On the other side of Gotham, at the Falcone Family's private airport in the suburbs, Sophia lay unconscious on a waiting plane. Then, without warning, her hand shot to her lower abdomen.
"Ugh!" she gasped, squeezing her legs together and clutching her stomach as an intense, heated sensation flared inside her.
"What… what the hell is this?" she muttered, bewildered. The feeling vanished just as quickly as it came.
Still groggy, Sophia rubbed her stomach in confusion.
"That's weird… feels like some powerful toy running at full speed inside me. Fuck! Did Liv leave something in me?" she muttered, disgusted.
Rising from the seat, she headed for the bathroom. Even if nothing was left behind, she still had to deal with the aftermath of that intense stimulation. Her father, Falcone, would be with her soon — she couldn't show up looking like a mess.
Though she hated leaving Gotham, no one could override Falcone's final decision. She walked into the bathroom, stripped naked, and sat on the toilet to inspect herself.
After a thorough check, Sophia exhaled with relief.
"Must've been a nightmare… or some kind of wet dream. Wraith's abilities are pretty insane, so I guess it's not impossible," she joked weakly.
She pressed the panel for the service call and called the maid on the plane.
"Bring me a new outfit — the beige low‑cut jumpsuit from the third wardrobe on the left."
Then she stepped into the shower for a quick rinse, not wanting to take too much time.
Less than two minutes later, Sophia stepped out of the bathroom, only to be approached by the maid with a towel.
The maid gently lifted the towel to dry her, but in the next instant that towel whipped up and wrapped tightly around Sophia's neck!
"Ugh!" Sophia choked, startled awake. She clawed at the towel trying to free herself, but before she could react, a sharp, brutal palm drove into her ribs.
"Ha–ugh!" Sophia's scream was cut off as her throat constricted. The blow broke a rib and drove it into her lung.
Blood spurted uncontrollably from her mouth, soaking the towel in crimson. Sophia slumped forward, weak and dying.
Only when the color faded to dull red did the pressure on her neck loosen.
Straining to open her eyes, she saw the maid standing in front of her.
"You… bitch!" Sophia cursed weakly, barely managing to lift her right hand toward the woman's face.
From behind her, Selina appeared, jaw clenched. She slapped Sophia's feeble hand down, then pushed her thumb hard into Sophia's eye socket.
"That's for Betsy, bitch," Selina said coldly, digging into Sophia's eye with feral intensity.
She casually tossed the eyeball to the floor. Sophia's mouth foamed with blood, her struggles growing frantic.
Selina closed her eyes, her voice hollow with grief.
At the same time, Sophia, fading fast, croaked out.
"What… Betsy?"
"You don't know?" Selina whispered.
For a moment she stood still, then seized Sophia by the throat.
"Betsy was my lover," she spat, rage boiling under her calm tone. "A nineteen‑year‑old student with her whole life ahead of her. Her future, her love… all turned to ashes!"
Selina's voice cracked with pain.
"Who else would send this shitty "gift" to me? Don't act innocent, you bitch!"
Sophia's eyes flickered with a desperate will to live. She grasped Selina's wrist, voice barely above a whisper.
"I… wanted to kill you… but I… didn't have time. I only made… one call… to Fish after you took Wraith. I wanted to work with her. But I had to leave Gotham… there was no time… Fish didn't have time either…"
Her words trailed off, her body going limp, twitching in its last spasms.
Selina hesitated, pain flickering across her face like a storm. Then her eyes hardened again.
"So maybe you really didn't do it… but who the hell did?" she snarled. "There shouldn't be anyone else capable of this… Fish didn't pull it off that fast, did she?"
Selina shook Sophia violently, but the other woman's breathing was shallow and faint.
Selina took a silent breath, then extended her cat claws toward Sophia's temple.
"Even if you weren't the one," Selina growled, "what about fifteen‑year‑old Daisy, and sixteen‑year‑old Dorothy? They died right in front of you. They were people I cared about!"
Selina's voice cracked as the claws raked across Sophia's face.
Soon enough Sophia lay dead, her body still in a bloody heap.
Selina stood frozen, mind numb, until a violent explosion echoed nearby.
She shot out of the bathroom, alert and furious — a simple trap she'd set earlier had been triggered.
Outside the plane, Falcone stood calmly as several of his subordinates were blown backward by the blast.
His deep gaze shifted toward the aircraft.
Beside him, a bodyguard leaned in and whispered.
"Boss, should we contact Victor?"
Falcone's eyes remained cold.
"Zsasz no longer belongs to me. He belongs to Gotham's future now. Don't bother him."
He gestured for his remaining men to enter the plane and investigate.
They obeyed and disappeared inside. Silence followed.
Falcone took a deep breath, pulled a detonator from his pocket, and walked slowly toward the plane.
Inside, he immediately saw his subordinates lying injured on the floor and then, Selina, clad in her black catsuit, standing among them.
Blood stained the cabin everywhere.
Falcone hesitated, concern finally showing on his face.
"Why is it you?" he asked quietly. "I thought it might be Fish, or Maroni, or even… the League of Assassins. But you? "
"Selina, you're my daughter. What are you doing? Are you trying to kill your father? I'm old now. I can't bear losing more loved ones. Whatever you've done… I can forgive. But don't let your rage consume you!"
Selina's expression didn't soften. Her voice was low and icy as rain.
"Heh, forgive me? Are you sure you can do that? What if I told you Sophia is dead!"
____
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