This story is a dark romance. As the summary mentions, Fitz is part of a crime family so don't expect him to be some White Knight. He wasn't in the show and he isn't going to be in this story. There will be some scenes that I'm sure will make people uncomfortable, especially as we get to the 'M' part of this story, and I will denote those in an author's note at the beginning of those chapters.
"The devil that you know
Looks now more like an angel" - Taylor Swift
Prologue
2 Days Before Trial
"Where were you on April 29, 2024 at approximately 1:30 pm?"
Olivia swallowed, her palms sweaty against the smooth, polished wood railing that surrounded the witness stand she was currently occupying. Her eyes darted across the courtroom, across the expanse of empty seats. Her mind was quick to fill in the seats, supplying her with a worst case scenario of what the courtroom would look like on the big day.
It's not the worst case scenario. The voice in the back of her mind helpfully supplied and her hands began shaking as she acknowledged that truth. It was the trial of the year - the trial of her father's career. Every last seat would be packed and the gallery would be swarming with journalists. So many eyes and ears trained on her, the prosecution's star witness.
"Olivia." Her father came to stand directly in front of the stand, a harsh, disapproving tone to his voice as he said her name. Nothing unusual there.
Her heart thundered against her chest. All the people that would be here to see her dad finally, finally put a member of the Big Five behind bars; to finally contain one of the boogeyman that had plagued New York City for decades.
And the whole thing hinged on one witness.
On her.
"Olivia, focus!" Eli slapped his hand against the railing between her own, causing her to jump. "Everything relies on you playing your part. So, damnit, play it."
As if she didn't already know that. Taking a trembling breath, she began:
"On April 29 at 10:58 pm, I was leaving the library when I heard someone yelling. I didn't think anything of it at first because, New York, you know? But then the yelling turned into gunshots and…"
"And what, Olivia?" Her dad still sounded frustrated, like that infamous temper of his forever on a short leash.
"I hid in the park. Just long enough for whoever it was to leave so I could go home. But then they started running through the park and…"
"And?" Again, her father interrupted her, raising a brow like he was challenging her to change her story now.
Taking another deep breath, she continued: "And I saw Fitzgerald Grant shoot Cyrus Beene. Once in the chest and once in the head."
"Don't forget that Mr. Beene tried crawling away prior to being shot in the head." Eli pinched the bridge of his nose, his tone exasperated.
"Anything else?" Her knees knocked together, the bench she was sitting on practically vibrating with her nerves.
"Relax, Olivia." Eli rolled his eyes. "Why were you at the library so late?"
"Midterms were coming up. I was nervous about them. It's my first year of law school." She placed her hands under her thighs and glanced to her right, at the empty judge's bench. She wondered who it would be on the big day. Probably Andrew. Her dad liked Andrew and her dad normally got his way.
Eli nodded along with Olivia's answers, turning his head in the direction of Olivia's ever wandering gaze.
"It's Andrew," he confirmed and Olivia nodded.
"Anything else?" She slowly slid her gaze back toward her dad, breathing still a pace too fast as he finally allowed the tension to leave his shoulders just a fraction.
"A little more gusto next time, kid, and they might actually believe you."