Panic. Shock. Fear.

Those were the first adjectives to run through the mind of the young Anna. Sorrow would come later, but it'd come.

She'd known for a while now that one day, this would happen. She hadn't expected for it to be so soon, or so sudden, but she knew it'd arrive.

She couldn't say, hand on heart, that she and her mother had been incredibly close. Her mother had moved out into Chicago soon after her tenth birthday, leaving her in the New Hampshire countryside, to be brought up by an Aunt. Her mother wrote often, and called when she could, but she always said that Chicago was too dangerous for her to visit. That she'd be in too much danger.

Why then, had she opened THAT letter the evening before - the one that had changed everything - and found that the world she thought she knew was to change forever?

It'd been late when her Aunt knocked on the door to her room. Usually a late sleeper, right enough, she'd just put her book aside and blown out the candle by her bed. The book. In her hasty packing, she'd left it on her nightstand. God only knew if she'd ever get chance to retrieve it. Probably not, she suspected.

Her Aunt had rushed in through the door, tears rolling down her face. Choking back sobs, she informed Anna that her mother had been killed the night before. Shot down by the man she used to work for. All her Aunt knew was that there was some kind of war gone on. She'd passed Anna a letter, written to her by her mother before she'd left for Chicago.

A single tear rushing down her face, Anna tore open the letter and began to read.

And as she read, she knew, that at the age of 20, her life was not going to be what she expected. She'd been training to be a lawyer, but that would never be now. Although, perhaps some of what she'd learned in the courtroom would pay off.

My little Anna,

If you're reading this later, it means that my time in this world has drawn to a close.

And that, sweetheart, means that your time has come.

There's a lot you didn't know about me, about my line of work, about what I did that made Chicago such a dangerous place for you.

It's time you knew. I ran an organized crime family, out of North Side, Chicago. I made a good living, enough to send money home these last years to keep you safe and make sure you got yourself a good eduction. You needed it. Because now, it's your turn to step up and join the world of crime.

That's how it works, in this world. From mother to daughter, from father to son. Stay strong. Keep your head up, and your wits about you. You can do it.

Love,

Mom.

"So... that's it then" she'd muttered out loud.

She knew she had to go. She knew that was the way the world worked. She'd heart bits of stories of her ancestors that now made some kind of fucked up sense.

Sighing, she went to inform her Aunt of her decision, before packing a few items into a small rucksack - a few changes of clothes, til she settled in. A picture of herself and her mother, right before she left. Some old diaries, left to her by her mother, containing the writings of her ancestors. And the emergency key, that she now knew was to allow her into her mothers old apartment, where she was sure she'd find much of the rest of the things she was likely to need - money, maybe a few more items of clothing, stuff of that nature.

Early the next morning, she and her Aunt had made their way down to the local train station. She'd hugged her Aunt goodbye, with few words of love and thanks, knowing she'd never see the old lady again. She boarded her train, and stared into the clouds through the window as it pulled off, taking her towards Chicago and the world her mother had left behind.

Weary from the trip, she'd spent much of the afternoon going through her mothers apartment. She found a small sum of money and some items of jewellery that she'd surely be able to sell on to keep herself going, a few pretty dresses she'd decided to put into a suitcase and bring with her. The rest, she'd have boxed up and stored. The apartment would be rented out to a new owner. Booking herself a small hotel room for the night, she dropped off her things, and headed shyly out into the streets, wondering what this world would bring to her. Wondering what it'd brought to her mother and grandmother and ancestors even before that.

All she did know, was that she'd try to make her mark.