𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲.
𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐞
I am the judge, the jury, and the executioner.
Francesca "Frank" Monroe. One of the most successful criminal defense attorneys in the history of Illinois. The woman everyon...
"It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning."
- Seamus Heaney
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I sat back in my chair, watching as Gia—the cyber security expert I'd hired—tapped away on her laptop, eyes focused. She didn't waste time on small talk—something I appreciated.
"So, tell me you've got good news," I said.
"I have some news," she said finally, looking up at me. "Not sure if you'll call it good, but it's... interesting."
I raised an eyebrow, urging her to go on.
"We found where the video came from," she began. "It wasn't a leak from an outside source. It came from hidden surveillance cameras planted in Daniel's penthouse."
I clenched my jaw. "In his own penthouse? You're sure?"
She nodded. "Yeah. All the details match—the room layout, timestamps, angles. Whoever did this was skilled, and they made sure to use hard-to-detect equipment."
I let that sink in, unable to shake the thought that Sergei Ivanov was behind this, the fucker was after my family. "Alright, did you track where those cameras might've come from? Serial numbers, brands... anything?"
Gia frowned and shook her head. "That's where things get complicated. I found the cameras and managed to track down the model number, but whoever set this up used untraceable equipment. I mean, they wiped everything. Nothing in our systems could link back to where they were bought, or even to any known distributor. They might've even been custom-made."
"Custom-made?" I echoed, mulling it over. Sergei did have that kind of power, that kind of money. "That takes skill, connections... serious money."
"Exactly," she confirmed. "I don't want to sound dramatic, but... whoever did this is a serious pro. A genius, I'd have to admit."
I leaned back, crossing my arms as I took it all in. So someone wanted this footage badly enough to set up custom surveillance in Daniel's own place, go undetected, and have the tech savvy to keep it untraceable.
"Perfect," I muttered, running a hand over my jaw. This was the last thing I wanted to hear, but at this point, I wasn't exactly surprised. "So, no easy trail to follow."
"Not yet," she said, shrugging, but there was still a determined look on her face. "But I'll keep digging. I'm working on decrypting some other files that might give us a clue."
"Keep me posted, then," I said. "And find out every single thing you can about those cameras, even if you have to pull out tricks you don't want me knowing about. I need answers."
Leaving the office, I made my way over to Frankie's place. She'd invited me over for a small dinner celebration to mark her men's recovery and the successful operation that led to Sergei's shipment going up in fucking beautiful flames. She mentioned wanting to show her appreciation for the bit of support my men had given her that night. I respected that about her—how she took the time to acknowledge the people who had her back.
