Chapter 95 — Lip Wants In, and the Call
Tony had to admit it—
he'd never encountered someone this unlucky before.
Two disabilities hitting the same person at once.
That wasn't just bad luck.
That meant Jasmine couldn't even properly communicate with the world anymore.
Tony stared at the medical report in his hands, then looked up at the doctor who'd examined her, disbelief written all over his face.
"Doc… is it really possible for someone to be this damn unlucky?"
Before the doctor could answer, Tony's partner walked in with a file.
"We identified her. Jasmine Holland. Lives on the South Side. Married. Husband runs an accounting firm."
The doctor immediately leaned in.
"Does she have prior medical records?"
"Yeah," Tony's partner said, handing over another folder.
Even though Jasmine lived on the South Side, she wasn't the typical broke type.
She had a job.
She had insurance.
That was the only reason her records were actually complete.
The doctor flipped through the pages once… twice…
and frowned harder with every line.
"That doesn't make sense," he muttered. "According to her history, she's never had any hearing impairment or vision problems. Not once."
He kept rereading it like the pages might magically change.
But they didn't.
---
Another Morning
Fiona dragged herself out of bed and knocked on each of her siblings' doors one by one.
Then she went downstairs and made breakfast.
Like always.
Like it was a normal day.
But she knew the truth.
This routine—
this fragile "normal"—
wasn't going to last much longer.
Not until she found a way to cover that $1700 rent every month.
She was moving on autopilot, mechanically stirring and flipping food like a machine, when a knock sounded at the front door.
"Fiona! You home?"
The voice outside was unmistakable.
Tony.
Fiona froze.
"…Why the hell would Tony be looking for me this early?"
She wiped her hands and opened the door.
Tony stood there in uniform.
Which meant he was on duty.
"Hey, Fiona," Tony greeted, trying to sound casual.
Fiona folded her arms across her chest—instinctive, defensive.
"Hi… You need something?"
Tony watched her for a moment, then asked carefully:
"Do you know someone named Jasmine Holland?"
"…Jasmine?"
Hearing that name from Tony's mouth caught Fiona off guard.
Tony nodded. "Yeah."
Fiona hesitated.
"I mean… yeah, I know her. But barely. Only met her like a day or two ago. Why? Something happen?"
Tony exhaled, his expression turning heavier.
"Yeah…"
Then he gave Fiona a simplified rundown—what happened, how Jasmine was found, and what the hospital determined.
Fiona's face drained.
"Oh my God… That's why she didn't show up at the party yesterday."
She swallowed hard, anxiety crawling up her spine.
"Fuck… Do you know who did it?"
This didn't sound like a normal attack.
It sounded like some kind of monster got to her—someone who didn't just hurt people…
but enjoyed breaking them.
Tony shook his head.
"Not yet. But we're investigating. And Fiona…"
His eyes met hers, unusually serious.
"You should be careful when you go out. For a while."
Fiona could tell Tony was genuinely concerned.
"Thanks. I'll be careful," she said.
She didn't really take it to heart—more like she was just… shaken.
She didn't even know Jasmine that well. There was no deep bond there.
But after Jasmine was "dealt with," Fiona noticeably calmed down.
She stopped dreaming about clubs, hookups, and reckless fun like she used to, and instead started hunting everywhere for part-time work.
The problem was… she was already juggling three jobs.
There wasn't enough time in the day to squeeze in a fourth.
---
Meanwhile, William received a system notification.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have completed the mission: Prevent Jasmine from leading Fiona down the path of corruption and depravity.]
[Reward acquired: WWII Ace Pilot Flying Experience.]
---
Over the next few days, Lip landed several SAT test-substitution gigs as well.
He made good money, plus whatever scraps he'd saved from running errands for William.
Fiona begged, borrowed, and scraped together everything she could—finally managing to piece together the first month's rent.
She handed it over to Theresa.
Theresa even made a special trip in person to collect it.
After that, Tony asked Fiona a few more routine questions about Jasmine.
After all, Fiona had been one of the last people to see Jasmine before her accident.
---
The Red-Light District — Svetlana's Rented House
Svetlana's rented house had basically become the new "hub."
Mandy had moved in too.
Tasha and Nastya—aside from taking clients—also spent a lot of time here now.
But recently, Svetlana had started noticing something… strange.
By her understanding, those two girls had never been religious. Not even close.
And yet lately they'd become oddly devout.
Not only that—they'd even started helping out voluntarily.
If Svetlana tried to pay them, they refused.
It made zero sense.
Bang bang bang!
A sharp knock on the door.
Svetlana, cigarette hanging from her lips, walked over and opened it.
Ever since relocating the operation here, distributing the guns had become far easier.
The girls would collect stock here, then take it to Sasha's territory to sell discreetly.
Of course, the actual transactions never happened on Sasha's turf.
Even if Sasha was easygoing, he'd never allow something like that.
Still… Svetlana had been hearing rumors.
Apparently Sasha was growing increasingly unhappy with how they were using his territory as an "advertising zone."
---
The wooden door creaked open.
Standing outside was a curly-haired Irish kid who looked way too young to have any business being here.
"What do you want?" Svetlana asked, scanning him from head to toe.
Lip, for all his toughness at home, was honestly a coward out in the wild.
Under Svetlana's pressure, his voice immediately shrank.
"Uh… I-I'm looking for Mandy."
Svetlana studied him again.
Her gaze was like an X-ray—like she could see straight through him.
Then she shouted into the house:
"MANDY!"
A moment later, Mandy stepped out in a leather jacket.
"Someone's here for you," Svetlana said, exhaling smoke as she turned and swayed back inside.
---
"Lip?" Mandy blinked, confused.
When William told her to recruit Ian, he hadn't mentioned Lip at all.
So Lip showing up here caught her off guard.
Lip scratched his head.
"Hey, Mandy… I heard you offered Ian a job?"
---
At the Same Time — Chicago Institute of Technology
A Public Parking Lot Outside Campus
A pink BMW 3-Series was rocking in a steady rhythm.
Inside—
"FUCK! HARDER!!!"
Theresa gripped the ceiling handle with both hands, face glowing with wild satisfaction.
Between ragged breaths, she started unleashing an insane verbal barrage:
"Fuck! Fiona! That bitch! That useless whore! Why doesn't she just die already—AHHH!"
She was cursing Fiona nonstop.
Clearly, collecting rent hadn't gone smoothly.
William, meanwhile, didn't slow down at all.
He kept "working," while teasing her in the middle of it.
"Maybe don't be so jealous. You and her aren't even my girlfriends. If anyone should be jealous, it's Amanda."
Theresa shot him a furious look.
"Shut up, you asshole."
But her body said something very different—there wasn't a hint of resistance.
---
Bzzzz. Bzzzz.
William's phone vibrated.
Theresa's expression changed instantly.
"Shit! Which bitch is calling you now?!"
This time she was genuinely pissed.
She even stopped moving.
William picked up the phone and glanced at the caller ID.
"Well… it really is a bitch calling," he muttered.
Theresa leaned over curiously to peek at the screen.
"Fiona?" she blurted.
William shook his head.
"Karen."
Theresa frowned. "Who's Karen?"
"Another bitch. Same tier as Fiona."
Then William answered the call.
"Karen. What do you need?"
Karen's voice came through soft and sweet.
"Today's my birthday. Don't tell me you forgot."
William glanced around the car interior.
"Of course I didn't forget. I already prepared your gift."
Truth was… he had forgotten.
The last few days had been chaos.
Amanda was clingy as hell.
And Theresa had been acting like she'd lost her mind, constantly pestering him.
William never dared mess around with Theresa on campus grounds anymore.
He couldn't risk Amanda catching him and reenacting Lip's tragedy.
On the other end, Karen giggled softly.
"Really? Thank you~ But… can you come later tonight?"
William frowned slightly.
"Later? Why?"