After Thomas recovered from his initial shock, his first reaction was disbelief.
Leaving aside how likely Batman was to borrow money from the Joker, the amount alone was completely wrong.
How could Bruce Wayne possibly not even have a hundred dollars???
But then Jason stepped forward, picked up the IOU Jack had slapped onto the table, examined it, and said, "That really is Bruce's handwriting. Let me see who the guarantor is... Oh, Root, an East End gang boss. I vaguely remember him."
Thomas's fingertips trembled slightly as he stared at Jason. Jason looked back at him with an innocent expression and said, "A while ago, Bruce seemed to have gone to the Slums. I heard Selene complaining before, saying, 'Why would Young Master do something so foolish as to go hungry in the Slums?'"
Judging from Jason's actions and expression, he did not seem to be lying. After reaching that conclusion, Thomas found it almost impossible to describe how he felt.
The feeling was indeed complicated. Without an example, it was hard for anyone to truly empathize.
To put it another way, imagine you had a sworn enemy. Since childhood, he had bullied you, stolen your toys and allowance, then, once you started school, led the whole class in isolating and bullying you. After you began working, he incited your colleagues and superiors to ostracize you.
You wanted to stay away from him, but he followed you like a shadow, constantly harassing all your family and friends until he drove them mad.
Burning with rage, you wanted to kill him, only to discover that he could not die. Any attempt at revenge would only bring even more frenzied and bloody retaliation.
In the end, he made everyone you cared about most suffer terribly, turning you into someone truly alone