𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗲

1 - The City Of Savages.

"I have struck a city—a real city—and they call it Chicago... I urgently desire never to see it again. It is inhabited by savages."

- Rudyard Kipling

This was a man's world—rough and ruthless. But somehow, I fit right in, like the last piece of a complicated puzzle.

Chicago underworld was ruthless, but even it couldn't hold a single fucking candle to the raw, unfiltered ferocity I brought to the table.

I was born into this seething nest of corruption, and I thrived in it. My foster father was a man with an insatiable thirst for power and my biological mother was a legal genius whose brilliance shaped the very way I saw the world. I spent my days brushing shoulders with Chicago's most infamous, defending their names in the court of law while my foster father ruled over them them in the court of life. Our rule was both feared and respected, making our legacy as strong as the Windy City itself.

Being raised in a mafia household didn't leave much room for innocence. While other kids were playing cops and thieves, I was studying constitutional law and acing mock trials. I learned early that the law wasn't about right and wrong—it was your best weapon if you knew how to use it. I was bred to become the legal fortress that my father needed to defend his empire.

My name's Francesca Monroe—Frank to those who knew me—and I wasn't just a lawyer. I was the puppeteer behind the curtain, pulling the strings of the criminal justice system, playing god in this empire of the damned. In this lawless city where shadows hid killers and every alley reeked of blood, we were the predators and this, this was our hunting ground.

Stepping into the courthouse felt like walking onto a battlefield, but my weapons weren't swords—they were a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue. I could bend the truth so seamlessly that even the jury couldn't tell right from wrong. The law was my playground, and every lawyer knew it, which made them fear me.

Take today, for example. Angelo De Laurentiis—head of the infamous New York Five Families—was standing trial for two murder charges under the RICO Act. The man was untouchable in the criminal underworld, a successor to the legendary Giuseppe "Il Fabbro" Capano, whose death shook the mafia like an earthquake. De Laurentiis had inherited the throne, but now he was in danger of losing it all. For months, I had fought tooth and nail for his innocence. The evidence was stacked against us, but I had built a case so airtight, even the government was sweating.

Then, the moment of reckoning arrived.

"All rise," the bailiff's voice rang through the crowded courtroom as the judge returned.

Everyone rose to their feet. The room was silent as the grave. The judge made his way back to his seat. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" he asked.

"Yes, we have, your honor," responded the jury's foreman. She passed the slip of paper to the bailiff who relayed it to the judge.