Novel & Cerita Batman: The Black Casebook

"Pack life is... less inhibited than human society." Inside the bag, they found several leather-bound volumes with ancient-looking symbols embossed on their covers, a small wooden box carved with lunar phases, and a sealed envelope addressed to "Detective Richard O'Connor, Newly Awakened." "Your brother has a flair for the dramatic," Rick observed, holding up the envelope. "All Blackwoods do," Nathaniel said with a hint of amusement. "It's practically genetic." Casie shot him a look but couldn't deny the truth of it. "Open the letter first. Knowing Liam, it's a roadmap to everything else."

"Arthur Blackstone was carved from ice. Grandfather’s perfect heir. Ruthless. Demanding. Emotion was… weakness. A flaw to be excised." He took a shuddering breath, his eyes still glued to the floor. "He had a pocket watch. Solid platinum. Cold. Heavy." Damien’s own hand instinctively went to his vest pocket, where he usually kept his own, a modern, sleek piece. "He’d tap it. On the desk. On the dinner table. “Tick. Tick. Tick.” Every second accounted for. Every minute is measured against productivity, against achievement, against the Blackwood standard." His voice gained a haunted quality.

She fidgeted in her seat, her eyes darting anxiously to the entrance each time someone walked in, her heart leaping with false hope again and again. Until finally—A man in a tailored business suit entered. “I’m sorry for the delay,” he said, approaching the officers. “The boss is currently in a meeting. I was sent as his representative.” Belle looked up. Her heart sank. It wasn’t him. “This is the CEO’s black card,” the manager explained eagerly, showing it to the man. “We recognize it anywhere. Only a few people in the country own one. Yet today, it was used by… her.” His tone carried thinly veiled disdain.