Chapter 247 - Snowy Night Campfire (Part 2)_1

Upon entering the Cobblepot Manor, both Victor and Shiller were taken aback—the place looked as if it had been bombed.

Looking down at the pool of blood in the lobby, Victor yelled, "Oswald!! Are you here? Oswald Cobblepot!... Cobblepot!"

Shiller gripping his shoulder pointed at the blood trail, "In the bathroom."

Victor rushed across the hall into the bathroom, where he saw Cobblepot leaning against the corner wall, his face pale, covered in blood.

He quickly moved inside, shaking Cobblepot a little. His eyes fell upon Cobblepot's left shoulder and arm where there was a deep wound, reaching the bone. There were injuries all over his body. In his right hand, he clutched a cell phone – it must have been the one he used to call Victor.

"What on earth happened here? Where's your mother? Where is Mrs. Old Cobblepot?"

At the mention of his mother, Cobblepot's head stirred, a sound like that of a skipping disk came from his throat: "Second floor… bedroom…"

"You stay with him, I'll go and check."

With that, Shiller ascended from the bathroom towards the second floor, navigating the narrow corridor and creaky staircase that led to a room reeking even more strongly of blood.

Entering the bedroom on the second floor, Shiller saw the frail Mrs. Old Cobblepot lying on her bed, one of her hands resting on the bedsheets, half-drenched by the blood. Upon closer inspection, Shiller realized she must've slit her wrist about an hour ago.

However, the wound had stopped bleeding now. Shiller leaned in to examine the deep cut. The slashing was done wrong, and the blood had started to clot. He felt her chest and discovered that her heartbeat and breathing were still strong.

Clearly, Mrs. Cobblepot had intended to commit suicide through the wrist-slitting method. Her resolve was firm, yet her lack of knowledge cost her the expected outcome. Shiller took out a syringe, injecting her with a dose of healing serum. Seeing the healing effect begin, Shiller rose up and walked downstairs.

Victor also had the healing injection Shiller had given him. Just as Shiller entered the bathroom, Victor was about to put away the syringe. Soon, Cobblepot regained consciousness.

Crouching beside him, Victor sighed and asked, "What the hell happened here? Why didn't you call me sooner?"

Cobblepot stared blankly at the ceiling, Shiller stood by his side. The shadow from the light overhead fell upon Cobblepot's body. He turned his eyes towards Shiller, who told him, "Your mother is fine."

Cobblepot closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. There was an expression of despair and fatigue on his face - one that shouldn't be seen on a child his age. Victor sighed and didn't mind the blood stains on his body as he lifted him from the floor and brought him to the living room's couch.

Although Victor is just a scholar, it was clear that Cobblepot was even weaker. It didn't take much effort to heave Cobblepot onto the couch. Seeing the disheveled state of Cobblepot, Victor stood beside the couch and told Shiller, "Watch him, I'll go get his coat."

Shiller sat on the other side of the couch, straightened his sleeve. Cobblepot's expression was somewhat dull, and he appeared even more gloomy than he usually was.

When Victor came back, holding a coat, and draped it over Cobblepot, Shiller was on the phone with Gordon. Soon, Gordon arrived, still in his uniform, bringing with him the damp chill of the outside. Seeing the situation inside the Manor, his hand flew to his forehead, "Professor Shiller, what are you up to? What did you do this time???"

Within ten minutes, they got Cobblepot and Mrs. Cobblepot into the car, and headed to the hospital.

Thanks to the Lizard Serum Injection Shiller had acquired from Doctor Connors, by the time they arrived at the hospital, Mrs. Cobblepot's life was no longer in danger. However, she did somewhat overbleed and needed hospital observation. The younger Cobblepot's wounds were already healing and didn't require medical treatment.

Then they all returned to the Cobblepot Manor after the exhausting ordeal. Each of them soaked from the rain, it was past 3 a.m., so dark in Gotham that they couldn't see their hands in front of their faces, and the rain was getting heavier.

"It's a bit cold, let's have a hot cup of tea."

Two minutes later, Victor stood in the messy kitchen, he managed to dig out a kettle from a cupboard but faced with a stove piled up with miscellaneous items, he was at a loss.

Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him. Turning around, he saw Cobblepot making his way into the kitchen, stepping over the pile of clutter at the entrance and offering, "I'll do it."

Cobblepot looked down, his expression concealed from Victor who handed him the kettle, "Go ahead."

Shiller did not sit on the couch any more, instead, he squatted on the ground with interest, examining the scattered items. He gently wiped his fingers on the dusty floor, saying, "Seems like these things were scattered at different times."

"These bloodstains..." There were about four or five spots of blood in the hall, but they were small, more like unintentional drips. The only considerable amount of blood that was scary to behold, was the pool they saw upon their arrival, which hadn't dried yet.

"Did it worsen?" Shiller mumbled to himself as the hot water was ready. Cobblepot walked over carrying a tray.

It was a carved wooden tray, and the cups on it were exquisite ceramics. However, paired with his threadbare clothes and frail figure, it was a bit comical.

Victor took a cup from him and gave one to Shiller. Shiller looked inside his cup and it was clear water. After setting down the tray, Cobblepot awkwardly rubbed the hem of his shirt and said, "I ran out of tea, I haven't been out to buy it."

Victor took a sip of the hot water, waved his hand for Kolbott to sit down, and asked with great concern, "What on earth happened? Didn't you say that after taking the medicine, your mother was much better?"

Kolbott had calmed down somewhat. He traced the handle of the cup, which had a piece missing. When his fingers grazed the spot, his lips tightened into a bitter smile. "Yes... she was indeed much better."

Shiller took a sip of the hot water. The warm liquid flowed from his chest, making him feel better. As Kolbott's gaze fell on him, he returned the look. The calm strength in the man's eyes seemed to relax Kolbott a little.

"After being discharged from the hospital, I returned to work in Living Hell. Most parts of Gotham were frozen solid, even under Living Hell."

"The tap water system here was damaged from the cold. In order to have usable water, I had to lead the former members of the Mob into repairing the tap water system."

"We did well, even though some core devices were beyond my understanding, I could still manage the repairs on the pipes and wiring..."

"Everyone needs water, and everyone's hopes were pinned on me. Soon, I gained a great reputation among the Mob here and made quite a sum of money."

"Thanks to the advanced water filtration system installed beneath Living Hell, our tap water system was repaired faster than other places. As a result, we were able to begin selling water to the residents of other areas earlier..."

Kolbott spoke about it calmly, but Victor looked at him in shock, "I didn't know that you had the ability to be involved in the Mob and business dealings."

"He certainly does, otherwise, he wouldn't have made it this far." Shiller took another sip of his water.

"Working with the Mob, earning them money, they all trusted me. My situation was getting better, so..."

Kolbott glanced at Shiller, to which he responded, "Are you doubting me? But I want to tell you that the medicine I prescribed to your mother was appropriate."

Kolbott shook his head, "No, I am not doubting the medicine. In fact, it was very effective, especially when my mother was in a state of hysteria."

"After taking the medicine for a while, she became more and more lucid. And one night, we sat by the bed talking about the old times. She remembered fragments from my childhood. We haven't talked like that in a long time."

"Then what happened?" Victor asked in confusion, "If her condition improved, how could she..."

Kolbott's body began to tremble, his eyes reddening, his voice shaky, "It's because she came back to her senses, it's because..."

He swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and said, "Before we started medicinal treatment, she was quite mad."

"In the beginning, I was unable to handle her. I had to wait for her to tire out and get water, but this symptom became harsher over time. She started attacking me..."

Victor turned his head, looking at the dried traces of blood on the floor. Kolbott clutched his hands together, tightly intertwined fingers, "At first, she just threw things at me, causing my ear to bleed a little..."

"Then, she started wielding a knife around recklessly. I was afraid she'd hurt herself, so I tried to disarm her..."

"My arms and legs were cut, but luckily the wounds weren't too deep. I bandaged myself up and stashed the stained clothes away."

"But then..." Kolbott's voice trembled more and more, a whimper creeping into his voice that Victor could detect.

"After starting the medicinal treatment, I did my best to clean up the blood in the house. But I was busy back then, with so many things waiting for me, so many people relying on me to earn money to buy medicine. I couldn't take care of my wounds, and in my hurry to tidy up I missed some stains of blood that got buried under piles of clutter."

"After my mother regained her senses, one night while I was asleep, she went into my room. One of my arms was outside the blanket which she saw and asked about the wounds..."

"I didn't dare tell her."

"When I came back home tonight, I found the house like this. The old blood stains were all exposed, and the blood-stained clothes were found, too. The strong smell of blood hit me, and when I went upstairs, I found... my mother had slit her wrists."

Kolbott's trembling lips couldn't form any words anymore. Tears were streaming down his face, and Victor, clutching his cup, trembled a little. He heard Kolbott continue, "Before you woke me up, my last memory... was entering the bedroom where there was so much blood..."

"Then why were you in the bathroom on the first floor?"

"He was probably having an episode." Shiller told Victor, "That wound on his shoulder was most likely self-inflicted."

"He must have seen his mother's suicide, been unable to take the shock, staggered downstairs, cut himself with the dinner knife, then left a trail of blood in the hall and the couch, before he ran into the bathroom..."

"But what's fortunate is..." Shiller turned to Kolbott, "you still had a touch of sensibility left in you to pick up your phone and call Victor."