Tony made his meaning perfectly clear.
Fiona understood.
So did Lip, Ian, and Debbie.
Fiona fell into a heavy silence.
One to three years?
Six months at the absolute minimum?
To be stuck in prison for that long...
The thought of living in a cage made Fiona tremble even more violently. The sheer terror on her pale face spiked rapidly.
But even so...
A second later, Fiona mustered her courage. "I..."
But before she could get another word out, Lip cut in, his voice steely and decisive. "I'm taking the rap! This was my idea in the first place. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in this mess. That's final. Don't argue."
Hearing this...
Tony, who was a total simp for Fiona and really didn't want to see her go to jail, let out a silent sigh of relief.
But Fiona panicked. Her eyes went wide as she glared at Lip. "No!! You are going to stay in school and get into college!! I'm your big sister. This is my responsibility! I'll take it!"
Just as the words left her mouth...
Ian gritted his teeth, summoned his courage, and spoke up. "Fiona, you need to take care of Debbie, Carl, and Liam. Lip, you're too smart... don't let this ruin your life."
"I'll do it."
Hearing this, Tony instinctively wanted to agree.
The fact was, in Tony's view, Ian was indeed the ideal candidate to take the fall.
But Fiona stepped in first, her attitude incredibly firm. "No! Absolutely not! Both of you, shut the hell up!"
Tony had no choice. He spoke up quickly to ensure he could get a word in. "Fiona, this isn't the time to be a hero. Prison isn't what you think it is."
Lip knew perfectly well that Tony was obsessed with Fiona. Hearing Tony say this—while Lip genuinely didn't want Fiona to go to jail—he was still extremely annoyed by Tony's subtle implication that he or Ian should take the fall.
"Tony, thanks for the heads-up. We get it," Lip said sharply. "Now, can you give us a minute to talk alone?"
He was kicking him out.
"Okay." Tony wasn't stupid; he understood the hint. He hesitated for a moment, then gave Fiona one last piece of advice. "Fiona, you really need to think this through."
With that, Tony stood up, intending to find Sam to see if there was any way to reduce the severity of the charges.
Once Tony was gone, Lip turned back to Fiona.
The three of them argued back and forth.
After bickering for a while, another officer walked over, escorting a furious Patrick who looked like he couldn't believe what was happening.
Seeing Fiona and the others arguing, the officer immediately barked, "Quiet down! Where do you think you are?"
Being scolded made Lip bristly. Instinctively, he snapped back, "We're just talking!"
Lip's attitude...
Honestly, anyone would get pissed off dealing with it.
The officer glared instantly. "You got an attitude, kid? Say one more word and see what happens."
Lip opened his mouth to retort.
Fiona couldn't handle Lip's temper anymore. She hurriedly whispered angrily, "Lip, shut up!"
Lip glanced at Fiona, hesitated for a second, and finally closed his mouth without saying anything.
Seeing this, the officer sneered. He turned to Debbie, his tone changing to something much gentler. "Debbie, right? Patrick says he never touched you. Can you tell us what exactly happened?"
Hearing this...
Fiona, who had already realized what Debbie had done and what her goal was, felt like her head was about to explode. She was anxious beyond belief. She took a deep breath and bit her tongue hard, using the pain to force herself to calm down.
Then, she spoke softly to the officer. "Officer, I'm Debbie's sister. This is a very sensitive subject. Can I talk to Patrick alone for a moment first?"
"I was sleeping earlier, so I don't know the full story yet. Maybe there's some misunderstanding."
The officer thought about it. Not wanting to blow the situation out of proportion, he nodded. "Five minutes. I'm going to grab a coffee. You guys get your story straight."
Leaving Patrick there, the officer turned and walked away.
"Thank you," Fiona said.
Once the officer was a bit further away...
Fiona didn't dare waste time. She forced herself to look confident and spoke directly to Patrick. "Patrick, the house is ours! If you don't want to go to prison, you have to notarize the transfer of the house to us right now!"
Patrick was ready to explode, his eyes practically spitting fire. "You little bastards! I don't believe for a second you can make the cops buy this! I didn't do anything!"
Lip immediately jumped in, looking vicious. "You can try your luck. There's no physical evidence for this kind of thing. Let's see if the cops believe you or a crying little girl like Debbie!"
After delivering the threat, Lip signaled Debbie. "Debbie."
Debbie understood. Looking at Patrick's ugly face, she felt a surge of hatred, temporarily forgetting her earlier fear. She spoke up, "I remember you crawled into my bed and reached out to touch..."
Patrick was shameless, but not shameless enough to stomach this. "You... you... you!! You little mongrel, how could you..."
Hearing Patrick stammer, Debbie, who had just been interrupted, didn't hesitate to continue. "You also told me it was our little secret and not to tell anyone."
Listening to this, Patrick was so angry his breathing became heavy, his chest heaving up and down.
Lip saw this and was very satisfied. He smirked coldly. "Patrick, do you still think the police will believe you?"
Did Patrick think so?
No!
With a little monster like Debbie making such a conscience-less, slanderous accusation...
And since there was indeed no way to prove he didn't do it...
Patrick didn't want to go to prison. But to let these bastards get the house? Fxxk that.
"Fine. Fine. Good job, you little shits!"
"But let me tell you!"
"I would rather go to prison than give that house to you!"
"I'll be waiting for you all to end up on the streets and die off one by one!!"
Lip's arrogance had miscalculated once again.
He hadn't expected Patrick to be this ruthless. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond.
At this moment, Fiona, who couldn't bear the thought of losing the house and leaving Debbie, Carl, and Liam homeless, hurriedly proposed a compromise. "Patrick, it doesn't have to be like this! How about we meet halfway? We'll rent the house. You were planning to rent it out anyway."
If he had a choice, Patrick really didn't want to go to jail. His eyes darted around as his attitude softened slightly. "Fine! One thousand dollars a month. Two thousand deposit!"
Seeing Patrick waver, Fiona felt a spark of hope. "That's robbery. Four hundred dollars. No deposit. Fifty-year lease. We sign a contract."
"Keep dreaming!" Patrick rejected it instantly.
"Those are the terms! The cop is coming back! Think clearly—do you want to go to jail, or do you want to earn a free four hundred bucks a month?!" Lip spoke up now, his voice hard. "We both know that will of yours is fake!"
"Also, let me tell you, child molesters aren't exactly popular in prison. Your ass is going to get torn apart!"
Patrick's heart jolted. The image made his blood run cold. He instinctively turned his head to look in the direction the officer had gone.
The cop was walking back, coffee in hand.
Motherfcker.
Patrick was furious. He stayed silent for a few seconds, then grit his teeth. "Four hundred dollars!!"
Lip smiled. "Don't try to back out later, or Debbie will change her story back!"
"Fxxk you!" Patrick cursed loudly. "I'm not like you people. A deal is a deal."
---
Time flew by. Kevin found a lawyer and called Dexter. "Dexter, I found a lawyer. What now?"
"Bring him to my restaurant. I'll have a talk with him," Dexter replied.
"Okay, we'll be right there," Kevin answered crisply.
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