Trapped : The Island of Torment

Chapter 30 : A Grandfather's Love (1)

The living room of Wayne Manor was nearly deserted, save for one man who was alone in the room, sitting on an armchair. Uriah Kim, family patriarch of the Kim Family and grandfather to Isabella Reagan, sat alone in contemplation. He had one hand stretched along the headrest and one leg tilted, perched above another leg, as he contemplated the recent tragedies that had befallen his beloved granddaughter. He regretted that he wasn't there for his daughter Alice for several years due to him being away at the war front in Vietnam when she was born. Hence, when Alice died young in a car crash that left her daughter and only child without a mother Uriah stepped in to care for her, well aware that since her father had seemingly abandoned her, Isabella needed a parental figure to help her through this difficult period. 

He encouraged her to pursue what she wanted to learn, having long abandoned the approach of 'tough love' as it does not seem to work in the American children that he knew of that their parents used this method to raise them. Isabella was one of two granddaughters born to him and his beloved wife Kassandra, with Candice being the oldest, born to their first son Liam, and Isabella came two years later, born to their first child and daughter Alice. Uriah had reluctantly approved of her marriage to the infamous playboy, even though he promised to look after his daughter. He began cheating when Alice became pregnant with Isabella, which greatly wounded her when she found out. 

Still, Alice endured the pain and gave birth to a healthy baby girl, whom she named and baptized as Isabella, despite the name Elizabeth being a clear favourite. Their marriage had begun to show cracks when she found out that he was cheating on her, and she did not attend the events that were related to his company, preferring to stay home and spend time with their little girl. She had known that he would flirt with more women at the parties, and did not attend them as he always did it with or without her by his side. Alice did not cheat in retaliation and asked for a divorce when their daughter turned six years old. The divorce proceedings and custody of their daughter were handled in closed-door hearings but the press still caught on. 

The divorce was finalized and joint custody was awarded to both of them, Alice took Isabella to London, taking up residence in the residence reserved for the Ambassador of South Korea to the United Kingdom, while she served as ambassador for four years. She always shared the memories she had with the child with the family, whether it was ice skating in Hyde Park, or travelling around in the country, from South to North or North to South. To Alice, Isabella is now the centre of her world, and she worked hard to provide for her daughter a happy childhood after her divorce from her ex-husband. 

As an adult Isabella had to go through events that left a mark on her, such as losing her friends on the battlefield in the Afghan desert and surviving from combat when Selina Kyle had tried to steal the Ibiza Diamond from the New York Metropolitan Museum under the alias Catwoman. Despite her wounds Isabella defeated her by punching her below her jaw and shattering the goggles she wore as part of her costume. Isabella was saved by his grandson and her cousin Chan-yeol, and enlisted the help of Min-ho, her childhood friend. As the IT genius he left behind the footage of Selina Kyle breaking into the museum, scrubbing the rest including the battle while Min-ho ensured that no traces of Isabella's blood were left by scrubbing the area clean. But he deliberately left the pieces of the goggles behind and when he visited the scene again as a member of the NYPD, the authorities discovered that Catwoman was behind this.

Uriah was worried when he received the news from Chan-yeol, also known as Chan to the family, and he departed from Seoul to visit Isabella post-haste. He comforted her and reassured her that she already did her best by stopping the crime from happening. 

Isabella followed in his footsteps years later when she worked for the FBI, but the woman who injured her also made her return. When Isabella informed him that her childhood friend Bruce Wayne was back in the United States Uriah didn't seem worried until she added that Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne were lovers, where things went bad for Isabella. The name isn't a stranger for Uriah, as his daughter also includes some of her daughter's friends in the memories she shared with them. He did not know what to make of him as he had not yet met him, but soon he became ambivalent towards him when Isabella was unfortunately involved in several accidents. 

Isabella had generally put her foot down when it came to relationships, that is not to fall in love with any man who already had a partner. But she was frustrated that Bruce was always asking her out or contacting her for conversations, as she herself found out that he and Selina Kyle were lovers, and had stuck to her guns in not seeing him despite their friendship. Her effort to distance herself from her friend did not work, as years after they reunited, Isabella lay dying on the interstate highway because Selina Kyle had deliberately caused the crash that nearly killed her, having purposely stopped a sports car in front of her motorcycle so that she would crash into it. 

Uriah was angered when he heard the news and lashed out, taking out his anger on multiple martial arts mannequins. It is clear now, despite Isabella's attempt to distance herself from Bruce, Selina Kyle will continue to harm her. Their relationship is unhealthy for all to see, with the constant break-up and make-up, not to mention they have different lives and goals, he is a vigilante helping to deliver justice to the city he loved, while she is a cat burglar through and through, who had never seemed to change her ways when they became romantically involved.