The Gallagher House
Carl quickly slurped down a soup dumpling. He got a little burned, but it tasted so good he didn't care. Immediately, he opened his mouth and swallowed another one.
'Man, this is good,' Carl thought, and instinctively reached for a third, but stopped himself.
Carl turned his head toward the living room.
The crying and arguing in the living room had intensified.
Fiona was crying, Monica was crying, and Debbie was crying too.
Liam stood in his crib, staring blankly at the chaos.
After watching for two seconds, Carl got up, walked into the living room, picked up Liam, and returned to the kitchen. "Liam, this stuff is really good. I'll feed you."
And just like that, Carl started feeding Liam.
Seeing this, Roberta's eyebrow twitched. She couldn't hold back and confronted Frank. "Frank, we had a deal. What the hell is going on with you? We're taking Liam, no question. If you don't fix this, Monica isn't going to sign your damn paperwork!"
Frank panicked.
No signature meant no money. That was definitely not happening.
Frank immediately yelled at Fiona, "Liam is your mom's son! She has the right to take him..."
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Fiona screamed repeatedly, cutting Frank off before he could finish.
Frank was silenced by the yelling and scratched his head in frustration.
Meanwhile, Ian finally couldn't handle it anymore. He grabbed his jacket and bolted out the front door. The moment he hit the street, his eyes were red and filled with tears as he ran toward the convenience store.
---
Inside the house, it didn't take long for Carl and Liam to finish sharing the soup dumplings.
When they were done, Carl wiped Liam's mouth clean, put him back in the crib, and sat down on the sofa.
By this time, Fiona was tear-streaked and speechless.
Looking at Fiona, Monica hesitated, then decided not to say anything more to her sister. She moved toward Carl and Debbie.
"I'm back, and I'm going to take care of you guys," Monica sobbed, opening her arms, wanting to hug Carl and Debbie.
Carl crossed his arms, his face blank. He ignored her, his mind already focused on making more money to support Dexter's business.
Debbie, the most vulnerable, hesitated for a moment but then hugged Monica.
Seeing this, Fiona's expression snapped. She completely cracked, and she laughed.
She laughed a couple of times.
"Fine, Mom, he's all yours. I'm done. Screw the Gallaghers!" Fiona screamed in a mix of despair and relief. After yelling, she turned to Steve. "Let's go."
Steve had been ready to leave for a while. Hearing that, he didn't waste a second and quickly walked out.
In the blink of an eye, the two were out of the house.
It's worth noting that no one chased after them.
Ha.
How ridiculous. What did all of Fiona's years of sacrifice mean?
It was only too bad that Fiona herself couldn't see it yet.
---
Svetlana returned to the Oasis Garden Spa, officially saying goodbye to her old job. She collected the pay she had earned before Dexter showed up, grabbed her few belongings, and returned to the storefront Dexter had rented.
Without wasting a moment, she went out and "borrowed" brooms, a mop, and a bucket. Rolling up her sleeves, she immediately started cleaning up the place.
Svetlana worked with gusto and was genuinely happy. She didn't feel tired at all and even forgot to eat dinner.
The storefront had been rented before, so the water and electricity hookups were already there; she just needed to pay to get them turned on.
The floor tiles were mostly fine, with only a few broken ones.
She knew how to paint walls and replace tiles.
Therefore, Svetlana decided not to hire a contractor but to do the renovation herself to save Dexter some money and try to increase her value in his eyes.
Unknowingly, it was past 9:00 p.m.
After working continuously for about four hours, Svetlana had the storefront basically spotless. She stopped, looked around, and smiled brightly.
"Time to eat," Svetlana muttered happily to herself after surveying her work. Then, completely unconcerned with her dusty appearance, she went out to find something to eat.
After grabbing a quick bite, Svetlana returned to the storefront to continue working, planning to finish the last bit of cleaning.
It was now 10:15 p.m.
---
On the same street, Dexter and Kevin, who had just gotten off work, walked out of The Alibi and got into the car, ready to head to Kevin's house for a barbecue.
Sitting in the car, Dexter glanced out the window and suddenly saw a light in the storefront he had rented that afternoon.
He was a little confused. He started the car. "Hold on for a second. I want to check out the new storefront I rented."
Kevin had already gotten a call from Veronica about the situation, so he didn't have any particular reaction and didn't think there was a problem with what Dexter was doing. "Sure."
The distance was short.
With a quick step on the gas, the Ferrari zoomed right up to the storefront entrance.
Immediately, both men saw Svetlana working inside the storefront so late.
Almost at the same time, Svetlana saw the Ferrari outside, recognized it as Dexter's car, and walked toward him.
"Boss," Svetlana greeted him with a smile as she stepped out of the storefront. "You're still up."
"Same to you. It's late, get some rest," Dexter replied with a slight smile. Then, he noticed a corner of the storefront.
There was luggage there.
Dexter realized that Svetlana seemed to have nowhere to stay after leaving the Oasis Garden Spa.
Also, he had forgotten to find someone to get the water and electricity turned on that afternoon.
A bit awkward.
"Where are you sleeping tonight?" Dexter had to ask, even though he had already guessed the answer.
Svetlana smiled and replied candidly, "Right here."
Just as he thought.
"There's no water, no electricity, and no heat here. Aren't you afraid of freezing?" Dexter shook his head helplessly, and then pulled out some cash.
There were some cheap motels on this street. The hotel he was staying at was the best around.
Dexter pulled out about ten bills, not even checking the amount, and handed them to Svetlana. "Find somewhere to stay. Don't freeze and get sick."
Seeing the money, Svetlana immediately took a step back and said seriously, "Boss, I'm Russian. I'm not afraid of the cold. I'll just stay here... I'll earn the money myself, and when I have enough, I'll find a place to stay."
Dexter was genuinely surprised by her response.
Kevin was too.
Kevin knew Svetlana used to be a woman who did "manual labor" and couldn't imagine her having this kind of refusal—turning down cash.
Dexter was surprised for a few seconds, then smiled.
Since Svetlana was so determined, he wouldn't force her.
"Alright, well, be careful and take care of yourself. I'm heading out," Dexter said, pulling his hand back.
"Okay, goodbye, Boss."
The Ferrari drove away, heading toward Kevin's house.
"Veronica seems to not understand why I hired Svetlana. Do you get it now?" Dexter asked with a laugh along the way.
Kevin grinned. "Yeah, I get it now. That Russian woman is a total powerhouse."