Chapter 171: Chapter 171: Origins
"Being with someone won't make you happy if you aren't happy with yourself."
- Unknown
...
Besides the famous Wayne family, there were many other wealthy families in Gotham City that were barely visible.
Their wealth might not be as high as the Waynes', but they had a lot of power and assets that weren't totally worthless
One of these families is the Sionis family, which controls Gotham's largest cosmetics industry.
Their subsidiary, Janus Cosmetics, has a significant amount of control over the cosmetics market in Gotham and even the whole state.
Unfortunately, their son Roman took over after the former head, Charles Scionis, and his wife died in a fire.
Since their son Roman took over, the company's market share has dropped a lot because of his bad business ideas, and they've been losing money all year.
In fact, compared to other families in Gotham, the rise of the Wayne family was relatively late.
The Wayne family had been around for a long time; their ancestors can be traced back to England in the Middle Ages
They came to Gotham during the American Revolutionary War, when a man named Darius Wayne laid the foundation for Wayne Manor.
Back then, the Wayne family could only be considered a relatively wealthy minor power.
It really started to do well for them in 1881, when Bruce's great-grandfather Alan Wayne took over almost half of Gotham's construction business by himself and grabbed the chance to buy large plots of land.
It could be said that the current Wayne family's dominance in Gotham was built upon the foundation laid by Alan Wayne.
Without him, there would be no Wayne Enterprises today.
However, it can't be denied that Gotham City had been around for almost a hundred years and had a lot of wealthy people before Alan Wayne took the Wayne family to great heights.
The Cobblepot family, which the Penguin represents, was once the most powerful political family in Gotham.
When Alan Wayne was building Gotham's New Town, the mayor was a Cobblepot.
By the time the Penguin was born, the Cobblepot family had lost a lot of money and was in a very bad financial situation.
The Penguin had to pretty much start over because of this.
The Sionis and Wayne families were both at the pinnacle of Gotham's aristocracy, and their children naturally attended the same elite private school.
That's right, Roman Sionis and Bruce Wayne were classmates from elementary school to high school, and they could even be considered friends.
However, they didn't talk much after Bruce left for exile to travel the world after college.
When Bruce saw Roman at a charity banquet for the first time, he immediately recognized his old classmate.
"I'm sorry, ladies, but I need to excuse myself for a moment."
Bruce said apologetically to the beautiful women around him.
Afterwards, he walked straight over to Roman.
"Roman, it's been a while."
Bruce said.
Roman looked up and replied expressionlessly, "Bruce."
The cold response didn't bother Bruce, and he asked with concern, "I heard that Janus Cosmetics is having some problems lately. If you need financial assistance, Wayne Enterprises can help."
Hearing these words, Roman's face grew even colder, and he even changed the way he addressed Bruce.
"My company is doing just fine, Mr. Wayne. There's no need for you to meddle in my affairs."
"Is that so? I'm glad to hear your company is thriving, old friend. However..."
In this case, Bruce's eyes showed an unusual glint.
"There's a rumor going around that Janus Cosmetics recently received a large amount of unaccounted-for funds, estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars."
"What are you implying, Bruce?"
Roman's anger began to appear as he asked Bruce.
"I'm not accusing the Sionis family of covering illegal money. I only heard this rumor. There's no need to get so defensive, Roman. I don't believe this baseless accusation."
Bruce waved his arms to try to calm things down.
"Hmph! You're just as self-righteous as ever, Bruce. Don't show fake concern anymore. I don't need any kind of help from you! I'm glad you were born into the Wayne family."
Roman was very clear in his rejection of Bruce's help and showed him no mercy.
"Janus is my company, not yours! Just wait and see; I'll make Janus shine again."
"I've had enough of this boring and hypocritical gala!"
With those words, Roman violently stormed out of the event and turned around to leave.
"Who is that guy? He's like a lunatic, and he does not have any manners. Does someone like him even deserve to attend the Wayne Foundation's charity gala?"
Roman's shouting startled the nearby guests, who grumbled in annoyance.
Looking at Roman as he slammed the door, the smile on Bruce's face gradually faded.
"So, the tens of millions in illicit funds that Penguin washed through the 'Pink Fantasy' scam were his doing?"
At this moment, Dick came to Bruce's side and whispered in a voice only they could hear.
"In the past three months, the only company with a huge amount of funds from an unknown source is Janus Cosmetics, and the amount matches perfectly."
"I thought Cobblepot's operation failed."
"His operation did fail, but Cobblepot still wired the money to Roman. He took the loss for his own empire. That's Cobblepot's way of managing his criminal empire."
"So, the Penguin is still a good businessman."
Dick shrugged.
Bruce didn't say anything, but his eyes continued to look off into the distance, and he was pondering.
...
Gotham General Hospital, DNA lab
"Director, the test results you requested are out."
A lab staff handed a report and a sample to the old man in a white coat in front of him.
The report looked like a regular DNA analysis report, but the DNA sample was different from the usual blood samples.
It was a strand of hair sealed in a test tube.
"Can you find any information about the owner of this DNA? Like birth records or hospital records?"
The director asked.
"This strand of hair was secretly given to me by Commissioner Gordon of the GCPD for testing. It is said to be related to a fugitive murderer."
"Sorry, Director, but I couldn't find any similar DNA in the hospital's database. Maybe you could try other hospitals."
The lab staff shook his head.
"I see, I understand."
The director nodded and asked again, "Commissioner Gordon warned me that this matter must be kept strictly confidential. Besides you and me, does anyone else know about this?"
"Don't worry, Director. I'm the only one on a night shift in the lab today."
The staff patted his chest.
"Well, make sure you have deleted all the test data for this DNA from the computer."
"The report you have in your hands is the only one; all the others have been erased."
"All right, just don't tell anyone else. When you see me, act like you don't know about it."
The director solemnly warned.
"I understand, director."
Seeing the seriousness in the director's behavior, the staff became equally solemn.
...
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