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"Alfred, could you please tell me who was responsible for attacking my parents? Even if you don't know their names or organization, describing their appearance or any details would help."
At this moment, Reid knew that if he revealed the truth about the Winter Soldier, he could likely gain Tony's help. With Stark Industries backing him, stabilizing the Wayne Enterprises' situation through external assistance would be far easier.
However, Reid didn't plan to reveal the truth so directly.
Simply describing the killer's appearance might indeed secure Tony's assistance, but it wouldn't earn his gratitude. Without Tony's heartfelt gratitude, any help from Stark Industries would come with strings attached. In the worst-case scenario, Wayne Enterprises might quietly become "Stark Industries Gotham Division" before he even realized it.
The best approach wasn't for Reid to personally disclose the truth about the Winter Soldier and Hydra. Instead, it was to guide Tony toward reconciling with his father, Howard Stark, so he could learn the truth directly from him.
Only this way could a strong friendship be forged with Tony Stark. And only this way would Reid feel confident in relying on Tony to help fulfill the role-playing mission.
With that thought in mind, Reid adopted Alfred's signature calm and reassuring tone as he began to speak.
"Your father… likely didn't want you to know this answer."
Before Reid could finish his sentence, Tony slammed his fist onto the nearby table with a resounding thud.
"Again with this! Why do you all care so much about that bastard's opinion? My mother is dead! I want revenge—what's so wrong with that?!"
Tony glared furiously at Reid. At that moment, the old gentleman before him seemed just as infuriating as Howard had been.
"I can see that you loved your mother deeply." Reid said calmly.
"Of course I did! My mother—"
Before Tony could finish, Reid cut him off.
"And your father… didn't he love your mother too?"
Tony froze. For a moment, he was speechless. Reid continued without hesitation.
"You might claim that your father didn't love you—that's your feeling, your perspective. But look into your heart and recall what you've seen. Did your father love your mother?"
Under Alfred's steady, measured words, memories from Tony's childhood began to resurface.
The moments he had buried, unwilling to revisit because of Howard's strictness, started to replay in his mind.
He remembered a time when he was very young—before his genius began to shine. A time when his father held him in one arm and his mother in the other, smiling warmly in front of the camera.
The scene shifted. That happy family moment was consumed by flames, leaving only ashes in its wake. What came next was the look in his father's eyes after losing his wife—a look of profound sorrow when he saw Tony, and the lifeless pain whenever her name was mentioned.
Tony stood in silence, the anger in his eyes dimming as the weight of those memories pressed down on him.
"....."