[Please Read This First: This chapter contains sensitive and potentially distressing material, including themes of family trauma, arrest, emotional manipulation, and coercion. Reader discretion is advised.]
Chapter 45 — Fiona, Broken by Frank Once Again
The carpet felt rough against her knees.
Every inch forward was heavy.
Humiliating.
Final.
As she crawled, Fiona felt something inside her — something called dignity — slowly fading away in front of William.
Yet for the sake of saving her siblings…
she didn't feel shame.
Instead, she felt something twistedly noble —
a martyr's illusion,
a sacrifice myself to protect others righteousness.
Before long, she reached William's feet.
She raised her head.
Their eyes met.
William reached out and gently pinched her chin.
"Good. Obedient girls deserve rewards. Let's go — time to post bail."
He stood up.
And Fiona wasn't even surprised that he didn't do anything to her.
Because last time was like this, too.
That's the truly terrifying thing about the world —
not pain, not death…
but habit.
Habit rewires the brain before a person notices.
And Fiona was already on that path.
---
Ten minutes later — back at the police station
William didn't hesitate.
He paid the bail on the spot, calm and efficient.
Because the arrest had just happened, everything moved quickly.
No one questioned anything.
And since William didn't touch Fiona, she had no reason to question him either.
He needed to reshape her — not consume her.
Once he reached today's "training milestone," he simply left with her.
William had thought about the system's task for a long time.
In his mind, there were two possible ways to "fix" Fiona:
1. Dig a hole and bury her — let her reincarnate into a better person.
(Might succeed… might fail.)
2. Break her down and rebuild her.
Turn Fiona Gallagher into a flawless, obedient, task-executing unit —
someone whose entire life could be scripted by him.
And right now, Method 2 was progressing beautifully.
---
The station doors opened.
Lip, Ian, and Debbie were brought out.
The moment Fiona saw them, she rushed forward.
All four of them collapsed into a hug.
Her tears were back — but not like before.
Now she was holding them in, eyes shimmering.
Debbie wasn't so composed.
It was her first arrest.
Her young mind was shattered.
She crashed into Fiona's arms and sobbed like her world was ending.
Back at the Gallagher House:
After the initial relief settled, it was time for answers.
"Lip," Fiona asked, voice still shaky,
"why did the cops know you were at the Milkovich house?"
Lip sat on the couch with a cigarette, anger written all over him.
"It was Frank."
The answer came not from Lip — but Ian.
William sat beside Fiona, listening closely.
Not out of concern — out of curiosity.
He genuinely wanted to know how the three ended up getting arrested together.
"Frank? What does this have to do with him?" Fiona frowned.
"We don't know either," Ian replied.
"We were at Mandy's place trying to figure out how to sneak Casey back home without getting caught and..."
But the moment Ian walked outside with Casey in his arms,
police cars were everywhere.
And right in the middle of it all stood Frank —
and Casey's parents.
Lip took two furious drags from his cigarette, then grabbed a bottle of beer and gulped.
"My guess? That bastard Frank saw us going into the Milkovich house and snitched for the reward money."
Lip wasn't far from the truth.
"Oh that old piece of trash. I knew something was off when he went to make that phone call. He was doing it for the reward. Damn it!"
Kevin slammed his palm against his thigh — the realization finally hit him.
The room went silent.
Everyone was replaying the chain of events in their heads…
And every detail pointed straight to Frank.
Right then — the front door burst open.
Everyone turned.
Frank staggered inside, reeking of alcohol.
"Fuck! Why am I this drunk today?
And why the hell are you ungrateful brats here instead of sitting in a jail cell?"
His taunts made Lip snap.
He lunged forward, grabbed Frank by the collar, roaring:
"Frank! Are you even human anymore?!"
"Get the fuck off me, you little bastard!"
Frank shoved him — hard.
Lip fell to the floor.
"Human? And what about you?!
What kind of kids throw their own father out on the street?!"
Frank wasn't just shameless —
he was a professional at weaponizing guilt.
"Fuck you!"
Lip shot up, ready to go at him again.
Kevin reacted fast, wrapping his arms around Lip and stopping him.
"Come on!! COME ON!!!
You little piece of garbage!! Fight me!!!"
Seeing Lip restrained only made Frank bolder.
He spread his arms, howling provocations at everyone.
The house was already chaos again within seconds of Frank's arrival.
Fiona could feel her brain ready to explode.
Once upon a time, she would have run forward herself, screaming, pushing, throwing Frank out on her own.
But after everything that happened today…
Her first instinct wasn't to act.
It was to look at William.
"William… can you get him out of here?"
She sounded exhausted — not angry, not sharp, not even decisive.
Just tired.
But that exhaustion wasn't reason enough for William to help.
Frank was her family.
Her problem.
Her responsibility.
And William was just about to refuse —
to force her to pay another price —
when the system popped up:
[Ding! Task detected — Frank's shameless actions have enraged the Gallagher family.
This is not how a father should behave.
Host must make Frank understand a father's true responsibility.
Reward: Palm-oil-cured leather whip]
Special Effect: Obedience +1
The reward stopped William mid-sentence.
A tool that increases obedience?
That would greatly accelerate Fiona's conditioning.
He had to get this.
So the refusal died in his throat.
He gave Fiona a steady, reassuring glance.
Then stood up.
And walked toward Frank.
Frank looked up at the noticeably taller William and still wasn't scared — instead he smirked and spat poison:
"What are you looking at?
Oh, I get it — you must be the moron who paid their bail.
Let me tell you, kid — none of them are worth it.
Your bail money? Gone. You're never getting it back.
I guarantee not one of these ungrateful leeches will show up in court."
He leaned closer, breath reeking of whiskey.
"And by the way — my daughter's a filthy sl—t.
Anything with a d—ck in the South Side has been inside her.
If you already fucked her, go get tested — unless you wanna die of something nasty."
There was a collective gasp.
Words like that —
coming from a father —
weren't just cruel.
They were soul-breaking.
"Frank… I hate you!"
Fiona snapped.
Whether because William was insulted,
or because she'd finally hit her breaking point,
or both…
Her voice cracked.
Her composure shattered.
She collapsed.