"You know how this works. You signed on for it. Yet, you went against my wishes. Years of service, and you betray the family now. Oh, we can easily get the money back, and you know that. What, you gone soft in this climate? You think, going straight, is going to save you? Well, perhaps it would have, but now you contend with me. Or the legacy of my family. Today the blade sings for you, and it is my pleasure to make the sweet sound."

Why is a Raven like a Writing desk?

"Rare is the time when both produce ideas of merit."

Meant for a life of wealth, a raven haired young woman is faced with a life of poverty, as her betrothed chooses another - a blonde whose true aspirations, though obvious to all around her, she could never voice them. As the money is out, she is left with two last gifts from her family - a 6 shot, .44 pistol, and a storybook. A single one would put an end to her suffering, but instead, she choose another path. Delving into the worst of London's dregs, she used her strong will to make allies. Lost souls whose only claim was physical strength, lacking direction. Those claiming only small fortunes, with little hope of increasing it. Along with many others who society had left to rot. They became the basis for her new family, one of her own choosing. Fitting of this, she choose the trappings of this new family, and a new name for herself, the book providing inspiration. 

Among this family, she was to be known as the Red Queen - Alice Carroll.

Through years of effort, this family worked itself into wealth, from both legitimate, and illegitimate means. By the 1950s, it had branched out to include operations in the US, where it benefited from already existing crime families, but by the 2000s, it had all but usurped them, as they found themselves the target of law enforcement, while the Carrol family thrived, seemingly beyond the law. Managing to avoid or endure every single public issue facing Americans in the decades going forward, both by having contacts in Government, and other legal, and illegal sources, this knowledge lead to them being among the richest families in the Nation, if not the world. 

By 2070, the Carrol family mostly opperated out of Boston, but it's influence was not limited to the region - as the family was known to have dealings all across the country, as well as in it's original London, and across the world. By this, point, the family was known to deal in information, with the head of the family usually trading in such knowledge, offering various goods and services in return. 

But the fall of 2077 was the coming of age of the heiress of the family, named in it's tradition. The blade was given to her at the start of the 10th month of the year, the families version of "passing the torch". 

Those who survived the Great War in the region, either saw the memory of the Family lost to time, or remembered it - as even 100 years after the war, people eventually heard the rumors, and direction that, if one wanted information, they should "Seek out the Red Queen".