Dex Restaurant.
Kevin arrived with the lawyer.
The lawyer's name was Hernando. He was a Mexican-American in his thirties who looked sharp and flexible.
Dexter sized him up quickly and was satisfied. Wasting no time, he beckoned to Hernando. "The kitchen is still busy. Do you mind if we talk in there?"
Hernando lived in the area and had naturally heard of Dex Restaurant. He knew how rich Dexter was, so hearing this, he didn't hesitate for a second. He nodded with a smile. "Of course."
Seeing Kevin wanting to follow, Dexter said, "Kevin, why don't you sit with Carl for a bit?"
Getting rid of Kevin was easy.
Kevin's brain capacity... was somewhat limited.
"Sure," Kevin agreed readily, not thinking anything of it.
Moments later.
Inside the kitchen.
"Hernando, I count as your client now, so there's a confidentiality agreement between us, right?" Dexter cut straight to the chase.
"Of course. Rest assured, Mr. Ding, our conversation is privileged," Hernando replied with a smile.
"Good. Then I'll be direct. As you can see, I'm quite busy here."
"Please, go ahead, Mr. Ding."
"You have four people to defend this time: Fiona, Phillip, Ian, and Debbie. They are all at the police station right now. The outcome I want is: Fiona goes to prison, Phillip and Ian go to juvenile detention, and Debbie walks free," Dexter said with a smile.
"????" Hearing this, Hernando was naturally taken aback. He blinked, suspecting he had misheard. "Mr. Ding?"
Dexter smiled. "You heard me right."
Having it confirmed, Hernando looked at Dexter suspiciously, formed a guess, and laughed. "Mr. Ding, you really are an interesting man. You must have quite a grudge against them."
"That's not important. What's important is, can you do it?" Dexter asked.
Hernando thought for a moment, not daring to make absolute promises. "I haven't been to the station yet and don't know the specifics, so I can't guarantee it."
Then, Hernando gave a sly smile. "Besides, if I manage to pull that off, doing something like that isn't exactly good for my reputation. Mr. Ding, you're a businessman, you understand what I mean."
Dexter naturally understood. "Name a price."
Hernando was delighted and grinned broadly. "Twenty thousand dollars."
"Deal," Dexter agreed instantly.
"?????" Hernando was instantly unhappy.
Damn it!
I asked for too little!
Hernando was speechless, his emotions a complicated mess. Looking at Dexter, his instinct was to immediately raise the price.
"Don't get greedy. Quit while you're ahead. We'll have opportunities to work together in the future," Dexter guessed exactly what Hernando was thinking and smiled. "Otherwise, I can always find another lawyer."
Hernando panicked.
Let an easy twenty grand go to someone else?
That would be nonsense.
Human nature is funny like that.
The next second, Hernando didn't dare dwell on the low price anymore. He hurriedly grinned and agreed, "You're joking, Mr. Ding. I'm a very easily satisfied man. Here's to a happy cooperation."
"Good. Go to the station with Kevin. Remember, you have to act like you're on Fiona's side. Don't blow your cover, and definitely don't drag me into it," Dexter instructed.
"No problem!" Hernando replied confidently.
"Alright. Once it's done, come back here to settle the bill."
Hernando didn't move yet. "Mr. Ding, one more question. What is the worst outcome you can accept? You know, there are many uncertain factors in these things. I'll try my best to get what you want, but just in case..."
Dexter understood and didn't push too hard. "Worst case scenario: Fiona goes to prison, the others walk."
"Got it." Hernando was confident he could absolutely achieve at least that. "Then, Mr. Ding, just wait for my good news."
Leaving that sentence behind, Hernando didn't dawdle and turned to leave.
Moments later.
Kevin and Hernando headed to the police station together.
---
The Police Station.
Debbie changed her story, and Fiona and Lip cooperated.
The handcuffs on Patrick's wrists were removed. He glared viciously at the four Gallaghers, then took his two sons and stormed out without saying a word.
Debbie got a lecture from the officer who had arrested Patrick.
Of course, the lecture wasn't too harsh.
Debbie was a little girl, after all; she had a natural advantage.
With that, Fiona and the others had successfully saved the house, solving one problem.
Just then, Kevin and Hernando arrived.
Seeing Kevin and learning that Hernando was a lawyer, Fiona, Ian, and Debbie all showed obvious excitement. Lip, however, maintained his arrogant, "I-know-everything" attitude.
Soon, introductions were made.
Hernando wanted to get his hands on that twenty thousand dollars as soon as possible, so he didn't waste time. He went straight to the point, speaking to Sam, the officer in charge of the case. "Officer, I need to speak with my clients alone."
Before long.
Hernando, Kevin, and the four Gallaghers moved to an interrogation room.
"Fiona, which one of you is going to tell me exactly what happened?" Hernando asked.
By this time, although still terrified, Fiona had calmed down slightly because she had resolved to take the blame herself. Hearing this, she immediately spoke up, explaining the events... emphasizing the fact that Teddy had taken the sixty thousand dollars.
After listening.
"Okay, I understand the situation," Hernando nodded. "Wait here a moment. I'm going to find the officer and watch the surveillance video. The outcome of your case hinges on that footage."
Hearing this, Fiona nodded repeatedly, naively fantasizing about a happy ending where she wouldn't have to go to jail.
Ian and Debbie had similar reactions.
Hernando noticed this, smiled silently, and left the interrogation room without another word.
Inside the room.
Kevin thought it over and decided to speak up. He looked at Fiona. "Fiona, we've known each other a long time. I really consider you a friend, so I want to tell you this."
"Honestly, you guys can't keep living like this."
The words hung in the air.
Purely out of instinct, Fiona opened her mouth to argue—the Gallaghers are so poor, how are we supposed to live without scamming and stealing?
But in an instant, knowing deep down that this really couldn't go on, Fiona gritted her teeth and held back. She didn't argue, just gave a weak response. "Yeah."
But Lip argued. And he did it with righteous indignation. "Kevin, save your high-and-mighty talk. Sure, you guys are doing well now, but before this, you weren't any different from us."
Kevin: "..."
Kevin was stunned for a moment, then let out a laugh of disbelief. "Yeah, you make a good point. Pretend I didn't say anything. It's your life, I can't control it."
Lip shot Kevin a sideways glance and didn't say anything more.
"I'm going out for a smoke." Kevin couldn't be bothered to stay there anymore. He dropped that line to Fiona and walked out on his own.