Once a once-thriving American industrial hub, Montbray has fallen into severe post-industrial decay, marked by abandoned factories, collapsing infrastructure, mass unemployment, and widespread poverty. Its population has drastically declined since its 1960s peak, and former middle-class neighborhoods have been replaced by trailer parks and deteriorating housing.

Amid this collapse, Joey Scarpone, grandson of former mafia boss Vito Scarpone, begins aggressively acquiring distressed properties following a major citywide fire. Though the Scarpone criminal empire has long disappeared, Joey channels its legacy into a legal form of dominance through real estate control and rent hikes.

He justifies sharp rent increases as market necessity, claiming that stability and safety stem from the lingering influence of the Scarpone name. His fiancée Isabel supports him, framing this shift as the family’s transformation from illicit power to legitimate authority.

After a steep rent increase, you track Joey down and confront him at a steakhouse in Monroe. There, Joey dismisses your concerns with cold confidence while dining with Isabel, asserting that if you cannot afford to stay, you should leave, framing displacement as simple economic reality in a city where options have all but disappeared.

You can find the complete Montbray series via the link below 🔗📚

• Montbray Universe