Henry Cole was a typical corporate slave in this bustling city of New York, holding a mid-level position in a middling company, toiling and busy every day for a mediocre salary.
After graduating from a decent university and working hard for many years, he finally reached the middle management tier of his company. In his early 30s, he had a son and a daughter, and was paying the mortgage on a house of his own.
To be able to own property in the prosperous city of New York, even if not in the most expensive wealthy districts, was a significant achievement for Henry, an ordinary person with no special background or connections.
Therefore, Henry deeply cherished his current life. He had a beautiful and loving wife, lively and adorable children, and once the mortgage was paid off and the children were grown, his life would basically be complete.
So, even though Henry didn't particularly love his current job, he was always dedicated, careful, and ensured his work was perfect and error-free.
His daily routine was essentially leaving home after breakfast for the company, having lunch there, working all afternoon, and then, if he worked overtime, eating dinner at the company. If not, he went straight home, often picking up his two children along the way to help his wife with household chores.
On occasional days off, Henry also enjoyed playing games with his children. This not only brought him closer to them but also allowed him to relax.
After all, compared to other forms of recreation, playing games at home was both economical and practical, and he genuinely enjoyed gaming himself, making it a win-win situation.
With heavy responsibilities on his shoulders, Henry never dared to spend lavishly on leisure. The last time his family went on a trip was five years ago.
Henry had lived this way for over ten years. Fortunately, the company he worked for was doing well. Their business had latched onto the lifeline of Stark Industries Group, ensuring good development and a steady improvement in employee benefits.
Henry, due to his diligence and competence, was also promoted step by step, managing to join the management layer. Although the pressure was greater, Henry was quite satisfied with his current situation, as he could at least afford his house and provide a comfortable life for his family.
Everything was good... it was.
Until the recent turmoil surrounding Stark Industries Group, which caused severe instability in Henry's company.
First, Tony Stark, the head of the Stark Group, went to the Middle East to demonstrate new weapons for the military, where he was attacked by terrorists and went missing for a period.
During this time, Stark Industries Group's stock plummeted. For a massive industrial company like Stark Industries, any shake-up would trigger a massive butterfly effect, and companies associated with it would inevitably be greatly affected.
This was especially true for a major incident like the disappearance of Tony Stark, the company's head.
Henry's company just happened to have substantial business dealings with Stark Industries Group—or rather, the business interfacing with Stark Industries Group provided the lion's share of the company's stable profits.
The stock volatility of Stark Industries Group naturally affected Henry's company. Everyone left in the company was extremely anxious during that period, and Henry also struggled to sleep night after night.
They barely managed to endure until Tony Stark returned safely, thinking they could finally breathe a sigh of relief and that the company would weather the crisis. But instead, Tony came back and immediately announced the closure of Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division.
Stark Industries Group's stock, which had stabilized somewhat due to Tony Stark's safe return, plummeted again.
The resulting upheaval was even greater than that caused by Tony Stark's disappearance. After all, even without Tony Stark, Stark Industries Group, though greatly affected, would still have been the leading enterprise in the American military industry. However, directly shutting down the weapons manufacturing division meant cutting off most of Stark Industries Group's original revenue streams.
Tony Stark became the superhero Iron Man and stole the spotlight.
But Henry's company suffered. Because Stark Industries Group faced a crisis and its various businesses contracted, the business Henry's company could undertake naturally shrank drastically in a short period.
Fortunately, Tony Stark was somewhat considerate. He handed the company's operations over to his former assistant/secretary, Pepper Potts, and the immense value demonstrated by the Arc Reactor new energy technology Tony created finally stabilized Stark Industries Group's situation.
The situation during this period was full of twists and turns. Henry had been on a roller coaster of emotions, experiencing several ups and downs. Fortunately, the outcome was not too bad; Stark Industries' stock stabilized, and his company finally managed to stand firm amid the turmoil.
Otherwise, if the company had gone bankrupt and he was unemployed at his age, Henry truly didn't know what he would have done.
So now, all Henry hoped for was that Tony Stark, the genius playboy, would just stick to playing his role as a superhero and genius inventor—or even just going out to chase women—and stop interfering with Stark Industries Group's business decisions. Otherwise, if the playboy were to act on a whim again and cause another disruption, his heart really couldn't take it.
On this day, Henry finished his company affairs and returned home, shedding his exhaustion. Seeing his busy wife, a smile curved his lips. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a headache. He leaned against the wall to steady himself, and a fleeting flash of red light crossed his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Henry's wife noticed his abnormality and rushed forward, asking with concern.
"It's nothing," Henry squeezed out a smile and shook his head. "Just a sudden dizzy spell."
"Were you too stressed recently? You really should rest well."
"I'm fine. It's nothing serious," Henry reassured her.
"You need to take better care of yourself. You're almost 40 now, not as young as you used to be. You need to learn to look after yourself. The children and I just want you to be with us, so don't put too much pressure on yourself," Henry's wife said with a gentle look in her eyes.
Henry put on a relaxed expression and laughed: "I'm just barely under 35. I'm not that old. I'm perfectly healthy."
"Don't worry, our family will always be together."
"Dinner is ready, just waiting for you to come home. I'll go prepare, you call the children downstairs," Henry's wife said, taking off his suit jacket.
"Iron Man is so handsome! The Iron Man suit is totally awesome!"
After dinner, Henry's son pointed at the news footage on TV of Tony Stark wearing the armored suit: "Dad, doesn't your company have business dealings with Stark Industries Group? Have you met Mr. Tony Stark? Can you help me get his autograph?"
Henry smiled somewhat unnaturally: "I've seen him from afar a few times, but while I recognize him, he doesn't know me."
"And the current CEO of Stark Industries is Miss Pepper, Tony Stark's former secretary. Mr. Tony Stark basically no longer handles Stark Industries' business; he's devoted to his inventions and his superhero career."
"Oh," Henry's son responded with a hint of disappointment, continuing to look at Iron Man's figure on TV with gasps of admiration.
Henry also turned his head to watch the TV, when suddenly, he was struck by another severe headache. This time, he couldn't help but collapse onto the floor.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Henry's son was terrified. He knelt beside Henry, shouting loudly, "Mom, come quickly!"
Henry's wife and daughter rushed into the living room upon hearing the noise to see what was happening.
"Henry! Henry!" Henry's wife called out. Seeing Henry was unresponsive, only twisting and struggling painfully with his eyes closed, she worriedly asked her son, "What happened to your father?"
"I don't know either. We were just watching TV fine, and he suddenly fell to the ground in pain," Henry's son explained.
"What is that?" his daughter suddenly exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" his wife quickly turned her head to ask.
"I think I saw strange light spots coming out of Dad's body," the daughter said uncertainly.
"Are you sure?" His wife was surprised and checked carefully. She scrutinized Henry, who was lying on the ground writhing in pain, but found nothing unusual.
"Maybe I saw wrong," the daughter scratched her head, looking confused after a thorough look.
"Never mind that. Call the hospital first and have them send an ambulance," his wife suddenly realized and hurried to find the phone.
After the ambulance arrived.
"You two stay home, and I'll go to the hospital with your father for a check-up," Henry's wife instructed the children.
Henry, whose condition had improved slightly, spoke up: "There's no need to be so nervous. See, I'm fine now, aren't I? It was just a temporary headache. It shouldn't be a big deal."
"Regardless, you must have a complete physical examination this time," his wife said, her tone leaving no room for argument.
"Alright, alright," Henry nodded gently, feeling somewhat helpless.