"Do you remember this cane? At 9:32 p.m. on May 22, forty-two minutes after the Casino Massacre ended, in the study,
you used it to crack my jaw.
"After that, it struck my back five times in a row. The brass owl's beak at its tip tore through my flesh, leaving scars that are still clearly visible."
Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot took off his top hat and handed it to his bodyguard. Drawing a handkerchief from his breast pocket, he gently wiped the Owl Cane as he approached Maroni, step by unhurried step.
"I wasn't originally one to hold grudges, but fortunately, I had a good teacher. One night, he told me: remember the pain that tore your flesh open. At some point in the future, repay it to your tormentors a hundred, a thousand times over. In that moment, your soul will be elevated."
"He was right. When I returned to the Cobblepot Family and shot William, Jason, and Robert in the head, one after another, in front of everyone, I felt that nothing in this world could ever hurt me again.
"Incidentally, the first two were my half brothers, and the last was my uncle. These men had been secretly embezzling the family's assets for over a decade. I have reason to believe that my father's chronic illness was also their handiwork."
Oswald reached Maroni.
Unlike before, he no longer needed to look up at him. Anyone who tried to stand straight while speaking to him would meet the same fate Maroni was about to suffer.
He swung his cane and shattered Maroni's left knee.
The sharp crack of breaking bone lasted only an instant. In the blink of an eye, Maroni collapsed into the waterlogged alley, rolling and howling.
"Thank you for the coldness and cruelty you've bestowed