That afternoon.
In the supermarket parking lot.
Carl and Frank were hiding out in a corner, lying in wait.
After a while—
A black pickup truck pulled in and stopped. The door opened, and Monica got out with Roberta. The two of them hugged each other tightly.
The second Frank saw that—
He froze, completely stunned. He never expected Monica to have a girlfriend now. And not only that—she was Black, big, and built like a tank.
"Fxxk!"
Carl recognized Monica right away. He didn't feel much emotionally, but the scene itself felt… intense.
"Awesome!"
After letting go of Roberta, Monica skipped toward the supermarket like an overexcited idiot.
Roberta followed right behind her.
Frank's head started pounding. He scratched hard at his scalp.
The plan had gone sideways, and for a moment, Frank had no idea how to salvage it.
"So what now, Dad?" Carl asked.
"Don't talk. I'm thinking," Frank snapped irritably.
Time passed.
After tearing up the supermarket and storming out angrily, Monica and Roberta headed straight back to the truck.
Frank still hadn't come up with a good idea. Left with no choice, he decided to back off for now.
"Son, let's go. We can't pull this off today."
"Then what about the money?" Carl asked.
That question stabbed Frank right in the heart.
That settlement check was huge.
With that kind of money, he could drink nonstop, buy whatever vices he wanted, and live it up for a good long while…
Frank wasn't willing to give up. He glanced at Carl, stayed silent for two seconds, then clenched his teeth and decided to gamble.
"Son—are you scared of getting beat up?"
Carl's mouth curved into a confident grin.
"Not scared."
"That's my boy!" Frank laughed and gave Carl a thumbs-up. "Alright, here's the plan. You push me toward the supermarket. We'll act like we're shopping. When you see Monica, run up and hug her, call her 'Mom' as loud as you can."
"I'll find an opening and convince her to go sign the papers."
Carl nodded without hesitation.
"Okay."
The very next second—
They stopped wasting time and put the plan into action.
Not long after—
Sure enough, Monica—who had just climbed into the passenger seat of the truck, still sulking because she didn't get a teddy bear—spotted Carl and Frank.
"Frank! Carl!!" she screamed.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Monica jumped back out of the truck.
Roberta knew all too well what kind of trash Frank was. Seeing this, she immediately followed, bristling with hostility.
In the blink of an eye—
The two of them were standing right in front of Frank and Carl.
The moment Frank saw Monica, his acting skills kicked into overdrive. He widened his eyes dramatically, putting on a shocked expression.
"Monica??"
He beat her to the punch.
"What are you doing here?"
Monica knew Frank too well. The instant she saw him, she was already sure he was the one who lured her here.
But instead of exploding at him right away, she put on a miserable face and spoke softly to Carl.
"Carl… look at you. You're so grown up now."
Carl's acting wasn't great. He froze for a second before rushing forward and throwing himself into Monica's arms.
"Mom! Where did you go? I missed you so much…"
Turns out—
Carl's acting really was terrible. Way too obvious.
Roberta saw through it instantly. She reached out and pressed a hand on Monica's shoulder.
"Monica, this is all set up by Frank. Calm down."
Frank panicked and instinctively tried to run—but with his legs still busted, there was no chance. He forced himself to stay calm.
"Who the hell are you?"
That did it.
Roberta's face turned vicious as she threatened him outright.
"You'd better watch your mouth, or I'll rip it off your face."
This Black woman was genuinely terrifying.
Frank didn't dare keep talking trash. Swallowing hard, he turned back to Monica.
"Monica…"
He'd barely gotten her name out—
When Monica turned on him and burst into loud sobs.
"Frank! Even for you, this is disgusting! Do you have any idea how badly I wanted that teddy bear?!"
She cried and wailed for a while.
At this point, there was no way Frank could admit anything. He gritted his teeth and pushed forward with the plan.
"Monica, what are you talking about? I don't get it. Carl and I were just here to shop. I didn't do anything…"
"But running into you here is a coincidence. I actually needed to talk to you."
"There's a document I need you to sign. Can you come with me?"
Monica couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Her eyes went wide. Her whole body shook with rage. She was so furious she couldn't even speak.
Seeing this, Roberta exploded. She took a big step forward, standing right in front of Frank, furious.
"Frank! I swear, I want to twist your damn head off right now!!"
Frank instinctively shrank his neck, hurriedly spinning his wheelchair backward to put some distance between them.
Monica finally found her voice, still sobbing.
"You tricked me into coming here just to make me sign something? You used something this low to hurt me…"
"Alright, alright, Monica, don't cry," Roberta said quickly, pulling her into a hug and comforting her.
Being comforted just made Monica cry even harder.
Roberta's eyes shifted. She realized this was an opportunity. She turned to Frank.
"Frank. We'll let Monica sign your stupid paperwork—but we want something in return. We're taking Liam."
Frank had already pretty much given up hope.
He never expected things to turn around like this.
In an instant—
Frank got excited. He smiled and agreed without hesitation.
"Deal!!!"
Hearing that—
Roberta smiled too.
Carl's expression changed. He thought of Liam. He thought of Fiona.
And suddenly, he felt like he'd messed up big time.
Not long after—
Roberta took Monica back to the truck, and they headed straight for the Gallagher house.
Frank was desperate to get the money. He urged Carl impatiently.
"Son, hurry! Push me home! We're about to get that money!!"
Carl didn't move. He frowned.
"You're really going to let them take Liam?"
Frank was sharp. He instantly sensed something was off with Carl. Without hesitation, he flashed a sly grin.
"Son, I'm lying to them. Learn from this. Once Monica signs the papers, they can get the hell out of here!"
Hearing that—
Carl paused, then smiled.
"Dad, that was smooth."
Frank laughed.
"Of course it was. Now quit wasting time—let's go."
Carl didn't argue. He pushed Frank and headed home.
---
Dex Restaurant
The restaurant was empty now.
Veronica and Vivian had nothing to do.
Dexter was about to head out for a walk.
Just then—
"Boss," Veronica called out. "Are you free tonight? Kevin and I wanted to invite you over for a barbecue."
"Oh?" Dexter responded, a bit hesitant. He'd been planning to deal with Kamala that night, which made things inconvenient. "Is something going on?"
Since Dexter asked so directly, Veronica felt a little awkward.
"What, we can't invite you over just to eat? But… yeah, there actually is something."
"Go on," Dexter said with a smile.
Veronica wasn't the type to beat around the bush.
"Kevin and I talked it over last night. We're thinking about buying the Alibi Room. We figured we could go over the details with you tonight. Does that work?"
Oh?
They were moving that fast?
For Kevin and Veronica, this was a huge deal.
Buying the Alibi. Becoming the owners.
If he helped them out a bit more and made sure they earned steady money—
Given that neither of them had self-destructive tendencies and they actually knew how to save—
It wouldn't be long before their lives completely turned around.
That was basically the goal of helping them in the first place.
Dexter thought it over.
Kamala could wait.
"Alright. See you tonight," Dexter said, changing his plans.
"Thanks, boss," Veronica replied happily.
"Anything else?" Dexter asked.
"Nope. Go have fun," Veronica shook her head.
"Alright. See you later."
With that, Dexter left the restaurant, got into his car, and changed destinations.
"Wasn't Svetlana working at the Hot Springs Garden Spa?"