Chapter 77 — Fiona Breaks Down Again… and Again… and Again
Among everyone present, only William truly understood just how vicious Debbie's nature was.
What she cared about wasn't Liam at all.
What she feared was that once Liam was gone, she'd no longer have anyone left to bully.
"I can't see them from this window," Lip replied to Debbie, his voice low and dejected.
Compared to Debbie, Lip's emotions were at least genuine.
That said, it wasn't because he was thinking about what was best for Liam.
He simply didn't want to be separated from his little brother.
"We can call the police! Tell them Liam's been kidnapped!"
Debbie blurted out the idea like an idiot—an utterly useless suggestion.
"Hey," Fiona said, fixing Debbie with a steady look,
"We'll handle this. No matter what. Okay?"
She wasn't comforting Debbie so much as preventing her from doing something stupid.
Debbie had already messed things up once before.
If she filed a false police report again, the consequences wouldn't be as easy to deal with this time.
Under Fiona's gaze, Debbie felt wronged.
She genuinely thought she was trying to help.
So why did everyone always ignore her?
No one in the room noticed that fleeting look in Debbie's eyes—
no one except William.
And given what Debbie would later grow into, William wasn't surprised at all.
"Tch. No wonder Debbie turns into that later," he thought.
"So this is what she was like from the start."
"Hey! Look—they're coming out!"
Lip suddenly shouted.
Fiona rushed to the window.
Outside, Monica was stepping out of the house, Liam in her arms, walking alongside her Black girlfriend.
The moment Fiona saw them about to take Liam away, she couldn't sit still anymore.
She bolted out of the room.
The others followed close behind.
---
On the street, Monica cradled Liam as she headed toward the black truck.
Bob stood beside the truck, waiting for her.
Fiona ran out of 2119 and stopped on the sidewalk.
She stared at Monica's back from a distance.
She didn't shout.
She didn't move.
She just stood there—
watching in silence.
Tears were already pooling in Fiona's eyes.
At that moment, Monica suddenly stopped.
She turned around.
She looked at Fiona, guilt filling her eyes.
It was obvious: Monica had made her decision.
In an instant, Fiona's tears burst like a dam breaking.
She couldn't bear to watch Liam be taken away like this. She lunged into William's arms, burying her face against his chest, too afraid to look.
"Liam!" Debbie cried out, trying to run forward.
But Veronica and Lip quickly stopped her.
Monica looked at them all, her heart twisting uncomfortably.
Yet in the end, she still turned away and walked resolutely toward Bob.
Her own eyes were wet with tears.
Perhaps it was self-preservation.
After all, admitting that you're a piece of trash does serious damage to one's psyche.
And Monica had a well-practiced survival skill:
Blame everyone else.
If she abandoned her husband and children, it was Frank who drove her away.
If she was sick and untreated, it was because no one understood her.
In short—nothing was ever her fault.
Honestly, if Frank hadn't met Monica back when he was studying at Northwestern, if he'd actually finished school and graduated…
He might have turned out far better than this.
But at the core of it all was the same thing:
An absolute refusal to admit she was rotten.
So William felt not the slightest bit of sympathy for Monica.
As the truck's engine roared to life, Fiona finally lifted her head again.
She watched the taillights disappear around the corner—
and completely broke down.
Truth be told, William thought Liam leaving might actually be good for the Gallagher family.
But given Monica's disgusting personality, once Bob inevitably got sick of her and dumped her…
She'd almost certainly come crawling back to the Gallaghers—
and continue ruining Fiona's life.
"Why?! Why did you let Mom take Liam?! Didn't you say you'd handle it?! Why did Liam still get taken away?!"
Debbie suddenly started crying and accusing Fiona.
At that moment, the Gallagher household was a study in collapse:
The men stood in silence.
The women cried.
And Debbie kept shouting, relentlessly blaming Fiona.
Fiona broke down again.
And again.
And again.
She felt wronged too.
In reality, there was nothing she could do.
Legally, Monica had every right to take Liam.
Even if Fiona forcibly kept him, Monica could simply take him back through the courts.
William had no doubt Monica would do exactly that.
She was, at her core, a selfish, self-absorbed bitch.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have abandoned her entire family when Fiona was just nine years old—
leaving five children behind for Fiona to raise.
"Debbie."
Out of everyone present, Veronica was probably the only one who genuinely cared about Fiona.
She pulled Debbie back gently, signaling her to stop pushing.
"V, take care of the others," William said calmly.
"I'll take Fiona out for a bit."
Honestly, William was fed up.
If he stayed any longer, he was afraid he might end up testing the system's energy-harvesting function on Debbie.
Veronica didn't know that, of course.
She just thought Fiona's boyfriend was being considerate.
She nodded.
The others said nothing—at least they had some decency.
Only Debbie looked furious.
For reasons already clear, she was actually the one who least wanted Liam to leave.
"Fiona! Answer me!"
Debbie yanked free of Veronica's grip and rushed over, grabbing Fiona's arm and pulling hard.
Her behavior finally made Fiona turn and look at her.
"Why?! Why did you let them take Liam?!"
Faced with her sister's accusatory eyes—and the way she dumped all the blame onto her—
Fiona finally snapped.
"I'm sorry, Debbie."
She shook Debbie's hand loose.
William took the cue and led Fiona away.
Debbie tried to chase after them, still desperate to lash out—
but Veronica stopped her.
---
Inside the Civic, William sat in the driver's seat and reached into his pocket.
In reality, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his storage space.
He took one out, lit it, and inhaled.
Then he passed it to Fiona.
"Thanks."
Fiona took it and drew in deeply, as if smoke might erase everything weighing on her.
William had no doubt that if he hadn't been there, Fiona would probably have ended up looking for street dealers tonight.
They sat in silence for a long time.
The car filled with smoke, broken only by their breathing.
Fiona finally rolled down the window and flicked the cigarette butt outside.
"William…"
"Yeah?"
William looked at her, curious.
"Help me… I feel terrible. I don't know what to do anymore."
At that moment, William couldn't quite describe Fiona's expression.
She looked like she was smiling—but she was crying.
She looked like she was crying—but she was smiling.
Like someone on the verge of losing her mind.
Still, he knew exactly how he could help her.
---
Ten minutes later—
the same motel.
William rented another room next to Mandy's and Svetlana's.
Inside the room, Fiona looked at him expectantly.
Her eyes were filled with longing.
Clearly, she wanted to use sex to escape her life—
which, frankly, was very much in character for her.
But tonight, William had something different in mind.
Before he could even reach for the Obedience Whip, Fiona lunged forward.
She grabbed his head and kissed him hard—
completely ignoring William, simply venting all the pain and frustration she'd been holding in.
In the end, though, William was much stronger.
He managed—carefully, without hurting her—to push her away.
"Fiona," he said calmly,
"don't rush. I think I have a way to make you feel better."
"Do you want to try it?"
---