Leo looked the same as always, yet he also looked a little different. His hair... They were not their usual shade. Instead, his hair was a beautiful shade of silver.

They were also a little longer, tied into a ponytail.

"Greetings, everything." The silver haired young man took the podium, and said in a shaky voice.

"I am... Reo Vanderlen, the younger brother of the man you knew as Leo Vanderlen."

As soon as Leo's words fell, there was absolute silence all over the place.

Even the reporters looked at each other's faces blankly. Leo Vanderlen had a younger brother? Wasn't it said that he was an orphan with no siblings or parents?

As if able to read their minds, the silver haired man said, "My brother was always worried about my safety. He knew that the path he was taking to change the world, treaded on the selfish profits of many influential people that might threaten my safety."

"That's why, he kept me high from the world, allowing me to have a peaceful ordinary life without any risks to my life."

As the young man was speaking, tears appeared in his eyes. "Who... Who would've thought that this cruel world would take him when they couldn't find his weakness... My brother... was an innocent man! Yet he..."

The young man started sobbing amidst the sentence, unable to speak any further. His tears made even the others feel pain in their heart.

They had already forgotten all the suspicions they had, and started sympathizing with the man known as Reo, who was actually just Leo pretending.

Leo, or rather, Reo buried his face in a silk handkerchief he had specifically bought for impact.

He had spent three hours in front of a mirror practicing this specific 'fragile but noble' expression, and judging by the audible gasps from the front row, he was nailing it.

"I... I shouldn't have come," Reo sobbed, his shoulders shaking to give even more impact to his performance.

It was as if he was a professional actor. Fortunately, the hours of watching online tutorials on how to cry had paid off.

"But the world needs to know the truth! My brother wasn't a criminal. He was a victim of this cruel world that wanted to change it! A brother! A man who liked... organic kale and rescued kittens in his spare time!"

Beside him, Blaze's eye twitched. He knew for a fact that Leo's diet, for as long as he had observed him, consisted primarily of caffeine and spite. He had never seen Leo eat any healthy green food.

Blaze stepped forward, placing a hand on Reo's shoulder. He squeezed a bit harder than necessary, partly for the cameras, and partly because he couldn't believe he was actually going along with this.

"It's alright, Reo," Blaze said, his voice echoing with overwhelming authority. "The Hero Tower stands with you."

Leo, as if broken by sympathy, hugged Blaze, crying even louder like a child.

After a long sobbing session, he brought his face closer to the mic again, and said, "My brother... They claim that he has escaped. But I know that my brother can never do this!"

"He is an ordinary human with no superhuman abilities! How could he even escape from that place? These people... I'm afraid they have already... My brother..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he was trying to say.

After all, everyone knew that Leo didn't have superpower. He was just an ordinary human, who was smarter than others. He used his intelligence for the betterment of the world, and even the galaxy with his bank, yet this was how he was rewarded.

"Hmmm? Why am I crying?" In the back, a reporter noticed that tears had also formed in his eyes.

He looked around, and realized that he wasn't alone. Many reports had tears in their eyes. Some were crying even more fiercely than Reo.

While Reo was busy being a tragic protagonist, the internet was absolutely losing its collective mind.

Leo's troll farms were working overtime. Within minutes, the hashtag #JusticeForLeo was replaced by #ProtectReo and #SilverBrother.

@HeroFanatic99: "I KNEW IT! Look at those eyes! You can't fake that kind of brotherly grief. My heart is breaking! 😭"

@ConspiracyKitten: "Wait, didn't Leo's file say he was an only child?"

@TrollFarm_004: "Replied to @ConspiracyKitten: That's exactly what he wanted you to think to protect his brother! He erased Reo's records to protect him! Open your eyes, sheeple! #ReoIsReal"

The narrative was shifting faster than a speedster on stimulants. People didn't want facts; they wanted a soap opera, and Leo was giving them an award-winning season finale.

A reporter from Global News raised her hand, looking skeptical. "Mr. Reo, if you've been hiding all this time, why come forward now, especially since it's even more dangerous for you now? And how do we know you're actually related?"

"I will answer that question..." Blaze took the lead and said,

"The Hero Tower has already verified Reo's identity through... classified high-tier sensory analysis."

He lied through his teeth, his Cape fluttering heroically in a breeze that didn't exist. "To question him now is to insult the very concept of heroism and his brother's sacrifice."

Leo felt a surge of pride. He had effectively used the 'You're being mean to a sad person' defense, the most impenetrable shield in human history.

"Let me give you more details. We have already recovered Leo's will. Apparently it was kept in a secure server of the Alpha Corp, only to be sent out if he wasn't able to verify his life or death for a week."

"We were just as surprised as you when we received the will, that talked about the entire control of the company being shifted to his little brother in case something happened to him."

"After receiving the will, we performed our own investigation in the past few weeks. That's why it took longer than normal. However, let me tell you, we have, without a doubt, verified the identity of Reo Vanderlen!"

"That's why, as per the will, Reo Vanderlen... Will be the new leader of Alpha Corp, and take his brother's legacy forward!"

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