Roxanne had come to her office to make sure things were running smoothly. She was given a schedule of all the meetings Romero had said he would handle but couldn't be back in time dor. Sighing wearily, she added that to her list and went to her office, telling her secretary not to let anyone disturb her until or unless it was a message from her brother or Tim Drake.

She had noticed the press was starting to catch up on the rumors of their relationship as in that morning's paper there was a blurred shot of them going to the coffee shop together. At least that part of her deal was taken care of, she thought, switching on her laptop.

Coming to the office made her feel even more burdened by the responsibility of keeping everything running. Her brother was the one who dealt mostly with the companies they had but in those days he had been spiraling more and more out of control.

She suspected he was getting involved in something dangerous but then that wouldn't be the first time for him. Plus what could possibly pose danger to a man like him who took what he wanted and left bullet holes in his wake?

Or in her case, he left bruises and scars that she was tired of constantly hiding from the rest of the world.

She was checking her emails when her eyes stopped on a familiar ID and she opened it, seeing multiple attachments. That email was from her nephew Colin who had just graduated and sent pictures from his graduation ceremony.

Seeing his smiling face as he held the degree in his hands made her smile as well. At least someone from the wretched Donnelley family was happy.

Checking what time would it be in Ireland, she video-called her nephew, knowing it had been a long time since she had talked to him and Anya.

Colin's cheerful face came to view on her screen as he adjusted the camera. "Auntie Rox, I'm so glad you called!"

"Hi sweetie," she replied, talking to him in the same way she used to when he was a kid, "how are you?"

"I'm good, what about you?" He asked but then tilted his head back to call his mother over as well, "Ma, look who's on call."

After a short while, Anya came to the room as well, a smile spreading on her face to see Roxanne, "Roxy, so good to hear from you. How are you?"

"Exactly what I asked too."

"I am fine," she replied, feeling relieved that they were happy and safe, "I saw the pictures you sent me. Still can't believe our little fella graduated already."

The boy rose an eyebrow, his dark eyes twinkling in amusement, "why, should I not have?"

"It's just that time flies by so fast. I still remember you when you were a toddler knocking everything over in your reach."

Talking to them made her feel normal and happy. It was almost as if Romero wasn't that bad of a person and his family was very dear to her too. But then it would all end with the end of the call. Rom would go back to being his uncontrollable self and she would never tell Anya and Colin what she had to deal with.

"Dad came to visit too," Colin spoke up, taking her by surprise, "and on my graduation day, can you believe? Best surprise ever."

She smiled softly, "I told him he should go but I didn't tell him about the graduation. Must have been all his idea."

Anya said something to Colin that Roxanne didn't hear and the boy, "I will just be back, Auntie Rox. Ma forgot to turn the stove off."

With Colin leaving, Anya's expression turned slightly concerned, "is everything alright, dear?"

"Yes of course," she replied, feeling a bit self-conscious that she hadn't covered up the bruises well, "why do you ask?"

"Has Romero been going to his therapist? I tried to talk to him about it and he said yes but I feel like he was lying. Please tell me if there's something wrong with him, I will try and talk to him to convince him."

She got worried as she asked, "did he do anything to you?"

"No Roxy, just tell me. Is he okay?"

Roxanne knew telling her wasn't going to solve anything, "maybe he's burdened with work. I will call his therapist and check in with her."

"You better do. We were happy he came to visit but it felt like those times when he simply has to come to see us because nothing else is working for him," she remarked, keeping her voice low so that her son wouldn't hear them talk about his father like that.

"Right... I will check. And don't worry, I will take care of him. He'll be fine."

"Thank you so much, darling," she smiled in relief, trusting Roxaane to do as she had said, "you do so much for us and we appreciate that a lot."

A smile played upon her lips but her eyes were slightly sad, "anything to keep you two safe and happy... I miss you guys."

"We miss you too," Colin had come back into the room as he sat cross-legged beside his mother, "you know what, you should also take an off and come see us. Dad didn't stay for even a full day and I want you to come for at least a week. We will have a lot of fun together."

"I will try," she agreed to his suggestion though she knew it had more chance of becoming a promise unfulfilled, "now I have a couple of meetings to deal with because your Dad still isn't back in Gotham. I will catch up with you two later, okay?"

"Sure. Take care of yourself," Anya remarked, her arm gently placed around Colin's shoulders.

Roxanne nodded and waved goodbye before disconnecting the call. Anya's words were ringing in her head and she felt guilty about lying to her.

There was no therapist.

Romero would take it as an insult if she ever suggested he should go to one either. But to keep her sister-in-law from worrying, she had lied that her brother had been having routine sessions to help with his anger.

***

Roxanne had been wrong in assuming that Romero hadn't yet come back to Gotham. He hadn't come home or to the office so she thought he would still be out of city but that wasn't the case.

He had come back to Gotham but intentionally hadn't gone to the office or at home so she wouldn't find out he was back. There was one situation he had to deal with before that.

And that situation went by the name of Timothy Drake; his sister's new plaything. It was amusing to Romero how she was so adamant about saying that Tim wasn't important to her when it was so visible that she was lying each time she said that.

For some reason, Tim was getting much closer to her than he should and he could foresee how things would turn out if he didn't intervene.

He remembered Adrian Castellan as well as the end the poor young man had met. He remembered clearly and he taunted Roxanne with his name each opportunity he got because he had to give up a lot due to him and his scandal with her.

Adrian Castellan was the start of his sister deviating away from him and her family. Yet he had met his end before he could take her away from them completely.

And right then, Timothy Drake seemed another man ready to follow in his predecessor's footsteps.

But Romero wasn't the sort of person who would repeat his past mistake.

So he decided to nip the evil in the bud. Hence he had called Tim over to have a word with him personally.

Tim had been worried about the proposition and told Bruce about it, fitting a tracker and a recorder in his clothes so that they could make sure nothing bad happened to Tim.

Plus they could get the information they needed as well and it would be better if it was recorded in Romero's voice itself. But it was a heavy risk that even Tim was worried about taking.

Right then, he was sitting across from Romero Donnelley who was smoking a cigarette, his dark brown eyes focused on him intently.

Tim was counting the minutes in his head, unnerved by the silence.

"So you are dating my sister?" He asked, at last, his eyes relentless as he kept his stare on him.

"I am..." Tim replied but felt quite intimidated.

He could see right then why so many people were scared of Romero Donnelley. He had that clear aura warning people to steer clear of his way or suffer his wrath.

And right then, he was in the full focus and range of his wrath.

"Why her?" He asked, "you don't look the type of boy who would catch the fancy of my sister."

Tim noticed his tone was very possessive while talking about Roxanne. Not once had he taken her name but kept referring to her as his sister. 

"I don't know, sir. I think to date it isn't required to look like someone's type of preferred company."

Romero looked amused, "in all that I have seen of you, I feel like you are a good kid. Why are you ruining yourself by staying with her? You shouldn't."

That was a first. Out of all the things he could have expected Romero to say to him, that one wasn't on the list.

He had leaned closer as if about to tell him a secret but the crazed glint in his eyes made Tim feel even more anxious, "do you know what happened to her last boyfriend?"

"No..."

"It was all over the news. But the wrong version of the story," his smirk was even more terrifying than his stare, "the boy was just like you. Young, charming, and too good for her. I warned him too, you know. He didn't listen."

Tim knew what he was about to say could either provoke Romero into a confession or an outburst, "didn't mean you should kill him."

However, his words had quite the opposite effect as he laughed, the sound of it making Tim's hair stand up on one end. He looked as if he had been told a hilarious joke and he couldn't contain his amusement. When he finally overcame the laughing fit, he patted his cheek lightly as one would do with a child.

Tim recoiled instinctively but couldn't understand the reason behind his strange reaction. But he had a feeling that he was about to find out.

"I didn't kill Adrian, she did," Romero remarked and that confession made his blood run cold.

Tim had searched the case himself and seen all there was to it that he could access, including the pictures marking the wounds the man had received that resulted in his death.

Adrian Castellan had been shot multiple times until his torso had been riddled with bullet holes. If Romero wasn't lying and Roxanne had been the one to do the deed then she was much more ruthless than he expected.

"And if you let this slip from your pretty mouth, I will kill you this once," he threatened, crushing the cigarette and standing up to leave himself. "Consider this your first and last warning, Timothy. You will be responsible for whatever happens to you from now onwards. The choice is yours."

***