Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 113 Father's Day ( words, because it is difficult to separate)

In Gotham City, late at night, when most people were asleep, the lights in Wayne's mansion were still on.

Thomas Wayne rolled up his sleeves and used a scalpel and tweezers to remove the bullet from a young man's chest. As an experienced old doctor, his hands were precise and steady, and his speed was extremely fast.

On the high spiral staircase in the hall, a child was crouching over, looking down through the gap between the handrails, watching the doctor perform surgery on the young man, seeing the bullets being taken out one by one, the blood vessels being sutured, and the bleeding being stopped.

My father always worked, he thought, and when the phone rang, he had to go to the emergency room. He was needed, he had no choice - and I had never seen my father work before.

He watched quietly as a life was saved by Thomas's hands, his eyes fixed on the scene, as if he was watching an elf waving a magic wand in a fairy tale book.

"I know, you know who I am," Thomas said. "I'm from the Wayne family, and I'm a doctor. I heal illnesses and save lives. This is my vocation."

"I won't use a son's life to blackmail his father, but I also don't want to associate with the underworld."

Vincent didn't care about the doctor's alienated attitude towards him. Seeing his son's condition getting better little by little, he wanted to make friends with the talented and virtuous Dr. Thomas even more.

"I know you're a rich man," he replied, "but I, Vincent Falcone, am a powerful man. And sometimes a powerful friend is worth more than all the wealth in the world."

"I'm really not doing this for your reward."

"Everyone wants something, doesn't he, Doctor?"

"Now, I realize who he saved that night."

Bruce put down the teacup in his hand and said to Gordon and Harvey: "He saved the Roman today, Carmine Falcone - he tried to do something good for Gotham, but it was what he did that night that led to the suspicion I face today."

Harvey and Gordon watched Bruce seriously recalling his father. In fact, they never thought that the recognized playboy would have such a side.

Harvey listened to Bruce's statement and was silent for a moment. Then he looked up and asked, "Then why did Gotham Bank approve the cooperation agreement with Falcone Import Company?"

"Gotham Bank is controlled by the board of directors, and the board only cares about profits." Bruce shook his head. "When everyone supported this resolution, I realized that my control over Wayne Group was still insufficient. This kind of thing will not happen again."

"So, Thomas Wayne never received any kind of reward from Vincent Falcone, and you have no relationship with Carmine Falcone?"

"Exactly."

Harvey's expression grew more serious at this answer.

"Then why didn't your father report this crime? If he had, Luigi Maroni would have been brought to justice, Vincent Falcone would have been investigated, and Gotham City would have been saved from the Romans."

Bruce looked up at Harvey, who was getting angrier and angrier as he spoke. Knowing that he was speaking out of righteous indignation, he didn't mind his anger and hostility, but Alfred at the side spoke.

"Perhaps, Mr. Wayne did write a report, but Gotham back then was different from today. The Gotham Police Department, and even the prosecutor's office, were also rife with corruption and bribery."

"Just a few months later, the heartbreaking incident occurred: the most honest man I knew was robbed at gunpoint in Crime Alley."

Alfred shook his head. "I know Luigi didn't have the guts to take on Mr. Wayne, but that's what makes his death so much more heartbreaking. I'm not sure Gotham is much better today than it was then, but I think it would be rude to accuse him of not doing enough."

Harvey and Gordon looked at each other. Harvey thought of Vernon, and Sheriff Gordon thought of some policemen in the police station who had unclear relations with the Falcone family.

Gotham may have changed, but it may not have changed enough, and Thomas Wayne isn't the culprit.

"Mr. Wayne, I apologize." Harvey stood up and sighed. "Perhaps my preconceived notions really caused a lot of problems. I won't bother you anymore today. Goodbye."

"I understand your sense of justice," Bruce said, standing up. "In any case, Wayne will no longer have anything to do with Falcone."

Gordon had worked in Gotham for many years and had a good impression of the Wayne family. Seeing the misunderstanding cleared up, he breathed a sigh of relief. However, Alfred's words just now made him feel a little uncomfortable. With mixed feelings, he also replied, "Goodbye."

Outside a Roman apartment, a cat looms in the night.

There is a machine next to Selena. She uses a telescope to observe Falcone in the room, and the machine automatically plays what the people in the room say.

Lip-reading recognition machines can restore a person's language by identifying their lip movements, just by seeing their lips - this is a remote monitoring method that is more covert than a bug.

Sofia was holding a beautifully wrapped gift box, while Falcone across from her stood up and walked out the door.

"I have some business to attend to, daughter. I may be back late."

"I uh." The burly Sophia stammered a few words, but ultimately didn't say anything. She just handed the gift box over.

"Sofia?"

"Here's to you - Happy Father's Day."

Falcone opened the gift box and took out a beautiful tie from it. Judging from the fabric, it must be worth a lot of money.

However, upon seeing it, Falcone thought of his dead young son, and in fact, upon realizing it was Father's Day, he was uneasy all day.

"I appreciate your kindness."

After giving a brief answer, Falcone was unwilling to say more and hurriedly left the room.

Sophia looked at her father's back as he left, looking a little lost.

Catwoman stood quietly in the night and heard Sofia's whisper coming from the loudspeaker next to her. In fact, that was what she wanted to say.

"Dad"

Carmine Falcone may not realize it, but in his youth he may have left behind an abandoned illegitimate daughter in the East End.

And Batman may never be able to figure out why he always sees Catwoman next to Roman, and why Catwoman sometimes helps him deal with Falcone and sometimes prevents him from interrogating him.

Only the cat in the dark night would stare silently at the father who had put a bounty on its life with mixed feelings.

On the other hand, Sheriff Gordon also returned home after dusk today. Although he caught the Holiday Killer, at Batman's suggestion, Gordon did not take him back to the police station. Instead, Batman took him away for temporary custody. Therefore, he had no extra work to do for the time being. If he had not habitually worked overtime to organize the Holiday Killer's files, he might have been able to leave work a few hours earlier.

But in any case, he didn't have to rack his brains over the case file of the Holiday Killer today, otherwise he might not get home until late at night.

"father!"

"James?"

As soon as Gordon entered the house, the aroma of food wafted out from the living room, and his five-year-old son immediately rushed out of the room, his two short legs twirling as fast as he could, and flew into his arms. "Oh - James, you're too heavy. Sooner or later, I won't be able to hold you anymore. Even now, my old waist can't take it anymore."

His wife Barbara also came out of the house and said with a smile: "Little James has been looking forward to your return. He has prepared a gift for you."

"A gift? What gift?"

"this!"

After little James was put back on the ground by Sheriff Gordon, he immediately handed him the gift box. His face flushed, and he looked a little shy, yet a little proud. "Mom and I made this for you! Happy Father's Day, Dad!"

Facing his son's expectant eyes, Sheriff Gordon smiled and took the gift box: "I was wondering why little James was so excited today. Good boy, thank you Dad."

He took out a tie from the gift box. The fabric was very ordinary, but the embroidery was very careful. It was not the common grid or solid color style. There were small handprints on it, which looked like they were printed by a pair of chubby children's hands.

"Okay, okay. I can see that you and your mother must have been busy for a while."

Gordon smiled and ruffled his son's messy golden curly hair, then immediately took off the tie from his neck and tied this strange-looking tie around his neck.

"This is the best gift a father could receive on Father's Day. Thank you, James."

He wore this tie and walked into the living room holding James.

Harvey Dent returned home a little later. He had nothing to do today, except to go to the prison.

"Welcome home, Harvey."

"I'm back, Greta."

Harvey took off his coat as soon as he entered the room and hung it on the hanger. He took out a coin from his coat pocket, played with it in his hand, and walked into the house.

Greta noticed the strange coin and looked at it curiously: "Harvey, what is this?"

"Oh, I went to visit my dad in jail today."

"Ah? How is he?"

"Same old jerk, but he did give me something." Harvey showed the coin to Greta. "Look, one side is normal, and the other side is burnt."

Greda looked at the coin and for no reason she felt uncomfortable.

"He told me that in this hellhole of a place like Gotham, even the courts are like coins. Evidence, truth, and justice are all insignificant. So the outcome of a trial is like flipping a coin. Heads, you win. Tails, you lose. People only flip a coin when deciding something insignificant."

"The part that really determines the outcome of the trial has already been settled outside the courtroom."

"Xavi, you."

"Don't worry, Greda." Harvey patted his wife's hand gently. "I told my father that he was right, but if the trial is really a coin, it should be an orderly coin, an important coin, a coin that no one dares to despise."

"So, today I did some things, met some people, and listened to some advice, and then I realized that what I did was not enough, not even close to enough."

Harvey flicked his thumb, a crisp sound was heard, and the shining coin bounced high and fell into his palm again.

"I told him that sooner or later, all the villains in Gotham City would have to watch helplessly as the law flipped a coin, and their lives would depend on it—no bribed judges, no rigged juries; just the law, just karma."

Harvey Dent walked to the window, flipping the coin in his hand faster and faster. He suddenly turned sideways and smiled gently at Greda.

"If retribution doesn't come, he should be careful—"

"Because he'll be spotted by me."

Boom!

A thunderclap suddenly exploded in the sky above Gotham, and at that moment, the city lights began to flash.

The light in the room suddenly disappeared, and everything fell into a brief darkness. The only source of light was the lightning outside the window.

At this moment, half of Harvey's body was illuminated by the dazzling lightning, while the other half was immersed in deep darkness.

Greda looked at her husband in front of her and was speechless for a moment, but the next moment, the lights in the room came on, and the light enveloped the two of them again. The Harvey who had just appeared seemed to have disappeared again.

In Wayne Manor, Bruce stared at the portrait of his parents, and kept recalling that rainy night in his mind.

"If my father hadn't saved the Romans, the lives lost in Gotham City, the cypress trees beside the cemetery—"

"Let me be clear, Master. No matter who comes knocking at the door, your father will never leave them to die—that's his way."

"I can't help but imagine what might have happened if he had made a different choice."

Alfred fell silent in front of the portrait. Batman was the same. He fought criminals again and again, but never killed them. No matter who the person in front of him was, he would save the other's life without hesitation.

If Batman kills, then 99% of the criminals in Gotham City will never have the chance to do evil again - but he will never choose this path.

He walked out of the room and saw Bruce sitting on the tall spiral staircase in the hall, looking down through the gap between the railings.

"I just missed him, Alfred—am I being rude?"

Bruce didn't look back, but Alfred could vaguely see the tear marks on his face in the moonlight.

"No, sir." Alfred placed his hand gently on Bruce's shoulder. Under the calm moonlight, Bruce's back gradually overlapped with the back of Dr. Thomas in Alfred's memory.

"You are very much your father's son."

In a homeless children's residence, Ma Zhaodi, Grandi and Jason sat among a group of children, sharing cookies and watching cartoons on an old TV.

"Old Ma, these cookies are delicious."

"Hehehe—this is a secret recipe that the old housekeeper taught me. Most people can't have it."

"Solomon Grundy, born on Monday"

(End of this chapter)