"V, there's something I need to tell you… and please don't get mad."
On the couch, Kevin finally worked up a bit of courage. He swallowed hard and spoke, forcing the words out.
That handsome, tough-looking face of his was already clearly filled with panic.
Veronica knew Kevin way too well. The moment she saw his expression, her eyes sharpened instantly. She didn't even blink.
"You slept with another woman?"
"What?!" Kevin yelped, shaking his head like crazy. "No! Of course not! How could I? I would never cheat on you!"
Hearing that, the sharpness in Veronica's eyes eased just a little. Her tone softened slightly.
"Then what is it?"
Kevin couldn't bring himself to answer right away. He took several deep breaths in a row.
"Promise me you won't get mad?"
"Stop stalling and talk," Veronica snapped decisively.
That attitude made Kevin even more nervous.
But there was no way out now. He was already standing at the edge—he had to jump.
Whatever. One cut or another. I'll just die once.
Kevin steeled himself. "Okay… the thing is, I was actually married. I have a wife…"
Whoosh!
Before he could even finish, Veronica's expression changed completely. She shot to her feet.
"Are you fing kidding me?!"
Kevin was freaking out now. He rushed to explain, panic all over his face.
"V, please don't get mad yet. Let me finish. I wanted to tell you for years, I really did—but the more time passed, the harder it got to say it…"
He rattled off a whole explanation at lightning speed. Then, before Veronica could respond, he hurriedly pulled divorce papers out of his pocket.
"This afternoon, Dexter went with me…"
In one breath, Kevin explained everything that had happened earlier that day.
After hearing it all—after seeing the divorce papers in Kevin's hands, and realizing there was a whole other side to Dexter—
Veronica suddenly felt like she'd been hit with way too much information at once. Her brain couldn't process it all. She sat back down on the couch, face cold and silent.
"V, I really didn't mean to hide this from you…" Kevin didn't know what else to do.
"Shut up. Let me think," Veronica said sharply.
Kevin immediately clamped his mouth shut.
Time passed.
After sorting things out in her head, Veronica let out a long breath and turned to Kevin.
"One thing at a time. First—tell me exactly what the hell happened between you and that bitch Cheryl."
Kevin wasn't stupid. The fact that Veronica was asking meant there was still hope—that things weren't completely doomed.
He didn't dare waste a second. He told her everything, honestly and in detail, about his past with Cheryl.
Veronica fell silent again.
After a while, she took the divorce papers from Kevin, flipped straight to the last page, and checked the signatures.
"Will she ever show up in our lives again?" Veronica asked through clenched teeth.
"Absolutely not!!! I swear!" Kevin said immediately. "That gunshot from Dexter scared her soul right out of her body. She doesn't have the guts to come back—and I'll never see her again either!"
Veronica let out a long breath.
"If you can't keep that promise, I'll cut you off. Do you hear me?"
The moment she said that—
Kevin instinctively squeezed his legs together and glanced down at his precious equipment, then nodded furiously.
"I hear you! Loud and clear!"
"Good." Seeing his ridiculous reaction, Veronica almost laughed—but she held it in. She kept her face stern, still clearly angry.
"You lied to me for all these years. We're not done settling that score, so don't think this just magically goes away. As for how we settle it—I'll tell you when I've decided."
Kevin gave a bitter smile. He had no choice.
"Okay."
"Now let's talk about Dexter," Veronica said. She hadn't expected Dexter to have a gun—or such a ruthless side. She was curious… and a little scared.
Conveniently, Kevin had already gone through this emotional roller coaster once during the day.
The two of them talked about Dexter for a long time.
Kevin also retold, word for word, the tragic backstory Dexter had made up.
In the end—
Veronica sighed deeply. "He really hasn't had it easy. The fact that he can still smile like that now… if it were me, I don't think I could."
Kevin nodded in full agreement.
---
A new day.
Patrick Gallagher received a letter.
After reading it, he smiled. Without wasting any time, he immediately called in his two sons and told them to verify the contents—specifically, whether Virginia Louise Gallagher had officially died a few days ago.
It didn't take long.
The results came back. The letter was telling the truth.
"Boys, looks like we're getting a house for free," Patrick said with a sinister grin.
Then, without hesitation, he got to work.
Fake will.
Notarization.
Court filing.
That entire morning, Patrick and his two sons were busy.
---
Meanwhile—
Frank was also very busy.
The night before, he had already bribed Carl with money.
That morning, Carl pretended to be sick and skipped school. Once Lip and the others left and Fiona went to work, Carl wheeled Frank out of the house to visit Frank's lawyer.
When they arrived—
The lawyer's office was on the second floor.
Frank couldn't get upstairs, so he told Carl to go get Lou Deckner and bring her down.
The moment Frank saw Lou Deckner, he started rubbing his hands together excitedly, barely able to contain himself.
"Tell me—quick—which payout is it?"
Lou Deckner looked him up and down and burst out laughing.
"It hasn't even been that long. What happened to your legs?"
"Some bastard broke them. Doesn't matter," Frank said impatiently. "Just tell me—which payout?"
Lou Deckner smiled and stopped teasing him.
"It's the one where your ankle got caught in the train door."
Frank had completely forgotten about it. After thinking for a couple seconds, it finally clicked.
"Oh! Yeah! My ankle still hurts to this day."
Total nonsense.
Grinning at Lou Deckner, Frank asked, "So… where's my money?"
"Do I look like a bank?" she said, shaking her head as she handed him some documents. "There's one more step. After that, you get paid. You and Monica need to go to the city legal office and sign this together. Once that's done, you'll get the money. Of course, one-third of it—and some processing fees—go to me."
The name Monica hung in the air.
Frank's smile vanished instantly.
Carl, on the other hand, didn't react at all. He didn't care.
"I have to go with Monica?" Frank asked after a moment, still clinging to a shred of hope.
Lou Deckner nodded firmly. "Monica is a co-applicant for this settlement. No Monica, no money. Understand?"
Frank's head started to hurt.
"What if I find someone who looks a lot like Monica and have her sign instead?"
The lawyer gave him an amused look. "The people at the city legal office aren't idiots. It has to be Monica herself. What—problem?"
Frank spaced out for a second, then forced a smile.
"No problem. I'll bring her."
"Good. Once you get the check, come back here and pay my fee."
"Yeah."
Lou Deckner turned and went back upstairs.
Frank sat in his wheelchair, sighing heavily. He was irritated as hell.
---
North Wallace Street
8:30 a.m.
Veronica and Vivian met up like best friends and walked to Dex restaurant together.
Veronica brought her laptop.
Vivian brought nothing—hands empty, steps light and cheerful.
Five minutes to nine.
They arrived and started work.
Dexter still hadn't shown up.
After yesterday, they were already used to it. They did whatever needed doing—though honestly, there wasn't much to do.
So what was Dexter doing?
He was driving around, looking for a place.
In the original storyline, because Frank reported them, Lip and the others were taken away by DCFS and placed in three different homes.
Two of those places were… okay.
But the one that temporarily took in Debbie?
That was completely different.
That Black guy, Kamala, was bad news.
Dexter decided the world could use one less piece of trash.
This shouldn't mess with my karma, right? he suddenly thought as he drove.