The clues near the entrance had led up to this point, Shiller speculated, Bruce had probably taken the little girl home, but for some unknown reasons, this little girl and Elsa ran out in the rain, and Elsa chased her back.
At that moment, Bruce probably felt very angry and reprimanded Elsa; she got upset and ran out, and Alfred chased after her.
Shiller returned to where Bruce was lying on the couch and saw a letter on the coffee table, which was in Dick's handwriting.
As he had been tutoring Dick, Shiller recognized his handwriting. The letter said that Dick's studies were too busy to return home for a few days due to staying at school.
Shiller held the letter and furrowed his brow. Busy studying? How busy could a middle school workload be? Moreover, Dick didn't even like studying; he preferred attending school without residing on the premise, so he wouldn't be monitored by teachers for his homework.
Shiller glanced at Bruce, who was frowning even in sleep. He knew that Bruce probably had some conflicts with Dick, which resulted in Dick's unwillingness to come home.
Shiller had seen this day coming. Describing Bruce's character was complicated. A day was bound to come when he would fail to communicate with Dick, but he did not expect it to come so quickly.
He had some guesses about why they had a disagreement. After all, he had witnessed Bruce's attitude towards those rescued kids and knew better where the crux of the problems lied among them.
For an abused child, frequent changes in the environment are extremely unfavorable, which could lead to more severe stress responses.
Previously, Cobblepot rescued them and placed them in the basement of a pub, then Bruce sent them to the hospital, and then he brought this little girl home. During these processes, the hospital environment could greatly stimulate these children.
Luxurious restaurants and manors are more acceptable to them, mainly because everything here, though refined, is originally familiar to them.
For instance, a chair with elegant patterns is still a chair; they have a concept of these things in their minds. They know that a chair is for sitting, a table is for placing things, and a bed is for sleeping.
Still, a hospital is different. There are so many things they have never encountered before, like: could the pole used for hanging an infusion bottle be a new weapon? What are the nurses doing with syringes in their hands? Why does everyone keep looking at them? Why do they have to change their clothes? Why should they lie in bed?
All these unknowns would greatly impact them, and this little girl was more pitiful. She had just gotten out of that environment and arrived in another unfamiliar one; by this step, she might have lost all her clear consciousness.
Shiller found some traces in the corner of the room that looked like the little girl had been hiding there, but it was not hard to see that Bruce had followed her there.
Apparently, virtually all of Bruce's measures for this little girl were wrong. His over-attention and closeness added enormous pressure.
For children who have been mentally abused, their understanding of the world is twisted. What seems very normal to normal people may be very terrifying to them.
For instance, when an adult walks towards them, it means they may get beaten. When a person pushes them onto the bed, it implies something more horrifying may happen.
When a person keeps talking to them, it could mean they would be thrown out. When someone holds their hands, talking to another person, it intimates that they might be sold.
Such associations already exist in their minds, so these actions would further stimulate them.
Shiller traced Bruce's behavioral trajectory in his mind. Apparently, this little girl had completely lost her sanity under constant stress, and she could only protect herself instinctively.
Considering her physical condition, Shiller believed that she should be active for no more than three hours. Then she would pass out, and after fainting, she should be sent back to the room to sleep.
But the much scarier thing was that when she wakes up and finds herself in a new and unfamiliar environment, the degree of stimulation would be even more intense.
They will not understand what "sleeping in the bedroom" or "eating in the dining room" means. They would only feel trapped in a terrifying whirlpool, unable to extricate themselves.
And the only thing they can do at this point is to run away.
Shiller didn't know exactly how the little girl managed to run out of Wayne Manor, but it is without any doubt, she must have succeeded in escaping. However, Elsa also ran out after her.
Elsa drove the girl back to Wayne Manor, but then, Bruce made another wrong decision.
He thought he had made progress with the little girl. However, at the blink of an eye, she got caught in the rain, developed a severe fever again, almost ran away, which meant the previous progress had entirely vanished. Not only were they back at square one, they were in an even worse position.