Never Judge

"I thought I was safe because she was a woman." Francesca said with a frown. "And above all I thought I was safe because she was a friend."

Cedric watched as Ram held Francesca tighter, giving her physical support through a tough time.

"Sometimes people pretend to be someone that they are not, I had been sick and tired of suspecting everyone of harboring evil intentions against me" Francesca told them as she looked around the room.

"I had grown up in a family where you were taught not to trust lightly. Among the underworld you needed to see what a person's true intentions were, that's what I was brought up to believe." Francesca said. "Everyone wears masks, it's up to you to see through them. That's what my father always told me."

As she said this she looked Ray in the eyes and gave him a nod. Ray as the King of the Underworld and coming from the family that had held that position for generations knew this fact the best.

Among the underbelly of society, you never knew who you could trust. There were people at every corner that wanted to take you down and to take whatever power and wealth you had. 

"For once I wanted to trust, and I made a huge mistake." Francesca said with a frown.

"Francesca, it wasn't your fault." Ayanna said with a sympathetic look on her face. 

"To be honest, it was only with Ram that I ever felt truly safe, and  it was only with this group that I've felt that I can truly trust again." Fracesca said.

"I am happy you feel that way around us." Ram said as he planted a kiss on Francesca's head.

"I trusted Louisse, and she broke my trust." Francesca told them in an angry tone. "I was weak and vulnerable back then."

"She helped me to my room, then tied me up." Francesca said, still angry as she told her story. "I tried to fight, I tried to get free, I was not physically weak, but she had placed something in my drink that made me lose my strength."

"A rape drug." Veronica said with a gasp.

Francesca simply nodded at her. 

"Not only was I weak but I could feel my body reacting in a way I didn't want it to." Francesca said with a frown. "I really tried to fight it off, but Louisse had tied me up and was cutting my clothes. I was screaming at her to let me go, so she decided to make me take more of whatever drug she had given me."

"Francesca. . ." Adrianna said with a gasp as she realized how badly Louisse had harmed Francesca.

"I was drowsy and I felt wrong, I tried to scream then she slapped me, she hit me and held a knife to my neck. She told me if I fought her she would kill me and make it look like I committed suicide." Francesca confessed. 

"At that time people would have believed it, I had been so depressed because of his death that I would have taken my life." Francesca frowned as she recalled the memory.

"I'm sorry you have to go through that, love." Ram said as she kept holding Francesca, supporting her in any way he could.

"When I stopped fighting, that's when she touched me." Francesca said as tears fell from her eyes. "She touched me and placed things in me and took photos and videos, I cried and cried throughout the whole ordeal."

"She raped you and used it against you?" Katerina asked details of Francesca's horrible experience came to light.

"Yes." Francesca nodded. "When I finally regained control of my body I washed myself, I desperately tried to wash her off me. I cried so much and I was so tempted to end my pain. I just wanted it gone."

Francesca turned to Ram and began to sob into his chest.

Cedric felt like his heart was being ripped into a thousand pieces as they all felt Francesca's pain in her words. Cedric was not the only one that felt the pain, he watched as his wife wiped the tears from her eyes and the other men clenched their hands in anger.

After a few minutes Francesca finally managed to gather herself and wiped the tears off of her face. 

"We can stop if you want." Cedric told her in a worried tone. "I don't want you pushing yourself beyond what you are prepared to share." He said with a frown.

"I'm alright, Ced." Francesca told him with a sad smile.

"Will you continue?" Ram asked her as he looked worriedly at his girlfriend.

Francesca nodded and took a deep breath.

"At first all she wanted was for me to set her up with certain people I had worked with in the past. She would come with me to a party and I would introduce her around, it was simple." Francesca frowned as she recounted her experience.

"Later on she wanted more." Francesca said. "A dinner with a particular director, a date with a designer, she wanted people to see her and know her and she used me."

"So she became popular after she used you?" Cedric asked.

"Yes, but it wasn't just me." Francesca explained. "She had a lot of people under her control, I didn't know who exactly, but it seems that Selina was one of them."

Francesca looked towards Selina. The designer simply nodded, acknowledging that she was one of them.

"So this really was an international conspiracy on her end?" Cedric asked.

"Yes. And we only have the guts to speak up now because we have you to protect us, we have this group." Francesca said, almost breaking into tears again.

"She is a dangerous and vile person, she cannot be allowed to keep hurting and using people." Selina told Cedric.

"We need to get rid of her in order to truly beat Lucius too." Camilla added. "She is probably fifty percent of his ideas."

"With his resources that makes her even more dangerous." Cedric said with a frown as he began to think of a plan to take Lucius and Louisse down.