"Thank you. Your honor, I call Milan Cozart to the stand."

Nicoletta's voice makes the hair on the back of Milan's neck stand up.

"Will the witness please stand to be sworn in by the bailiff." Judge Cortez chimes in again.

Milan stands up from her seat, her hands were sweating so bad she glues them to her side.

Then, Officer Worth steps forward from his place by the wall.

"Please raise your right hand," He asks of her and Milan obeys. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?"

Milan feels seconds away from swooning. The words being spoken to her reverberating in her head loudly, but not loud enough to drown out the sound of her own blood wooshing in her ears.

Her heart felt like it was thundering in her ribcage.

"I do." Milan found the strength to respond amongst all the noise going on inside of her.

Nicoletta motions for her to approach the witness stand. Milan steps out from the seat row she was in and steps into the aisle. She feels as if every satellite in space is now pointed at her as she walks. Her heels against the waxed hardwood floors of the court room the only sound being made.

When she reaches the witness stand, she opens the short dutch door and seats herself inside the boxed-in chair. Once she's done so, she realizes just how many people were in the room.

There were the 12 jurors in the back in their own closed off section. The jury was mostly white women, there were at least 4 of them, two white men, two black women, one black man, and three other men Milan couldn't quite place in a box.

Then there was Valerie and Yvonne, sitting close to the back on the other side. Milan could tell they were trying their best to look comforting and unworried, but Yvonne's eyes looked like they could burst into tears at any second and Valerie's smile looked more apologetic than happy.

A scattering of uniformed police officers sat in front of them and then finally on the first bench, was the prosecution. William, the sharp suit, looked like he wanted to see through her more than look at her. His gaze was steely and cold. His co-council was not as intent on setting her on fire, he looked at her with expectancy.

Panning her eyes over to where she was just sitting, that's when she finally could see Ramses's face. Looking at the back of his head for the last thirty minutes was nerve wracking. Meeting his eyes made the whole room empty. Like they were the only two people left on Earth.

His eyes were warm.

However, as she looked to Nicki. Milan knew she would be able to see wether she was condemning him to life or setting him free all by if that warmth in his eyes that made choirs sing in her heart... stayed there.

"Please state your name for the court." Nicoletta asks her next.

Milan gives a slight nod and swallows before speaking, "My name is Milan Cozart."

It seems every word that comes from Milan's mouth causes a reaction by someone somewhere. A face twitch or an eyebrow raise. A whisper from somewhere in the audience.

"Welcome to the stand, Miss Cozart," Nicoletta smiles at Milan in a way that makes it easy to smile back. It was a welcome show compared to how the others she was facing were looking at her.

"Can you please tell us your relation to Mr.Young? How did you all meet and how has that impacted your life?" Nicoletta finishes what she was saying. It was a simple ask, but sitting in front of more than 20 people made it feel as if she was in a sold out stadium.

"Ramses was my brother's best friend," Milan began slowly. She had to fight back tears that were triggering her throat to become tight. Looking around, those who knew her brother was gone were watching her like she was keen to flee from the stand altogether.

"We all grew up together."

Milan chose to keep it short. Nicoletta had taught her not to ramble and to get to the answer to the question as quickly as possible.

Nicoletta's face showed she was proud of the answer as well. This made Milan feel a little less inadequate. Glancing over at Valerie and Yvonne, she even saw them giving her small thumbs up from their seats. The shows of support allowed Milan's throat to relax just a smidge.

Thoughtfully nodding, Nicoletta revved up her next question. "Over all the years you've known my client, what can you say about his temperament? Is he a bit of a hothead in your opinion?"

"No. Not at all." Was Milan's immediate answer.

Although the snippets of Ramses punching Marcus at her hotel door, instructing Malcolm to kill those men at the streetlight, and hell, the very situation that got them in court today... they all begged to differ.

"Ramses is passionate," Milan stated, expounding slightly. "But he is not angry. I've never known him to be violent."

God forgive me.

Milan sent a prayer up to cover her soul. She was committing perjury at lightning speeds.

The room barely blinked an eye as she was speaking. She knew she was being one note and simple with her answers. This is what Nicoletta trained her to do though. They didn't want anything extra to be said to prevent it being brought up by the prosecution as ammo for their case.

"Thank you for your honesty, Milan. Now, given your family history, is it true that your brother Devon was a member of the street gang 'The Vice Disciples'? The same street gang Chrisanto Chavez was leader of?"

Hearing Devon being spoken of in the past tense really threw Milan for a loop. She kept it together and nodded her head. "Yes, it is true." She answered.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see William of the prosecution raise an eyebrow.

"While your brother served under him, did Chrisanto work side by side with him?" Nicoletta pressed on, and although Milan didn't know what exactly the brunette lawyer was getting at... her brother was already a dead man. She had no problem with spilling his tea.

"No. Devon kept me out of gang life completely, but I know Chrisanto rarely did his own work. The people under him always carried out his plans. My brother was one of them." The words were flowing more easily now.

Milan had settled into her role and now she was able to look about the room. Make eye contact with those around her. This made most of the room loosen up as well. People were exchanging whispers.

Nicoletta nodded at Milan's new addition to the conversation. She had been walking around, strategically pacing about the space between Ramses's table and the judge's desk. This time when she stopped her pacing for her next question, she stopped right by Ramses. For the umpteenth time, Milan felt like he'd stolen her breath away.

"So, in your own personal opinion, since you're familiar with Chrisanto's work through your brother's involvement, when the Vice Disciples make a move— it is with intention to carry out Chrisanto's ultimate goal?"

The question was phrased more like a riddle, but Milan was able to wrap her head around it.

"Yes." Milan spoke into the microphone on the stand.

"And when you look at the video that was just shown, you see those men with the matching bandanas... when they surround Ramses, would that be considered an offensive or defensive move on their part?" Nicoletta continued to dig. This caused Milan to glance back at the projector screen, the frame it was paused on showing the second the men began to advance towards Ramses.

"It would be considered an offensive move to me."

"Which means Mr.Young's next move should be...?"

"Defensive." Milan punctuated for them both.

And like she'd just landed a perfect bullseye, Nicoletta turned from Milan to the jury in one quick spin.

"Ramses Young acted in defense of himself once he watched, just as we did, the Vice Disciples in the beauty salon begin to surround him. We see that the two men were in an argument that only soured when the men who respond to the sound of Chrisanto's voice... move against my client.

Ramses was acting in defense of himself when the untimely demise of Mr.Chavez came upon him. Nothing more, nothing less. Please see that today as you discuss this case." Here Nicoletta paused, looking at every juror in the eye.

She was flawless. Milan definitely had to give her, her props.

Then, Nicoletta threw her reddish brown hair to the side with a whip of her head. She turned to look at Judge Cortez. "No further questions. Thank you, your Honor."

The way Judge Cortez's eyes lit up, although her face remained perfectly neutral, made Milan squint her eyes between the two.

"The Prosecution may now cross-examine the witness." Judge Cortez moved on without missing a beat. The room's eyes then turned to William and his co-council. The two men conversed quietly and sharply for two minutes. Then, the shorter of the two men got up to speak.

Milan was intrigued. She was sure William was the man that was running the show, but as the second lawyer straightened his blazer she saw as his demeanor got colder.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Your honor. My name is George DeNaldo and I and my co-council feel with great reason that Ms.Cozart is not the best witness to prove to you all today that Mr.Young committed anything less than first degree murder." George stated plainly. The words came out of his mouth like they were fact.

This is when Milan knew he was dangerous.

George lacked the aesthetic appeal William had. He had dark brown hair rather than William's golden brown. He was a shorter, stockier as well and his suit definitely was not tailored to him like William's was either.

If a lawyer could look "scrappy", George would be the picture perfect example.

"Please, don't be offended Ms.Cozart. I mean no disrespect. I just feel like this case may hit a little too close to home for you to see things clearly." George turned to look at her, a faux remorseful look on his face.

His eyes might as well have been reptilian. This man was a snake.

Immediately, Milan's brow furrowed and she innately opened her mouth to put George in his place.

"Objection, speculation!" Nicoletta rang out with the same disdain on her face as well.

George smiled a smug smile at Nicoletta before turning to the judge. "Your Honor, I am simply setting the tone for my case." He quickly explained.

Judge Cortez squinted at the man, "Please stick to the subject, Mr. Denaldo." She admonished him in a stale tone.

Nodding and carrying on like nothing ever happened. George turned back to the jury.

"See, my council and I have done our due diligence to take on this case and keep violent criminals off of the Chicago streets. And as we did our background on Miss Milan Cozart, my God, she has one of the saddest files I have ever read."

The emotion that George was able to muster up made it sound like he was close to tears.

As Milan watched this charade unfold in front of her, George gesturing with his hands like he was the director of an orchestra, she waited with bated breath for him to tell her tragic story.

Albeit a very sad story, he was making it sound like she was a starving child. She wouldn't have been surprised if he started playing "In the Arms of an Angel" next.

Everyone's eyes were on her as she sat on display on the witness stand. Milan did her best to keep a neutral face. She couldn't guarantee to hold it altogether though.

"Miss Cozart has a story of loss. As a young girl her parents were shot dead in her house. A gang affiliated drive by shooting was the cause. Suspects never found. Reason that it happened? Mr.Young."

Loud gasps immediately sounded around the courtroom.

Before Nicki even stepped in Judge Cortez was banging her gavel. Effectively silencing the dramatic court room.

"Mr. Denaldo you better have good reason and proof for that accusation."

George didn't bat an eye at the warning.

He simply walked up the table at which is colleague was sitting at and grabbed 3 packets of paper. He went and passed one to Milan, the judge, and placed one on the Defense's table as well.

The way Nicoletta snatched the paper up from the table let Milan know that this was not a trick they were anticipating.

"On the official closing statements on the case it reads, 'suspected reason for shooting: Ramses Young, 17, friend of Devon Cozart, 16, expresses guilt for shooting. Believes he may be the target of the street gang shooting. Devon Cozart is listed in critical condition."

Milan felt like she was going to throw up at any second. The words on the paper George had given her suddenly blurred with tears. The packet was the full case police work up of her parents's murder.

To have the most significant moment in her life dwindled down to 4 pages of paper was really fucking with her head.

"I bring this to you today, folks to remind you Ramses Young may not have a long criminal record, but he is a man who has had his fair share of involvement in death," George goes on to say, then he turns to Milan.

"Miss Cozart, how is your brother doing these days? Hopefully well? There was not too much to find on him other than his previous arrests."

Milan's nails dug into the skin of her thighs. The slight pain from it was the only thing keeping her from pouncing on George and ripping him apart with her teeth.

"My brother has passed." Milan hissed. It was an accident to come off so harshly, but she was triggered. The only way should would feel better was if she could knock George's head off of his shoulders.

And by the way he was regarding her, like a lion regards his prey, she knew he knew it too.

"My condolences." He brushed off the news with ease. He turned back to the jury, "Miss Cozart, would you agree that Ramses Young is the rightful conclusion for the reason of your parents's death?"

Milan watched Nicki look towards the judge, and the judge raised her hand to silence her. Milan would be forced to answer this question.

She could feel Ramses's eyes drilling holes into the side of her head. This was the moment she was afraid of. Her answer would take the warmth out of his eyes for her.

"I don't know what you mean. He was not a suspect on the case. He is not the reason because he didn't commit the crime." Milan responded sharply.

Some murmurs from the audience followed. People were surprised she was going on the defensive herself.

George still kept his back towards her. Although, Milan heard him softly chuckle and watched as he shook his head.

"What I mean is, if Ramses Young wasn't gang affiliated and befriended your brother... then your house would've never been targeted.

However, because he was and is a gang member, your house was targeted and your parents were killed."

Then the man turned around to face her.

"Do you agree or disagree?"

George had successfully gotten Milan up against the ropes. She looked towards the defense table where Nicoletta and Ramses looked just as despondent as her.

Milan looked towards the sky.

"I don't...know." She breathed out slowly. The tears that had been threatening to fall throughout the whole trial had now made a true appearance and oh my God she did not want to let that devil of a man see her cry.

"Excuse me, Miss Cozart? It's a yes or no ques—"

"I said I don't know!" Milan bursted with anger. A single tear shaken from its spot on her face and now making a lonely pursuit down her left cheek.

She watched George's eyes hone in on it before making eye contact with her again.

"Objection, witness non-compliance." He stated, still holding Milan's gaze with a steel resolve. It felt like this case was personal. George's passion came off as ice cold contempt for Milan.

"Sustained." Judge Cortez replied immediately after.

It felt like someone had shot her. She was damned if she did speak and damned if she didn't. Everything, even her own parents's murder, was becoming ammunition to lock Ramses up.

Milan hung her head. George turned back towards the jury.

"Ladies and gentleman of the jury, I come to show you that Ramses Young's involvement in this case is no uncommon thing. He has a history of being a pivotal marker of death. In the case of Michael and Regina—"

"Don't you say their names!" Milan yelled from the stand. "Don't you say their fucking names!" She spat venomously from her seat. More angry hot tears slowly falling down her face.

She was distraught and incensed with anger. Her body was trembling like a scared cat in the corner of a cage.

"Miss Cozart! Please!" Judge Cortez had no choice but to cut in here. Her voice was stern but her eyes held more sorrow for Milan than anyone in the room.

Milan couldn't have cared less about getting thrown out of the room.

She and George were engaged in another stare stalemate and she truly dared him with all of the strength in her body to utter a word about her parents again.

It would be a guarantee Milan's own court case would be up next.

George stared back at her just the same. The whole court room was holding their breath as the two had a battle of egos.

And George broke first.

"As...I...was saying," He began speaking again turning away from the deep breathing and 99% feral Milan.

"Ramses Young has had his part in deaths before this. He is a gang member and Chrisanto Chavez knew this. They operated in the same world. Mr.Chavez was put on the defensive right when Mr.Young walked into his establishment. Who's to say Mr.Chavez didn't fear for his life as well?"George paused, looking towards the defense.

Nicoletta looked like she wanted to strangle George with her bare hands. Ramses did the right thing and didn't even make eye contact with the man. His eyes were solely on Milan. She was looking down in her lap as George spoke.

She looked so tired.

Somehow still maintaining being the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on even when her lash extensions were visibly soaked with tears.

He meant what he said when he promised her that they'd leave the city if he was so lucky to get off scott-free from this hearing. With each passing moment, it felt like that promise was getting closer and closer to meaning nothing at all.

With everything in him he wanted to go to her.

To hold her.

He had heard her time and time again complain about how none of this was normal for her.

How she didn't ask for this, and how she didn't want this. Not even with him although they loved each other.

Looking at her dispirited tear streaked face after being berated by representatives of the City of Chicago. Ramses couldn't help but feel this was all his fault.

Look what her love for him had done to her.

He regretted it all.

"And if he did. He was right to do so." George's voice snapped Ramses out from his thoughts.

"This is why the men surrounding Mr.Young that supposedly antagonized him into action was not a overstated maneuver on Chrisanto's behalf." George's voice echoed through the court room.

"Ramses Young has a reputation of being dangerous. Wether he means to or not.

No further questions, your Honor."