"The name Zucco carried all the darkness and misery of Melinda's childhood. It wasn't a mark of family, but a shackle that had bound her for half her life."
Dick raised a hand and ruffled Miaomiao's hair, his voice softening.
"That's why, after settling the affairs left behind by the Zucco Family, Melinda chose 'Grayson-Lin' as her new surname-half from the biological father who gave her his blood but never knew she existed, and half from the mother who truly loved and cared for her."
This was the new life Melinda had given herself.
"If Melinda chose Grayson as her surname, why do you still pretend you don't know each other?" Miaomiao still didn't quite understand. "Hasn't the Zucco Family already been wiped out? No one can stop you anymore."
If she hadn't happened to hear the name "Grayson" on television today and asked another question, Miaomiao would never have known Dick had an older biological sister named Melinda.
"For Dick Grayson, announcing that we're siblings might be easy. But not for Nightwing, and not for Melinda Grayson-Lin."
Dick's voice was calm, but he stared absently at the cola on the table, as though looking through the dark liquid at something else.
"The Zucco Family was different from Gotham's other major families. They were nowhere near the scale of Falcone or Maroni. They built their fortune on violent extortion and protection rackets, and their organization was loosely structured. That was precisely why they relied on the Zucco name, passed down through generations, to hold their power together. So whether it's the remnants Melinda rooted out, the gangsters who had grudges against Zucco, or even the business owners the Zucco Family once bullied, they'll all turn their eyes on Melinda for different reasons. They watch her like hawks, waiting for her