sweethearts

𝟏𝟔 • the right to remain silent

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
"THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT"
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ALÍZ IVOV DID NOT die in the incident that took place one week ago. You may be thinking, what happened one week ago?

Well to start, Alíz Ivov murdered Jerome Valeska. Shortly afterward, Theo Galavan awoke from his unconscious state and slit Alíz's throat. Theo Galavan had attempted to murder a teenager, but he was painted as a hero. Gotham's savior! He managed to take out two dangerous criminals on his own! Hell, even Bruce Wayne thanked him for saving his life! Where did that leave Alíz?

The girl was urgently taken to Gotham General where she underwent surgery to at least try and save her life. Luckily, Galavan had slit Alíz's throat in such a completely wrong way that it didn't manage to kill her. The girl was still in critical condition and the hospital didn't know when she would get discharged. But her getting discharged wouldn't mean she would get her life back, it would most likely mean going to prison.

Though it was heavily debated and still is being debated, the new head of the GCPD has decided that Alíz Ivov should be tried for the murder of Jerome Valeska and the countless other crimes she was somehow charged with. They decided that after she recovers from her major injuries she would stand in front of a jury. But there was still a small hiccup, Alíz Ivov could not speak at the moment. Most of her vocal cords had been severed and there was no telling if or when they would regenerate. Things are not looking too good for Alíz.

Her name was all over the news alongside Jerome Valeska's. "Teen Criminal Goes Berserk!—Alíz Dupont murders boyfriend Jerome Valeska at children's benefit gala." This was one of the many headlines that made its way onto citywide television as well as in the newspapers. All these news outlets painted her as a villain, the big bad. They even went as far as to speculate that Alíz was behind the Arkham breakout and the creation of The Maniax.

These journalists and reporters did not fail to remind the city about how Alíz had 'paraded' around with a stolen identity for months. They were referring to the period when Alíz had taken the identity of Anna Kingman to get into Arkham. Some people thought that Alíz was Anna Kingman and that 'Alíz Dupont' was an alias. The professionally developed records that were submitted to the asylum did not help her case either.

For some reason, everybody in the world seemed to believe these rumors which made Alíz nauseous and completely confused at the same time. Everyone thought they knew who Alíz was and what kind of person she is. They thought they knew everything about her because of one paragraph a journalist wrote in an article.

How could they all think that a frail teenager who barely graduated high school could coordinate a professional breakout? Was it just easier to believe that a delinquent teenager with a few theft charges and no detectable family could be some evil mastermind? Was it easier to believe that some random girl with no power or influence could cause all of this even though there was an obvious suspect in their midst?

How come not a single citizen in Gotham suspected Theo Galavan?

Theo Galavan had attempted to murder a teenager and nearly left her for dead. If it weren't for Jim Gordon, Alíz probably would've bled out. Jim Gordon refused to let her die, but he hasn't taken the time to visit her in the hospital. He saved her life and Alíz couldn't even show her appreciation. Maybe seeing a familiar face would help her distract from the fact that she couldn't do any of the things she used to.