When Bruce saw Schiller in the interrogation room, he was still wearing a straitjacket and a mask. He had not been cleared of his charges, as Amanda had claimed.
From the look in his eyes, Bruce understood that he had been waiting for him all along. This whole farce was finally due to end.
As Bruce sat across from Schiller, every detail of the entire affair, from beginning to end, began replaying in his mind.
If Bruce had to summarize it, it was that for the first time, he realized that everyone caught up in this situation was arrogant, everyone was idealizing themselves, and no one was perfect.
Bruce believed Schiller was autistic and therefore needed treatment. The treatment was to bind him to himself, ensuring he could never leave ordinary human society, whether Pride wanted freedom or not.
Thomas, Bruce's father, had constructed a scenario in his mind: he was the most important person in Bruce's life, and Bruce could not possibly live well after leaving him. From that, he concluded that Bruce must have gone down the wrong path.
Thomas had failed to conceal that line of thinking. Schiller had caught the crack in his heart, given him more validation, fanned the flames, and made him believe even more firmly in what he had imagined.
And the authority of being a father made him feel that he was doing it for Bruce's own good. So he used violence to force him to bow his head, convinced that his own judgments and advice were unquestionably right, that Bruce had to listen and do as he said, or else he would surely end up even more miserable.
As for Schiller, Bruce's teacher, Pathological Schiller believed he was doing it for Pride's own good. So, without ever asking his opinion, he