Chapter 212 — Fiona Wants to Take Guardianship Away from Frank
"Fuck! Which bastard did this?!"
Fiona screamed at the now-empty house.
The door slammed shut.
The vehicles drove away.
And suddenly—
2119 became terrifyingly silent.
Only Fiona remained, collapsed on the floor as her entire world crumbled around her.
She grabbed her phone with trembling hands and called William.
"William… they took them."
"They took all the kids…"
—
On the other end of the line, William froze for a second.
His first thought immediately jumped to the original chain of events—
Frank reporting the Gallagher household, leading to every child getting dragged into foster care.
And honestly?
The moment he connected the dots, he already knew exactly who the anonymous caller was.
Still, his voice remained calm.
"Come over to my place first."
Fiona bit her lip hard and nodded through tears, even though he couldn't see her.
"O-Okay…"
—
After hanging up, the world seemed to stop moving.
She sat alone on the floor of 2119, unable to breathe beneath the crushing emptiness.
Debbie's stuffed bear still sat abandoned on the couch.
Carl's dirty dishes were stacked in the kitchen.
Liam's crib stood empty.
And the image of Ian Gallagher and Lip Gallagher being handcuffed replayed over and over in her head like a knife twisting deeper each time.
She wanted to scream.
Wanted to smash something.
But she had no strength left.
Only tears.
Endless tears.
"Fuck… why…"
"Why does this keep happening…"
Her voice cracked into hoarse whispers as she forced herself upright.
Grabbing her coat and bag, she stumbled out the front door.
—
The neighbors along the South Side street stared quietly as she passed.
Some whispered.
No one stopped her.
No one asked if she was okay.
She walked straight toward 2118.
Toward William's house.
When she knocked, her hands shook violently.
William opened the door.
The moment he saw her pale face, he immediately pulled her inside.
"Sit down."
"Drink some water."
"Slowly. Tell me what happened."
—
Fiona collapsed onto the sofa.
The tears came again.
Piece by piece, she explained everything:
The social workers.
The anonymous report.
The crying.
The police.
The children being dragged away.
Everything destroyed by some unknown piece of shit.
William listened with a deeply furrowed brow.
At least on the surface.
Internally?
He was practically delighted.
Because the "unknown bastard" behind all this was obviously Frank.
And unintentionally—
Frank had just helped push Fiona even further toward emotional collapse.
Which made William's "reconstruction project" move forward even faster.
"Child Protective Services moved pretty quickly," William said thoughtfully.
"Anonymous reports are hard to trace."
"Do you have any idea who called them?"
Fiona shook her head while wiping away tears.
"I have to get them back, William."
"Debbie's still a kid."
"Liam can barely even walk."
"And Ian and Lip getting thrown into juvenile detention?"
"Fuck… this isn't a home anymore."
"It's hell."
William slowly stood and walked toward the window.
"Do you remember Veronica Donovan?"
"I think we should talk to her."
"I'll give her a call."
Fiona immediately looked up.
A flicker of hope finally appeared in her eyes.
"She can help?"
"We'll find out."
William dialed the number and briefly explained the situation.
On the other end, Veronica's voice remained calm and professional.
"William? Long time no see."
"Sounds messy, but not impossible."
"Come to my office tomorrow morning."
"Bring everything you have."
"Birth certificates. Guardianship records."
"And Fiona Gallagher, right?"
"We'll talk in person."
After hanging up, William turned back toward Fiona.
"She's good."
"She's overturned federal cases before."
"Try to rest tonight."
"We'll go first thing tomorrow morning."
Fiona nodded weakly.
But sleep never came.
Lying in William's bed, her mind replayed the children's faces over and over again.
Debbie crying.
Carl resisting.
Liam babbling helplessly.
Why was it always her carrying everything?
Why did life always collapse the second things started getting better?
Of course—
if she ever discovered that many of those "accidents" had been carefully nudged into existence by the man sleeping beside her…
she would probably lose her mind completely.
—
The next morning.
North Side Chicago.
Inside the office of attorney Veronica Donovan.
William and Fiona sat down across from her.
Veronica opened a folder and got straight to the point.
"Miss Gallagher," she began calmly,
"I looked into your case."
"Your family history is… complicated."
Veronica Donovan flipped through the documents spread across her desk.
"The Child Protective Services report cites unsafe living conditions, absent guardians, and possible neglect."
"And the anonymous complaint escalated everything."
"The younger children were placed into foster care, while the older minors were transferred into juvenile supervision facilities."
"That's standard procedure."
She paused briefly.
"But if you want them back, you'll need to prove the home environment has improved—and that there's a stable legal guardian."
Fiona immediately leaned forward.
"I am the guardian."
"I take care of everything."
"The restaurant's making money now."
"I can clean up the house."
"Monica's stable in treatment."
Veronica slowly shook her head.
"It's not that simple."
"Legally speaking, Frank Gallagher is still the children's father, and Monica Gallagher is still their mother."
"You may function as the head of the household, but you don't actually possess formal guardianship rights."
"CPS will care most about the parents' position."
"If Frank refuses to cooperate…"
"For example, if he refuses to sign over custody or support a guardianship transfer…"
"…the court will not easily release the children."
"They'll assume the kids are just being sent back into the same unstable environment."
—
Veronica closed the folder and fixed Fiona with a sharp stare through her glasses.
"Listen carefully, Miss Gallagher."
"I'm not trying to scare you."
"But under Illinois child welfare law, parental custody rights take priority."
"Unless Frank Gallagher voluntarily relinquishes custody—or the court formally rules him unfit—you'll need overwhelming evidence."
"Alcohol abuse."
"Criminal history."
"Neglect."
"Absentee parenting."
"The court needs mountains of proof."
"Otherwise, CPS won't hand the children over to you."
"Right now, you're only a de facto guardian."
"And legally speaking?"
"That means almost nothing."
Fiona's lips turned pale.
"Frank?"
"That worthless asshole?"
"He's the reason all of this happened!"
"He's never taken care of any of us!"
"All he does is steal money from the house to buy alcohol!"
"And if it weren't for him, Monica wouldn't have…"
"Fuck…"
She clenched her fists tightly.
"So now I have to convince him to sign?"
Beside her, William sat calmly with his fingers interlocked, looking as relaxed as though they were discussing the weather.
"Veronica's right."
"Frank is the key."
"If he cooperates and signs away custody, we can immediately request an emergency hearing."
"We'll show that you have stable income."
"That the house has been cleaned up."
"That Monica is undergoing treatment."
"And there's a very good chance the ruling gets reversed."
He paused.
"But if Frank refuses…"
"…the kids stay in the system longer."
"Foster care."
"Juvenile facilities."
"Those places aren't summer camp."
"After a few months…"
"…people change."
Tears welled up in Fiona's eyes again, but she angrily wiped them away.
"Fine."
"I'll find him."
"Frank always has a weakness."
"Money."
"Alcohol."
"Or that pathetic excuse for pride he calls self-respect."
"I know he's hiding out at The Alibi Room."
She turned toward William.
"You coming with me?"
William nodded slowly.
The corners of his lips lifted almost imperceptibly.
A tiny smile.
Because to him—
this was yet another perfect push forward.
If Frank refused to cooperate?
Even better.
That would only make Fiona rely on him more deeply.
"Of course," he said smoothly.
"I'll drive."
Then he looked back toward Veronica.
"Prepare the paperwork."
"We'll bring it to him for signature."
Veronica adjusted her glasses.
"Be careful."
"Frank sounds unstable."
"If he becomes aggressive, record it."
"Any threats or violent behavior can be used as evidence."
"But don't push too hard."
"If the court suspects coercion, the signature won't hold up."
She glanced at the clock on her desk.
"Get back to me before two o'clock."
"I'll arrange the hearing."