Chapter 59 — Crypto and BillsMoney changed people.
But organized money changed outcomes.
Luke understood the difference.
Separating Clean from DirtyHe sat at the kitchen table again, dawn barely touching the windows. Fiona was still asleep, curled around exhaustion. The house was quiet in the rare way it only ever was before the city woke up.
Luke opened his laptop.
Two accounts.
Two paths.
Rule One:
Never mix survival money with future money.
The cash from SAT hustles, odd favors, and gray-zone work—money that might attract questions—was converted. Slowly. Carefully. Fragmented into anonymized crypto wallets that could never be traced back to the Gallaghers.
No single transfer large enough to raise flags.
No repeating patterns.
No human error.
The System's Genius Analytical Ability flagged every risk before it existed.
Hustle money vanished.
Not gone—
untouchable.
Legitimate Streams Stay LegitimateThe freelance income—the $1,000 from clean software work—went the opposite direction.
Banked.
Reported.
Boring.
Luke opened a standard checking account under Lip Gallagher's name, the kind designed for students and part-time workers. He even smiled faintly at the irony.
This is what legitimacy looks like.
The First Real PaymentFiona's credit card statement lay on the counter, folded, unopened.
Luke unfolded it.
Interest piling on interest.
Minimum payments eating breath.
Late fees stacked like insults.
He paid it.
Not partially.
Fully.
The confirmation screen glowed green.
Balance: $0.00
He closed the tab before emotion could rise.
The Bills No One Talks AboutElectricity.
Gas.
Water.
Past-due notices layered like wallpaper in the drawer.
Luke handled them one by one.
Each payment precise.
Each confirmation saved.
Each account brought current.
The house exhaled.
Not metaphorically.
Literally—the hum of the fridge stabilized, the lights stopped flickering, the gas heater clicked on without complaint.
Security wasn't dramatic.
It was quiet.
Fiona NoticesShe came downstairs mid-morning, hair tied up, face already braced for another problem.
Then she froze.
"Why is the electric bill paid?"
Luke didn't look up. "Because it was due."
"And the credit card?"
"High interest. Bad for long-term stability."
She stared at him like she didn't recognize the kid at the table.
"You didn't steal it, right?"
Luke met her eyes.
"No."
That was all.
She swallowed, nodded once, and turned away before he could see her eyes burn.
The House RebalancesThat night, dinner felt different.
No tension.
No whispered math.
No Frank-shaped dread hanging in the air.
Just noise.
Normal, messy, human noise.
Luke watched it all with a distant calm.
The Emotional Regulator softened the edges, but didn't remove the meaning.
This wasn't power.
This was relief.
And for the first time in the Gallagher house, relief wasn't borrowed from tomorrow.
It was paid in full.