My Deadly Mistake (Jerome Valeska/Gotham FanFiction) [Book 1]

A Life Ended...A Life Begun

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Jim calm down!"

I slowly open my eyes to the sound of Jim and another man's voice tickling my ears. I wince as I pull myself up from the hard cold floor of the holding cell. I rub my side as I blink to adjust my eyes to the dim surroundings.

"Detective I believe you have someone that belongs to my family."

That voice. I know that voice.

My eyes finally clear up from their morning haze, and I see my father standing on the other side of the bars. Next to him is Micheal on one side and Giulia on the other. How did they figure out that I was here at the GCPD?

"Who that might be and you didn't answer my question. Who are you?"

I move my eyes over to Jim who is standing with a very portly and older man. That must have been the other voice I heard telling Jim to cool it.

I slowly rise up to my feet and walk over to as close as the bars will let me be to my family. I push my arm forward through the metal bars so that I can touch the rough material of Micheal's sleeve. He immediately turns to me, and the moment his eyes land on me I see them glaze over.

I must look a mess with my torn and blood spattered dress, the cracking makeup, my tangled hair, and the dry blood on my hands and inner arms. I see that same glint of pity in his eyes that I saw in Jim and Lee's eyes last night. He sees me as a broken damaged girl.

Oh if he only knew...if he only knew how I really feel. Oh but it's no worry, he will find out soon enough along with my father, Giulia, and the rest of the scum that lives in this damn city.

"Are you okay?" he asks me as he lets his hand come over to grab my mine.

"Peachy!" I tell him. The sound of my voice causes Jim and my father to both look at me.

"Rhiannon this man claims to be your father. You told me you lost contact with your father when we first met."

I shrug my shoulders as I rest the side of my face along the bars.

"Yeah that's my pops. Finally decided to reveal himself to me. Even though he was too much of a coward to do it himself, had to use this other ginger over here. I must be some kind of ginger magnet now that I think about it!"

I giggle at that last line. Oh come on you have to admit that was kind of funny. Okay whatever. I know I'm not at Jerome's level of humor but I'll get there.

My father clears his throat and I can see that my remark caught him off guard. He's probably remembering how I was when we first met.

If he thinks things are going to remain the same he's dead wrong. Last night...what happened last night changes everything. Whatever plans or dreams he has for me, if they don't align with what I have planned then he can just forget about them. They are as good as dead to me.

"Detective, I've come to ask that you release my daughter into my custody."

"You know I can't do that. I don't care if you are the head of some faction. You're daughter is an accomplice to some of the most bloody murders this city has ever seen. Besides..."

Jim side eyes me as he finishes his thought.

"...we have no idea what kind of damage we are dealing with. She needs professional help. The girl that you met before, she's gone. If you want any chance of getting your real daughter back, you need to let her go to Arkham."

My father glances over at me, and I realize that he will send me there if I let him. He sees the crazy in me and he remembers that it was his own crazy that drove my mother away from him. He lost one woman he cared about because of an unhinged insanity, he for sure doesn't want to lose another.