Labyrinth: A Jeremiah Valeska Story *COMPLETED*

Chapter 43: The Reveal

Jeremiah was consumed with Jerome's diary for the rest of the week. He spent hours studying and scrutinizing the scribbles the maniac had left. He didn't talk to me much except when ordering me around and making small talk. Bruce Wayne came over twice to begin construction of the power generators Jeremiah had been working on. They seemed to be making progress because Jeremiah was always in good spirits when Bruce left. When he wasn't talking with Bruce, he was speaking with Ecco in his study. I was never allowed inside to hear what they were talking about which aggravated me to no end and they always spoke in hushed voices so I was unable to ease drop on them. I was getting increasingly frustrated with Jeremiah's cold behavior and lack of communication with me and I felt lonely. I wasn't sure what I had done to make him so disinterested in me, but I was determined to find out. That Friday, Jeremiah visited Wayne Enterprises so that they could begin mass production of the generators. It was raining so I knew it would take him twice as long to get there and back in the soaked streets of Gotham. In his absence, I took it upon myself to search his study for any clues on why he was acting so strangely. I looked around the now organized and clean room, a stark contrast to what it had been before. There was not a single thing out of place and so I went in blindly, looking under blueprints and in drawers until I reached a drawer that wouldn't open. I attempted to pry it free but it was locked. I went over to a maze paperweight that he kept on his desk and I turned it over, revealing the key. I had known that he kept it there because he would often show it to me when he explained the safety procedure of turning on the padlock doors so that I could safely enter the bunker of the house. To my luck, the key fit the drawer as well as the switch for the padlock doors. I unlocked the drawer and slid it open, and I was surprised at the contents I found there. Nude face paint, dark green contacts, and temporary hair dye. This is what must have been in the bag Ecco had given him. I felt fear rise in my chest. What could he possibly need these things for? Everything seemed to fall into place, the odd behavior, the obsession with Jerome's plans, the makeup. They all led to one terrifying conclusion. The man whose been in this house the past week was not my husband. Perhaps Jerome had killed Jeremiah and was now impersonating him? The thought made a chill run down my spine but I knew it couldn't be true. Jerome's face was scared over, there's no way he could have hidden that with makeup. But if he wasn't Jerome and he wasn't Jeremiah, then who was he? These questions swirled in my head but I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard the front door open. Crap. He was home. I scrambled to shut the drawer, not having enough time to lock it so I quickly returned the key underneath the paperweight and then pretended to be very interested in the blueprints as his footsteps approached the study. "What are you doing in here?" He asked his voice calm with an underlying tone of anger. "I was just looking at what you and Bruce have been building this whole time. You don't really tell me much anymore so I figured I would come take a look for myself." I said, feeling his eyes on me. I prayed that he believed me. We stood in silence before he finally spoke up. "You're lying..." He stated and my stomach dropped. I decided it was now or never and I gathered my courage. "Who are you?" I asked him, staring dead in his eyes. "You know exactly who I am... I'm your husband." He responded confused. I shook my head. "You may look like my husband, but you sure don't act like him... Who are you?" I pressed again and I stepped back as Jeremiah entered the study. His eyes remained on mine as he walked over to the drawer that I had found and he went to test if it was open. Discovering that it was, his eyes flickered back up to mine, a dangerous realization crossing his face. I panicked, grabbing the nearest weapon, in this case it was a steel cutter sitting on the desk near his metal materials. "Stay away from me!" I yelled and he put his hands up in defense as he approached me. "It's not what you think Lilly... I'm still me." He said cautiously. We eyed each other on opposite ends of the room like a predator circling his prey and then he lunged at me. I quickly turned on my heels and ran out of his study with him hot on my trail. I bolted for the front door successfully swinging it open and running like hell out into the pouring rain. I could hardly see five feet ahead of me but I ran anyway, just knowing I needed to get away from the house. I heard Jeremiah calling my name as he chased after me but it only fueled me to go faster. I hadn't taken into account how much taller he was than myself, and his long strides quickly caught up with me. He grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me. I went to defend myself with the steel cutters but he caught my wrist in his hands and I was finally able to get a good look at him. The flesh colored paint was melting off of his face as the rain poured down and the red dye in his hair was running out revealing the dark color underneath. I slowly lowered my weapon staring at him as he turned away. He was wiping the rest of the makeup from his face before he turned back around. "Is this what you want to see?" He asked, his pale green eyes falling on me and I could see the hurt there. I was in shock, my eyes looking over every new feature of his face. His lips were bright red, his skin ghostly white. I felt dizzy with confusion, the rain coming down hard on my skin. "Lilly?" I heard him ask worriedly as my body grew heavy. My vision began to blur and my only focus was him. I felt his hands steadying me before everything went black.