Early Morning.
The Gallagher House.
Fiona woke up, exhausted. She took a deep breath, shook out her body, rubbed her face, and practiced smiling.
In a sense, Fiona and these little Gallaghers were just like that old cockroach Frank—unkillable.
No matter how hard life got, you had to face it with a smile, dammit.
At least, that was Fiona's plan for this moment.
Quickly, she got up, went to the bathroom, sat on the toilet while running the bath, then stood in the tub to shower.
After showering, she went downstairs to make breakfast.
Fiona had stuck to this routine for years; her movements were sharp and efficient.
Fifteen minutes later, breakfast was done. Fiona went upstairs to wake Ian and Lip.
Passing Debbie's room, naturally, Fiona felt a wave of sadness.
Thump, thump, thump.
Arriving at the boys' room, Fiona knocked. "Ian, Lip, up. Breakfast."
"Coming," Ian opened his eyes and answered. Immediately, he glanced at Lip's bed.
The bed was still empty. Lip hadn't come back.
"Fiona," facing this fact, Ian called out urgently. "Lip didn't come home last night."
Fiona, who had just turned to go downstairs, frowned instantly. She pushed the door open and scanned the room quickly.
"Where did he go? Karen's house?" Fiona asked Ian, brow furrowed.
Ian got up, dressing as he shook his head. "Not at Karen's. I called before bed last night. Not at Carl's either. His phone is off."
Hearing this, Fiona's frown deepened. She took out her phone and dialed Lip's number instinctively. "Does he have any other friends?"
Ian shook his head decisively. "As far as I know, no."
The truth was...
Whether it was Frank, Fiona, Lip, Ian, Debbie, or even Carl—none of them really had friends.
Not because of poverty.
It was just a sad fact. Fiona was speechless.
Just then, the "the subscriber you have dialed is powered off" message played in her ear.
Fiona's expression grew grave. "Then where did he go?"
---
Canada.
On a park bench somewhere, Lip lay face down, motionless.
Nearby, several early morning joggers watched nervously, puzzled.
Lip didn't look like an adult, and he was completely still... more importantly, the fact that his mouth was sewn shut was faintly visible... He looked dead.
One of the Canadian bystanders had already called the police.
About five minutes later.
A few officers arrived, panting slightly. Efficiency wasn't bad.
Two officers approached Lip nervously. One reached for Lip's neck.
"Pulse is there. He's alive," the officer sighed in relief, telling his partner. Then he shook Lip. "Sir? Wake up. Sir."
Lip didn't react.
The officer signaled his partner. "Turn him over. Let me see what's wrong with his mouth."
The partner complied.
In a blink, the terrifying sight of Lip's mouth sewn shut with thread was revealed to the officers and the onlookers.
Instantly.
"Holy shit!" The two officers jumped back instinctively.
This sudden movement...
Lip, who had just been turned onto his side, slumped back down.
His broken leg hit the wooden bench.
Instantly, excruciating pain surged.
Lip was jolted awake by the agony. His instinct was to open his mouth and scream, "F..."
Opening his mouth...
Naturally, the threads tore at his flesh. Unimaginable pain flooded Lip's brain like a tidal wave.
Blood streamed from his lips.
Extreme pain makes people lose their minds.
Lip, whose emotions were already unstable, sat bolt upright in a frenzy. He pawed madly at his mouth, trying to figure out what was wrong, while continuing to try and scream...
"Mmmph!!!"
Lip's behavior was horrifying.
The Canadian onlookers, including the police, had never seen anything like this. They were terrified and backed away rapidly.
Someone screamed.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
In his frenzy, Lip felt around and realized his situation. He knew some bastard had sewn his mouth shut.
Lip couldn't handle this. Rage exploded. His eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at the Canadians in front of him. He desperately wanted to get the thread off his mouth, so he instinctively tried to stand up.
Result.
The moment his legs moved.
A wave of pain from his broken leg, even more violent than before, assaulted his brain.
Lip grimaced, his face twisting in agony.
The next second.
Darkness took him. Lip fainted from the pain and collapsed to the ground.
The police and onlookers: "..."
About ten minutes later.
Wee-woo, wee-woo.
An ambulance arrived.
Lip was loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital.
---
The Gallagher House.
After wolfing down breakfast, Fiona called Ian to go out and look for Lip, since she planned to visit Debbie at juvie and wanted Lip to come along.
Ian didn't really want to go, but couldn't refuse, so he obeyed.
They walked briskly around the neighborhood for about an hour, asking anyone they saw.
No news at all.
Fiona checked the time. Helpless, she had to give up on finding Lip for now. She called Ian back to the house, picked up Liam, and headed for the bus stop to go to the juvenile detention center.
Juvenile Detention Center.
Debbie's first night was hell.
She was beaten three times during the night. There wasn't a spot on her body that didn't hurt. Her face was black and blue, looking miserable.
Led by a guard, Debbie limped step by step into the visitation room.
Seeing Debbie in this state...
Instantly.
Fiona's heart seized. Her face crumpled, and tears rolled down. It hurt so much to see.
Ian showed a sympathetic expression... but that was about it.
Ian, the love-struck fool, was indeed lacking in emotional depth outside of romance.
Behind the thick glass.
Seeing Fiona and Ian, Debbie—who had been forcing herself not to cry all morning, focusing only on revenge—couldn't hold it anymore. Her freckled face was instantly awash with tears.
"Fiona..." Debbie gritted her teeth against the pain as she sat down, crying out through the glass.
"Debbie... how did this happen? Who did this..." Fiona was heartbroken, asking through tears.
"Those damn inmates, those bitches... they hit me, they kept hitting me..." Debbie cried harder, sobbing breathlessly.
Thus, the Gallagher family's "precious" drama unfolded.
After a long while, both sides of the glass calmed down a bit.
Debbie wiped her tears fiercely, finally noticing Lip wasn't there. "Fiona, where's Lip..."
Right now, in this situation, Debbie desperately missed Lip. She wanted to see him because she felt Lip was smart and would definitely have a solution!
Coincidentally, Fiona thought the same.
"Lip didn't come home last night. We don't know where he is, we couldn't find him," Fiona said apologetically. "Debbie, don't panic. I'll go talk to the person in charge here later. I'll make sure those bitches don't hurt you again..."
Fiona said this stupidly and naively.
Hearing this.
As someone who had been to juvie and gotten beaten plenty, Ian couldn't take it anymore. He interrupted Fiona hurriedly, whispering, "Fiona, stop. You can't talk to the person in charge. If you do, Debbie will just get bullied even worse!"
Interrupting Fiona, Ian looked at Debbie and whispered seriously, "Debbie, you need to make friends inside..."
He couldn't finish.
Debbie, who couldn't make friends even on the outside, shook her head frantically. "I can't! Those bitches all hate me..."
Ian was stuck. He skipped that method and tried another. "Then you only have one path. If those bitches hit you, you grab the leader and beat her to death. If once isn't enough, do it twice. If twice isn't enough, do it three times."
"Only then will you have a comfortable life in there, understand?"
Hearing this.
Fiona, who was cowardly at heart, panicked. She glared at Ian in disbelief. "Ian, what nonsense are you talking about? How can you teach Debbie to do that..."
Ian looked solemn and didn't let Fiona finish. "It's the only way!"
"..." Fiona was speechless, instinctively rejecting it. "You'll get Debbie killed!"
Saying that, Fiona turned anxiously to Debbie. "Debbie, don't listen to Ian..."
Debbie blinked. The fire of revenge burned in her chest again. Ignoring Fiona, she asked Ian in a whisper, eyes bright, "I can't beat that bitch. How do I fight?"
Ian gave a very gay smile. "I'll teach you. Aim for the throat, between the legs..."
having trained in ROTC for two years, Ian knew vulnerable spots. He explained them to Debbie in detail, quietly.
Debbie listened, excited. She nodded heavily. "Okay, I'll try!"
"Yeah," Ian smiled. "Trust me, just persist for a little while, and you won't have any problems."
"Okay," Debbie smiled too.
It was the first time Debbie had smiled since being locked up.
Facing this scene.
Fiona, cowardly by nature, felt like she was going crazy. She desperately wanted to persuade Debbie not to fight.
But just then.
Visitation time ended. A burly black female guard walked over to Debbie, signaling her to get up and go back.
"Fiona, Ian, come see me often..." Debbie got sad again, reluctantly getting up.
Fiona nodded hurriedly. "Yes, yes, we will."
This was a promise destined to be broken.
In the original show.
During Carl's year in juvie, the number of times Fiona and the others visited could be counted on one hand.
Debbie was taken away by the guard.
Fiona and the others had to leave.
On the way out, the more Fiona thought about it, the angrier she got. She couldn't help but scold Ian. "Ian, how could you teach Debbie to do that..."
Fiona ranted. Finished, without waiting for Ian's response, she changed her tune anxiously. "No, I have to go find the person in charge here..."
Hearing this, Ian was exasperated. He grabbed Fiona's arm. "That is what will get Debbie killed!!!"
Ian spoke harshly. Then, he asked with genuine curiosity, "You've been to prison too. How did you survive in there? Did you run to the guards for everything?"
Fiona was stumped. Silenced.
How did she survive?
At first, she was bullied and beaten constantly...
Later, she stopped getting beaten because she started servicing the female inmates orally...
Months.
Servicing dozens of inmates...
Thinking of that experience, Fiona couldn't stop shivering uncontrollably.
"But..." Fiona didn't know how to refute him. Of course, she would never admit what she did in prison to avoid beatings.
Ian didn't overthink it. "No buts. Let's go. Debbie is smart, she'll be fine."
Fiona hesitated for a long time. Finally, she gritted her teeth and gave up on finding the warden. Steps heavy, she walked out.
---
Dex Restaurant.
Lunch Service.
After a busy night and only a few hours of sleep, Steve—in a fantastic mood—walked into the restaurant with the genuinely sexy Estefania.
After greeting Veronica, Steve walked into the kitchen alone.
Dexter was busy cooking lunch. Seeing Steve, he smiled and teased, "Should I call you Steve or Jimmy?"
Steve had no ill will toward Dexter ; in fact, he somewhat admired him. He smiled back. "I'm still Steve."
Dexter nodded, speaking casually. "Is Steve your alias for stealing cars?"
Thump.
Steve didn't expect Dexter to know this. He jumped, nervous. Then, maintaining his smile as best he could, he denied it calmly. "Mr. Dexter , you're joking. How could I steal cars?"
Dexter put down the spatula and looked at Steve with a smile. "You always show up in different luxury cars. You have an alias. You don't seem to have a normal job. More importantly, I know this business."
"Relax, I won't call the cops. Just don't steal my car."
"..." Steve was speechless. He made no response, just smiled and took an envelope of cash from his pocket, handing it to Dexter . "Mr. Dexter , the lawyer fees we agreed on yesterday. Thanks."
Dexter took the envelope, tossed it onto the counter without counting, and smiled. "You're surprisingly polite. Staying for lunch?"
Steve smiled. "I was just about to beg you. Veronica said lunch is sold out."
"It's fine, I'll make extra. But in return, I want to ask you a question," Dexter said with a smile.
Steve hesitated. "Ask."
"That dumbass Lip... where is he right now?" Dexter asked, staring unblinkingly at Steve with a smile.
This morning, he saw a text from Karen.
Karen thought he had done something to Lip, making him disappear.
Later, he asked Carl and had Xiao Wu monitor the Gallagher house. It didn't take long to confirm Lip hadn't come home all night.
After thinking about it, he strongly suspected Steve had taken Lip out.
Because aside from him, he couldn't think of anyone else who would make Lip disappear.
Hearing this.
Steve's expression clearly changed, but he quickly recovered and shook his head. "I haven't seen Lip since we parted ways at the courthouse yesterday. What happened to him?"
Dexter stared at Steve, noted the change in expression, and got his answer. He grinned. "He seems to have disappeared. Since you don't know, forget it. Just asking."
"Okay. I'll go wait outside for lunch. Carry on, Mr. Dexter ." Steve turned to leave.
"Steve, come by often. I think we might have opportunities to make big money together," Dexter said lightly to Steve's back.
Steve heard it. His steps faltered slightly. He didn't turn back or respond, just left the kitchen.