The Gallagher house.
Back in the living room, Fiona calmed down slightly.
Regaining some composure, she quickly pulled out her phone and texted Lip, telling him not to sell the truck and to come back immediately.
This situation was too big. Fiona knew she wasn't smart enough to handle it alone; she needed Lip, the smartest person in the family, to come back and help solve it.
Lip was currently huddled with Ian and Karen, discussing how to deal with Patrick.
Upon receiving the message, Lip immediately frowned. Although he didn't know exactly what had happened, he knew it must be serious.
"On my way."
Lip didn't dare delay. He replied instantly, then turned to Karen. "Karen, something happened at home. Can you drive us back?"
Karen smiled. "Of course. What happened?"
"I don't know, but it sounds bad."
The three of them quickly got into the car and sped toward the Gallagher house.
Inside the Gallagher living room.
Teddy pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and took a drag. "I know very well how shameless you Gallaghers are, so I'll skip the bullshit."
"The stuff you stole from Roberta's house, plus Roberta's truck... I did a rough estimate. Total value is at least sixty thousand dollars!"
"I'll give you two choices. One: hand over sixty thousand dollars, and I'll pretend this never happened. Two: return everything you stole, plus give me ten thousand dollars in compensation."
"Otherwise, I'm calling the cops. You go to prison, and afterward, you'll still have to cough up what belongs to me. I won't let you off."
At this point, Teddy exhaled a plume of smoke, turned his head slightly, and smiled at the still-pale Fiona. "But, I assume you've already sold all that stuff, so you can't return it, right?"
Teddy certainly understood the Gallaghers.
Hearing this.
Fiona couldn't stop trembling.
Debbie's eyes welled up, tears swirling in their sockets.
As for Carl...
Carl wasn't afraid, wasn't crying, and wasn't shaking. Instead, murderous intent rose within him. He wanted to get a gun—just like the murderer who killed Roberta the other night—and light Teddy up...
In fact, as the image became clearer in his mind, Carl started getting excited.
"Big brother," Frank piped up after thinking for a moment. "Let's talk this out. There's no need to make it like this..."
Frank couldn't finish his sentence before Teddy cut him off forcefully. "Frank, I don't want to hear another word from your mouth!"
Although Teddy was shameless himself, he truly looked down on scum like Frank.
Having said his piece, Teddy wasted no time. He pulled a switchblade from his pants pocket, flicked it open, and played with it for a few seconds.
Seeing the knife...
Thump.
Frank and the others, who were merely shameless but lacked any real grit, were instantly terrified even further.
Even Frank.
Frank was so scared he started considering the feasibility of crawling out and running away immediately...
Monica's reaction wasn't any better. Her face contorted with fear into a twisted mask of misery. "Sir..."
"You shut the fck up too! You disgust me even more than Frank!" Teddy truly loathed Monica. He suddenly swung his arm, pointing the knife in his hand directly at her.
Monica froze, not daring to utter another syllable.
By this moment.
Debbie was so frightened that tears were streaming down her face like rain. She hid behind Fiona, sobbing quietly.
In that moment.
In the living room, only Carl, a true Gallagher, remained calm.
Actually.
Carl was more than calm; he was staring excitedly at the switchblade in Teddy's hand.
Teddy noticed Carl's behavior and smiled in surprise, finding it amusing. "Kid, you don't look like a Gallagher. What's your name?"
"Carl," Carl replied boldly, not backing down an inch.
"What? You like my knife?" Teddy asked again.
Carl nodded directly.
"Want to play with it?" Teddy smiled, extending the knife toward Carl.
Carl reached out to take it.
Seeing this.
Fiona's mind exploded. Instantly, purely on instinct, she rushed in front of Carl and screamed at Teddy, her face pale, "He's just a child!"
As her shout rang out.
Teddy immediately dropped his smile, stood up, and slapped her across the face. "Little btch, you dare yell at me!"
Teddy was a very strong black man, and the force of his hand was no joke.
Smack!
The slap sent Fiona crashing to the floor, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"Fiona!!"
Watching Fiona get hit right in front of them...
Debbie, Carl, and Monica all screamed out simultaneously.
Debbie and Carl rushed to Fiona's side.
Debbie wailed loudly.
Carl didn't cry. His face was filled with rage as he turned to glare at Teddy, the thought of killing him firmer than ever.
Teddy saw Carl's reaction and smiled again, finding it extremely interesting. "Carl, keep that viciousness. You might actually become a real man and shake off that filthy Gallagher name."
Carl didn't say a word, just glared at Teddy.
---
At this time.
Karen, Lip, and Ian, who hadn't been far away, arrived at the Gallagher house.
As soon as the car stopped.
Lip, Ian, and Karen heard Debbie's loud wailing.
Hearing that sound.
Lip didn't dare delay for a second. He rushed out of the car.
Ian and Karen were a beat slower, following closely behind.
In moments.
The three burst into the house and rushed into the living room.
Seeing them, Teddy immediately recognized Lip and Ian and laughed. "Everyone's here. Good."
"Who the fck are you?!" Lip saw Fiona knocked to the ground with blood at the corner of her mouth, and Debbie kneeling beside her crying uncontrollably. Guessing what had happened, he roared angrily at Teddy.
Teddy couldn't be bothered to explain and gestured to Frank. "Frank, you tell them."
Frank didn't want to get beaten like Fiona. Hearing this, he didn't waste a second and explained everything to Lip and the others.
After listening, both Lip and Ian were shaken.
Karen actually found it quite interesting and wanted to laugh a little, but she still put on a solemn face.
"You want money, we'll pay you back! Why the fck did you hit her?" After the initial shock, perhaps proving the saying 'ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth,' Lip still yelled at Teddy.
Looking at Lip acting like this...
Teddy had a genuine urge to beat the little bastard until he was crawling on the floor looking for his teeth. However, considering that further violence would bring him trouble too, he took a deep, silent breath and temporarily suppressed the urge.
"Good. Sixty thousand dollars. Pay up," Teddy said.
Lip fell silent for a moment, his eyes darting around quickly. "Give us seven days. We'll pay you back every cent of the sixty thousand!"
Lip's plan was to fool Teddy into leaving first, then figure something out.
As for paying the money?
They couldn't pay.
Hearing this, Teddy immediately burst into laughter. "Worthy of being Frank's son. You little bastard, do you think I'm a fcking idiot?"
"Sixty thousand dollars. Give it to me before dark. I'll be waiting right here, going nowhere!"
"..." Hearing this, Lip hadn't expected this seemingly foolish old man to be so sharp. He panicked instantly and fell silent.
After a few seconds of silence.
"We definitely can't come up with that much money before dark," Lip decided to gamble. "If you won't negotiate, then call the police. Do whatever you want!"
Teddy's tattoos weren't for show.
Lip's move was too naive.
Teddy didn't even need to use his brain to see through Lip's bluff. Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone. "Great. Just for that, I'll say hello to my friends inside. Once you get in, I'll have them give you a warm welcome."
"It's only sixty thousand. With Fiona's looks, she could earn that after servicing a few hundred customers."
Smiling as he spoke, Teddy dialed 911.
Watching this, Lip hadn't expected to lose so completely. His head buzzed, and he didn't know what to say.
At this moment.
Hearing Teddy talk about selling her into prostitution, and seeing him actually calling the police...
Unable to imagine the consequences, Fiona screamed in panic, "Don't! Don't call the police! We have money! We have money!!"
Shouting, enduring the pain, Fiona gritted her teeth and stood up. She pulled all the money from her pockets and threw it onto the coffee table in front of the sofa.
Then, nearly out of her mind, Fiona yelled at Monica and Frank, "Money! Hand over all the money, quick!"
Hearing this, Monica hesitated for two seconds, then took out her money.
Frank didn't move.
"Frank!!" Fiona screamed, almost going insane.
"Fxxk you! You guys did this stupid thing, why should I bear the consequences! I don't have any money!!!" Frank was furious and roared angrily.
Seeing this scene, Lip spoke up, asking Fiona, "Is his money on him?"
Fiona nodded.
The next second.
Lip didn't waste words; he went straight in to snatch it.
Frank refused, roaring in anger while resisting desperately.
Lip, beyond furious, swung a fist into Frank's stomach. "Ian, help!"
It didn't take long.
Two fists can't beat four hands. Frank's money was also thrown onto the coffee table.
Frank slumped in his wheelchair, wailing in pain and cursing endlessly.
Lip ignored him. He threw the money he got from selling the car onto the table, then found the money hidden in the kitchen from selling the stolen goods yesterday and threw that onto the table as well. "This is all our money. We'll give you the rest tomorrow! Just one day, can't you wait?"
Teddy looked closely at the bills on the coffee table and estimated the amount. "There's about thirty-something thousand here. You're still short quite a bit."
"Give me the rest before dark. I'm not waiting!"
"Don't blame me. Blame the fact that you Gallaghers never keep your word."
Faced with this.
Lip was so angry he was practically smoking. "We said we'll give it to you tomorrow, we'll give it to you tomorrow..."
Teddy ignored him, sat on the sofa, and started organizing the money on the table. "Before dark. Otherwise, I have plenty of ways to deal with you."
Teddy, this damn bastard, was immune to both persuasion and force.
Lip didn't know what to do anymore.
For a moment, the living room was filled only with Frank's cursing and Debbie's sobbing.
After a while.
Fiona, who had completely broken down and wondered why she even bothered living, took a deep breath, pulled out her phone, and decided to call Steve for help.
Result.
No answer.
Called again.
Same result.
Called once more.
Still the same.
Hehe, hehe, hehe.
Fiona laughed. She laughed until tears came out, laughing maniacally.
Lip watched, his heart aching. "Steve isn't answering?"
Fiona just laughed crazily, unable to speak.
Carl watched Fiona, his heart aching too. Then, a thought formed in his small head.
Carl acted immediately. He walked over to Fiona, took the phone from her hand, and called Veronica.
The call connected instantly.
"Veronica, it's me, Carl. Is Dexter there?" Carl said immediately upon connection.
"He is. What's wrong?" Veronica was confused as to why Carl would be calling.
"I want to ask him for help. Can you let me talk to him?" Carl said calmly.
Veronica paused. "Okay."
Soon.
"Carl, what's up?" Dexter was also quite puzzled.
Carl didn't waste words. "I want to borrow some money from you. Borrow over twenty thousand dollars. I will definitely pay you back, I swear!"
"?????" Dexter was even more confused. What big trouble had the Gallaghers gotten into now to suddenly need so much money? "Okay. What happened?"
"I can't explain it clearly right now. Can you bring the money over immediately? It's best if you bring thirty thousand. Once you're at my house, I'll explain in detail," Carl said.
"Okay, I'll be right there," Dexter agreed readily.
"Thank you. I'll wait for you," Carl thanked him sincerely.
The phone hung up.
Dexter didn't waste time. He moved efficiently to open the safe in the restaurant, took out thirty thousand dollars, and then invited the puzzled Veronica. "Carl's in some trouble. Let's go check it out together."
"Okay."
In the blink of an eye.
The two got in the car.
The Ferrari roared away.