!” Catherine immediately pulled him into her arms, her voice breaking with emotion, "It's us who should be saying sorry.. We knew nothing, we didn't take good care of you."
Finn leaned against her shoulder, still completely bewildered.
He couldn't understand why Catherine would say such a thing. Hiring her and Butler Joseph as butlers was, of course, the best decision he had made to date. Although the salaries of these two butlers, combined with the daily food expenses, truly exceeded his original budget, he had always felt that the money was well spent.
What don't I know?" Finn didn't know either. He wasn't sure what Catherine meant by them not knowing something, but after thinking for a moment, he slowly realized, "Are you talking about my Mental Illness? I am seeing a psychiatrist, aren't I?
"I.. had an episode?" Finn finally realized at this very moment.
Finn only realized this belatedly. Since he had naturally chosen Mental Illness, it meant he was supposed to have Mental Illness. Although he couldn't feel it himself, he might lose control and suffer an episode after triggering some kind of mechanism.
Fragmented pieces of memory began to rush back into his blank mind.
He remembered that before he lost consciousness, he seemed to have.. accidentally cut himself.
Then, his consciousness became like a jammed machine, or perhaps like something that had been inexplicably infected by a virus, falling into complete chaos.
And then—it seemed as if System PP had slapped him many times.
System PP: 【..】Host, is this the only thing you remember?
Young Master Finn, stop thinking about it." Catherine quickly spoke up to interrupt his thoughts, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes as she forced a gentle smile onto her face. She was too afraid, terrified that Finn would recall that painful experience of self-harm. Her heart filled with lingering fear, Catherine hurriedly gazed at Finn tenderly and said, "Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat? You have been asleep for a long time.
Finn did not respond, his mind still pondering the 32% surge in Misery Value that had appeared out of nowhere.
He even cautiously moved his injured arm.
—That was terrifying! It can still move!
—He almost thought he had gotten himself to the point where he might need an amputation.
Especially since everyone's gaze toward him was quite.. a suppressed, bitter resentment.
Finn suddenly had a strong sense of déjà vu.
In the Korean Drama he had watched, after the female lead's brain cancer—which she had been hiding—caused her to fall into a coma, everyone in the hospital seemed to have this exact expression once they learned the truth.
"Could it be.. that I've been diagnosed with some kind of cancer?" Finn couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
Perhaps the Main Brain heard his request, or maybe it simply felt his progress was too slow and decided to silently spoon-feed him to keep him moving?
What are you saying? You are perfectly healthy!" As soon as Catherine heard this, her face turned pale with fright. She hurriedly covered his mouth and countered urgently, "There is nothing wrong with you. Don't scare yourself; you just need to get some good rest for a while.
He had indeed slept for a long time.
Finn's last memory was from the morning, but looking out the window now, the night had already grown deep.
It was only then that Finn noticed a person sitting on the sofa in the corner of the ward.
——Harry Osborn.
He just sat there in silence, not approaching, but his heavy gaze fell upon him. Those green eyes, which usually carried a sense of indifference, now seemed to hide deep emotions like a whirlpool, making Finn feel a chill run down his spine under such a stare.