A/N
Sorry it's been like 8 months since I last updated this, I've been sooo busy. But that's not to say I want to end Lacey's story abruptly, I do hope and intend to give it a good ending in maybe 10 chapters' time (that number could change so don't quote me on that...)
But I am over the moon with how popular this fic is and how many of you seem to like Lacey's character (even if she's a bit mad at Jerome at the minute.) I hope I can continue to bring out chapters (at a slow pace) that you'll all enjoy!
I'm also thinking about going through and naming the chapters for future reference so I know which events happened when - this story has been a work in progress for like 3 years now and I'm forgetful af - so I think it'd be helpful for me at least haha.
Anyway, this chapter is a shorter one to give a bit more insight into Hannah's backstory because she is a fairly important character. Hope you enjoy and please review if you have the time :)
18 Years Ago…
"You're not listening to me, he took my baby!" Ellie cried, staring desperately at the detective interrogating her.
"Your baby was stillborn, Ms Simmons." He told her firmly, having grown tired of seeing the young woman at the police station on what had become a regular basis. She frequently came in with accusations that her baby had been stolen and that the hospital had covered it up, but many had dismissed her as a grieving mother who was still in denial over the loss of her child. However, lately she had been more determined, more insistent that her child had been taken, even going as far as to accuse one man – Lawrence Monroe, one of the city's rising entrepreneurs.
"I've told you and every other cop in this place that I heard her crying! Why won't any of you believe me?"
"There's a tombstone with your daughter's name on it. She's dead, Ms Simmons. I'm sorry but it's true." His patience was wearing thin, especially when Ellie took out a newspaper clipping.
It was an article celebrating the success of Lawrence Monroe, with a photograph of his wife and daughter.
"That man was in the room when I gave birth." Ellie pointed desperately at the photo. "And their daughter was born on the exact same day, at the exact same hospital, as my Abigail! Please, you have to look into this!"
"I can't build a case based on one coincidence. That is all this is, a coincidence." The detective smiled sympathetically at her. "I'm sorry but there's no conspiracy here. I feel for you, you lost your husband and your daughter in the same year…but you should focus on the future now. You've got another daughter, yes? Why not move away and have a fresh start?"
"I'll do that when I find my other daughter. The one they stole from me." Ellie stood up to leave. "If none of you will do that then I guess I'll have to find her myself."
Hannah still remembered that fateful day as though it were yesterday. She was only eight when it happened but it was the day that she was forced to leave her childhood. After a whole year of searching for her baby, of planning the day when she'd get her daughter back, Ellie Simmons had finally gone to the Monroe home with every intention of taking her home.
"Remember the plan, honey?" Ellie knelt down in front of her daughter, smiling hopefully at her.
Hannah nodded, holding her football. "I'll kick this over the fence and distract the lady inside and you'll get Abigail back."
Ellie kissed her forehead. "That's my good girl."
"What if you get caught?" Hannah asked, tilting her head to the side. "I know Abigail's your baby but won't the police be mad at you?"
"They won't find out until we're far away from Gotham. On that holiday we planned." Ellie stepped back out of sight. "I'm counting on you Hannah."
Hannah did everything they planned. She kicked her ball over the fence and knocked on the door, leading Doreen Monroe into the garden to help her look, while Ellie went upstairs to retrieve her stolen baby. But Lawrence Monroe came home early, just as Ellie was cradling the baby girl in her arms. Her baby girl.
Before she knew it, the police were dragging her mother out of the house as she kicked and screamed and swore blind that Lawrence Monroe had stolen her daughter. All while covered in the accused's blood. She'd tried to kill him during the struggle.
"Please, you have to believe me!" Ellie cried as she was bundled up into a police car. "He took my baby!"
Hannah felt helpless to do anything as she watched the police restrain her mother. In spite of the chaos, the loud noise, the screams and shouts, the judgemental whispers of the onlookers seemed the loudest to the young girl.
This has been a long time coming.
Look at her, she's crazy.
Now that poor little girl will be without a mother.
She didn't know where they were taking her mother or even if she'd ever see her again. But she did know one thing, that her mother was telling the truth. Because as soon as the police were out of earshot, Lawrence Monroe confirmed as much.
"But what're you going to do about it, little girl?" He grinned smugly, knowing he'd won.
From that day onwards, Hannah had made it her duty to prove Lawrence Monroe's guilt.
She'd spent her years in foster care studying hard before she was shipped of to St. Ignatius both because of her intelligence but also because her foster parents at the time wanted rid of her. So, fuelled by her determination to clear her mother's name and reclaim her sanity, Hannah worked hard and graduated before going to medical school and becoming one of the youngest doctors in Gotham.
The asylum had slowly drained Ellie of her life, Hannah knew as much when she was finally allowed to see her, years after her initial arrest. Her mother's bright smile had diminished within the four dark walls of her cell, her frame smaller than she remembered and her eyes…they were empty. They had destroyed Ellie, stripped her of her mind, all because she had been a mother desperate to find her child. Willing to cross one of Gotham's elite in order to do so. That was her crime, fighting for her family. But her opponent had been untouchable, a wealthy man with the means to achieve any goal, and so the coverup was airtight.
None of it had been fair, but that was Gotham. Fairness and equality had been replaced by greed and corruption, the city itself built on a twisted foundation of power. There was no justice. But then again, had there ever been?
Even after becoming a successful doctor and befriending all of the right people in Gotham City, Hannah was still unable to access the information she needed to exonerate her mother and take down the man who'd destroyed her family. Lawrence Monroe was untouchable.
"He eventually found out what I was up to. He had connections at the hospital and I'm guessing he saw me as a threat..." Hannah grimaced at the memory. "One night I was driving home from work and noticed a guy in a black car following me. He ran me off the road and the next thing I knew I was in hospital – I'd been in a coma for over a month – and Lawrence Monroe was dead. After you killed him. Needless to say, I couldn't believe it."
Lacey frowned, ignoring that last part completely. She was disgusted by how far her 'father' was willing to go to keep his secret. Even though Lacey knew he was a brute and a bully, she never actually thought he was capable of murder…hadn't those all just been empty threats?
"I don't even think a single police car ever came to the house. Surely someone knew, someone could have called the police and had him arrested?! He tried to have you killed!"
"I only ever told one person about…everything, but we haven't talked in years. He just kind of disappeared...went underground, so to speak."
"Some friend…" Lacey scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. "He couldn't even call the cops on your behalf."
Hannah frowned, "yeah, well he had his own demons to run from. Sometimes you just have to put yourself first. This is Gotham after all."
Hannah still thought about the last time she saw her friend, especially now that she'd seen the crazed eyes of the monster he'd been hiding from shouting to her sister from behind the cold bars of Arkham Asylum. She assumed that he was still alive, still tucked away somewhere in his top secret location, but she'd always worried for him. He'd been her protegee for years at St Ignatius, where the two of them had studied together and shared their deepest, darkest fears. And their wild plans to escape them.
"Call me crazy, Jem. Please tell me that all of this is insane then maybe it'll change my mind."
"It won't. I've known you for years, and this has been your sole ambition. Besides, I think you'll make a good doctor."
"I still can't believe you were my first friend at that school." Hannah laughed, "you were a fucking kid back then, almost five years younger than me and you were my only real friend. The only person on my level."
"Well it was nice to have someone to talk to, someone who understood. Someone else with demons." He sighed, "the only difference is, you're facing yours and I'm going to go into hiding from mine."
Hannah smiled sympathetically, "you'll figure it out. You're a very smart man, Jeremiah Valeska. Just don't hide underground forever, you know I'd miss you too much."
Hannah was unsure as to whether Lacey knew about Jerome's twin brother or not, so she'd decided never to refer to him by name. While Hannah had already come to love the sister she'd spent years trying to find, trying to prise away from the cruel hands of Lawrence Monroe, she still knew that Lacey was bound to Jerome. She always would be. Although she insisted Jerome was out of her head indefinitely, that she wanted to leave her dark past behind, Hannah knew that wasn't the case. It was evident every time Jerome came up in conversation that she still had feelings for the red-headed maniac. That was what terrified Hannah. If Jerome ever got out of Arkham, she feared that her sister would be ensnared by him, that she'd step back into her old role as a sociopathic killer without so much as a second thought.
And if Jerome wanted to kill Hannah for getting in the way, for trying to protect her younger sister, would Lacey challenge this? Or would Hannah simply become another victim amongst a sea of bodies?
