The Ghost of You
Disclaimer: I don't own Batman Begins
Chapter 3: Paint It Black
It rained as black cars pulled up to a small church in the nicer part of Gotham. People were in lines of black and the reporters were dressed in neutral colors and wore a black ribbon, all the while trying to catch Bruce Wayne and Amanda Morrison. But they couldn't catch them, considering they blended in with the crowd. But district attorney Harvey Dent stood out from the crowd. Inside wasn't the media frenzy, it was somber. The minister spoke with words of god and praise, saying that Andrew Morrison didn't leave this earth by choice but by circumstance. Amanda hadn't spared many tears but she cried. Bruce had a hand on her shoulder and saw Rachel out of the corner of his eye. She and Harvey sat somberly, like the rest of the crowd. After the service, all the guests had left to the burial grounds where the rain poured and as the caskets lowered, others tears started falling. Bruce sighed and looked around, seeing that there was no longer any need for them to be there, he started walking out with Alfred and Amanda behind him. But Rachel stopped him halfway.
"Bruce, I know this is a hard day but someone needs to represent Amanda when they read her fathers' will." Rachel said. "I don't think she wants to be there."
"No, I'll go and Alfred can bring her back home." Bruce replied, looking around.
Rachel nodded and went back to Harvey. Alfred had caught up to him and Bruce looked at him for a moment.
"Alfred, could you take Amanda home?" Bruce asked. "I have to attend Andrew Morrison's will reading."
"Of course, sir. I'll just get her away from her relatives." Alfred replied.
He did that rather quickly and the girl looked rather relieved to be away from them. But she had kept her head down, and only looked up when they stepped out of the reception hall. Once they were in the car, she looked at the grounds for a moment then looked away. They stopped in front of offices and Bruce got out, leaving Amanda in Alfred's care. Bruce went inside the building and found the office where many of Andrew Morrison's relatives sat. They weren't surprised that he had shown. The lawyer had sat down promptly and took out the will.
"As you know, this is Andrew's Morrison's last will and testament." He said. "I'm going keep this short and simple. Amanda Danielle Morrison inherits Morrison Industries, 25 million dollars, and her mother's estate in Metropolis and penthouse in Gotham. Custody is granted to Bruce Wayne and has access to the homes and account that the money will be placed in."
The relatives in the room had expressions of protest on their faces and trying their best to keep from screaming.
"You all knew it'd come down to this. As family, you get right to your share of his stocks but Amanda's will left untouched. That is what he stated." The laywer replied and got up. "Thank you all for coming. Mr. Wayne, would you stay for a moment?"
The rest of them left while Bruce stayed behind. The man put a hand on his desk and sighed.
"Mr. Wayne, Amanda is inherited everything that her father could give you but we need to be sure it's safe." The lawyer said.
"It'll be kept safe, can you transfer that to the private account under her mother's name?" Bruce asked.
"Of course, I'll do that now." The lawyer replied. "Would you like it under Danielle or Linda's account?"
"Whichever is less suspicious." Bruce said.
"We'll put it with Danielle's money then. Her mother would've liked it that way." The lawyer said looking at Gotham.
"So it was her stepmom that was killed?" Bruce asked.
"Yes, Amanda was only four when her mother died. And she loved her for those four years, Danielle would never let her daughter go." The lawyer said. "They divorced when she was three and of course, Danielle got her. But when she got sick, Amanda was placed with her father."
"And Linda?" Bruce asked, seemingly interested.
"He married her only six months later and she somewhat resented him for it. She said placing a child in a situation only months after her mother's death was awful on his part. But she loved her, the magazines always praised her, saying this was a very good mother-daughter relationship." The lawyer replied. "And as for his relatives, they wanted nothing to do with her until now. Twenty-five million is a lot. I remember when she came in a few days ago, she called them 'people that were pigs who were greedy for money."
"It seems they were." Bruce said. "Is that all?"
"No, with the Joker in custody, we need to testify at his hearing." The lawyer replied.
"I won't allow it." Bruce said. "She's been through enough and I don't want her to go through anymore of it."
"I'm sorry but she has to, Miss Dawes is her attorney." The lawyer said.
Bruce sighed and left the building, seeing that Alfred had pulled up just in time. When he got in, Alfred looked at him with a curious look.
"A very productive meeting, Master Bruce?" He asked.
"Very." was Bruce's simple reply. "How is she?"
"Miss Dawes is with her, saying she has to testify at the hearing. Amanda is not willing to talk about it yet." Alfred said.
"I know, Alfred, but she has to. It's for her own good."
They got back home and found Amanda in her room, coughing. She had been through enough.
"She's probably gotten sick from all the stress, sir. Should I call Rachel and...?" Alfred said.
"No, she has to go. We'll just make sure we get her home." Bruce replied, looking at her in the doorway.