A/N

Hi again! Managed to write another chapter while I was waiting for my interview. My schedule frees up on May 11th so maybe expect the next chapter within the next 2 weeks!

As per, please enjoy and leave a review if you have the time :)

The large hand hit the hour just as she walked into Arkham: 8pm.

Lacey felt like a new woman as her heeled shoes clicked on the floor, emphasising every confident strode she took. The night before, she'd finally accepted Barbara's offer of a makeover, if only so she'd be undetected when she visited the asylum.

Her dark hair had been dyed a light blonde, and she'd traded in her rugged jeans for a blouse and some formal pants; presenting herself as the strong career woman she hoped to be. Well, that was how she felt in that moment. Strong.

"Name?"

"Valeska…Lucy…"

"And you say you're Valeska's sister?"

"Half-sister." Lacey corrected the guard with a deep red smile. "Lucky for me, I'd hate to have the psychopath gene."

The guard raised a brow at her attempt at humour. "Second door on the right. There will be a guard outside watching, so don't try anything. He's fucking insane."

"Oh, don't I know it." Lacey laughed, "he's right where he belongs now."

It took Jerome a moment or two to recognise Lacey when she entered the room, which was probably why she'd gotten through security so easily. "You look hot as a blonde." Jerome grinned. "Come to bust me out?"

Jerome had been cuffed by his ankle to the table in the visiting room, while the rest of his body was confined within the tight straitjacket he'd become so accustomed to wearing. Lacey was relieved to see that his was securely in place, there was no way he was getting out of his restraints.

Lacey shook her head, "Why would I? I'm your bitter half-sister." She tried to be subtle, making sure that Jerome knew of her new identity before blowing her cover.

Well, she could've hardly strolled up to Arkham as Lacey Monroe, the girl who had escaped Arkham not once, but twice, and had been missing ever since. Her change in appearance was strange but she needed to see Jerome. Because it would be the last time.

"So…sis…I'm sorry I couldn't carry out my promise." Jerome gestured towards his confinements.

Lacey shook her head. "It's 8pm. Consider your promise fulfilled."

"Sure but I bet you wanted a fancy dinner with candles and roses and shit…" Jerome sighed frustrated, sensing the disappointment in Lacey's eyes, soon replacing it with a confident grin. "But hey, I'll be outta here soon enough and then we can pick up where we left off."

"You won't be getting out Jerome." Lacey glanced towards him, her soft expression becoming a slight smile. "You didn't make the right decision last night, did you?"

"I know, I know…" He rolled his eyes. "But you didn't just come here to gloat. You came to check on me because I'm so irresistible…"

"Actually…I did." She grinned. "It feels good."

Jerome narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Now I know how you felt, every time you ignored my wishes and did just whatever the hell you wanted." Lacey laughed. "It's a nice feeling, being in the driving seat for a change. Having the upper hand."

The confidence that had been so proudly displayed on Jerome's face became shaken with Lacey's words. "Don't tell me you…"

"You never took me seriously." Lacey said, her eyes never leaving Jerome's intense stare once. "You always thought that I'd be a loyal subordinate to you and your plans. Always on the side lines…"

"You betrayed me?!" Jerome gritted his teeth together. This was no joking matter, not this time.

"Do you really think I bought your whole 'I love you so much baby, I'll make it up to you' crap?" Lacey scoffed. "You love the lime light more than me. That will never change. You don't even care that I had my arm torn straight from my body trying to save you, you haven't once shown any remorse over that."

"So this was all 'cause I didn't say sorry and run away with you?" Jerome smirked wryly. "I'm sorry, ya happy?"

Lacey decided to ignore him. It was her moment. "So I reported the location of your pathetic little cry for attention – sorry, circus – to Gordon. And here you are, exactly where I want you."

"Lacey…" Jerome felt the anger within him rising. If he hadn't felt so betrayed he'd have been proud of her.

"I won, Jerome. And you'll remember that, every night where you're staring at the four walls in your cold, lonely cell. Your revenge won't keep you warm at night." Lacey told him firmly. "We could've had it all. I would've died for you back then but now…now I know that there's something better in store for me. You were just gonna hold me back, feed me empty promises and push me out of the spotlight."

"I love you…" Jerome hissed, body tensing as he felt any human emotion he possessed being ripped from his body. He meant those words, he actually did.

Lacey saw the look on Jerome's face and knew he wasn't lying. She almost broke her composure, he caught her off guard with his genuine confession. His heartache. Jerome Valeska, the heartless maniac, actually had a heart. And she had broken it so easily.

"I…" For a moment, Lacey's voice trembled, almost regretting what she had done. Of course Lacey hadn't wanted to send her lover away but he needed to know that she was a force to be reckoned with. She'd made him, after all. She deserved equal recognition for his creation.

So before she broke down and apologised, Lacey forced herself to stand up and leave the room. "Barbara was right," she whispered, trying so hard to hold it all together. "You need me more than I need you."

Then she left, taking the heart of Jerome Valeska with her.

"Lacey!" He shouted, thrashing against his restraints. "Lacey! Get back here! I'm sorry, okay? I mean it! Fuck, I mean it! Just get back here!"

His desperate shouts soon turned into laughter however. He thought his own pain, how Lacey had so casually broken him, to be some kind of hilarious joke. His manic laughter soon echoing down the hall, reaching Lacey as she prepared to leave, the chilling sound etching itself into her mind.

Lacey waited by the main entrance for a while, unsure as to whether or not she was ready to take that crucial step out the front door, to leave Jerome behind for good. He'd been a part of her for so long, something that she'd fought for for as long as she could remember, that a life without him seemed…lonely. Without purpose. But it was for the best. Lacey knew that she was destined for great things, and that her attachment to Jerome had always held her back. It was time to let go.

"Excuse me…you don't have the time, do you?"

Lacey turned to see a young woman standing beside her, as if out of nowhere. She was probably a few years older than her, with dark hair and thick glasses that almost highlighted her brown eyes.

"…Sure, it's 8:20…" Lacey glanced quickly at the wristwatch she'd been given by her roommates. It had probably been stolen but it was the thought that counted.

"Thanks…" The woman stopped for a moment, getting a closer look at Lacey; studying her face before glancing down at the arm she'd so cleverly hidden away behind bandages.

Lacey frowned when she caught the woman staring at her. "What the fuck are you looking at?" She snapped, shoving her arm back into her jacket.

The woman lowered her voice, "You're Lacey Monroe, right?" She saw that Lacey was prepared to run, so she held up her hands as though to surrender. "Please, I…won't tell anyone. It's just…I hoped maybe you'd recognise me…I came to visit you while you were…"

"You…you snuck into my room…" Lacey furrowed her brow, trying to break through to those memories that had been stored way back in the recesses of her mind. Back when she was silent and alone.

"I'm Hannah…I don't know if you remember me."

Lacey shook her head, "no…I do…"

Lacey knew the door had opened, that there was someone standing there, watching…

But she was unable to turn her head, to say anything at all.

It wasn't lunch time for another hour, Lacey knew that, so why had she received a visit? Unless they had other plans for her…

"Hi, Lacey…" A soft female voice spoke, stepping into the room. "I…I'm not sure if you can hear me…I'm Hannah. I heard that you were here, again, and wanted to see how you were doing."

When Hannah saw that Lacey was still, practically lifeless, she found the confidence to take another step. She knew how dangerous the young girl was, but so desperately wanted to help.

"It's a shame I found you too late…eighteen years too late I guess." Hannah moved to stand directly in front of Lacey, kneeling down so that she was within sight. "I'm so sorry that this happened to you. But with your help I can make it right."

Lacey continued to stare straight through Hannah, hardly even blinking. She wanted to scream and tell this woman to take her bullshit somewhere else.

"They were monsters." Hannah said, searching Lacey's faded gaze for even a slight glimmer of acknowledgement. "The Monroes destroyed you just like they did her."

Hearing voices down the corridor, Hannah quickly got up and left, leaving Lacey and her racing thoughts all alone. Because of the medicated state she'd been in for weeks, Lacey had always wondered if that encounter had been no more than a hallucination, but now she knew for certain that Hannah had been real. And now she needed answers.

"I tried to visit you again but there were always guards…" Hannah told her.

"You said my parents were monsters…" Lacey said, "how did you know that? Nobody believed me."

"Could we go someplace to talk about that? I could buy you dinner…"

Lacey shook her head, "this could be some kind of trap. You could be a cop or a doctor or a journalist desperate to sell my story."

"I'm a doctor." Hannah mumbled reluctantly, "but you can trust me. I've no intention of turning you in or exposing you to public att-"

"I'm done trusting people." Lacey insisted, "I gotta go."

"I didn't want to do this here." Hannah followed Lacey out of the building, trying to get her attention. "I visit my mom in here every week. She's just like you were, when I saw you in that room. Except she's been like that for years now."

"Well sorry about that, but I can't—"

"She's your mom." Hannah said quickly, sensing Lacey's impatience. She had to tell her, she didn't know if she'd ever get another chance.

Lacey stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Hannah as though she were a deer caught in the headlights of a moving truck – and it had hit her so suddenly.

The people who had raised her hadn't been her parents. One of the most influential businessmen in Gotham, a man who she had despised so passionately, hadn't been her father. And her mother – her real mother – had apparently been a victim in another one of his cruel plots. As a child, Lacey had always felt as though she'd been adopted, that she belonged to another family, and now it all made sense. She only wished Lawrence and Doreen were alive now to explain what they'd done.