Chapter 181: Fiona and Lip Explode into a Major Conflict
"Today, a horrific triple homicide occurred in Dalton.
The Rigby family—three members in total, including a ten-year-old boy.
Police have stated that the case is extremely severe and will spare no effort in capturing the perpetrator."
The latest news played on the TV.
Fiona, lounging at home, couldn't help muttering, "Holy shit… things are really getting out of hand."
"Hey, can you turn the TV down? I'm helping Ian study."
Lip suddenly snapped, picking a fight out of nowhere.
It was the weekend, so Debbie's daycare was closed. After a long week, both Debbie and Carl were still asleep.
Fiona didn't wake them. They were already carrying too much for their age—she wasn't heartless enough to deny them rest on a weekend.
But hearing Lip's tone, she turned to glance at the two brothers sitting at the table, then simply switched off the TV.
"What are you two up to now?" she asked, walking over with her hands on her hips. "Didn't you say you weren't going back to school?"
"I'm not," Lip replied casually, spinning a pen between his fingers. "But that doesn't mean Ian isn't. He's planning to apply to West Point. Just needs better grades."
The way he said it was clearly intentional.
He wanted to irritate her.
And he succeeded.
"What the fuck? Ian? You're joining the military?"
Ian frowned. The moment she reacted like that, he was reminded of yesterday's argument with Lip, and instantly felt exhausted.
"Yeah. So what?" he said, looking up at her.
"You… why?" Fiona asked, genuinely confused.
"Why?" Ian shot back, clearly fed up. "What, I can't love my country or something?"
Ian looked like he was about to explode.
Fiona was momentarily at a loss for words.
But there was no way—absolutely no way—she was going to let her brother enlist and risk his life in some meaningless war.
On the side, Lip watched the scene unfold, and it reminded him exactly of his own argument with Fiona the day before. A quiet sense of satisfaction crept into his chest.
Seeing Fiona struggle made him feel good.
Sometimes, people really are that dark inside.
He could come up with all kinds of excuses to justify it—to himself or to others—but the fact remained: he was enjoying this.
"I don't care what your reasons are! I'm not letting you join the military! Do you hear me, Ian?!"
Fiona gave up trying to reason with him.
At this point, it felt like the whole family was falling apart.
Lip wanted to drop out, have a kid, and go work. Ian wanted to enlist.
Her head was pounding.
She had thought that opening the restaurant meant things were finally turning around—that life was getting better.
But just as things stabilized on that front, the family started falling apart again.
For a moment, the same suffocating feeling she had when Lip first said he wanted to drop out came rushing back.
Though this time, she didn't lose control like before.
Partly because she'd been through this kind of stress too many times already.
And partly because, deep down, she knew—if it got too much, she could always go to William to vent.
That thought alone made it easier to endure.
William's influence had already begun to take root.
Fiona was starting to depend on him.
And if that dependency deepened, sooner or later, she wouldn't be able to break free.
"I'm not a kid anymore! I can decide my own future!"
Ian argued back, just like Lip had done the day before.
That sentence hit Fiona hard.
"Fine! Fine! Fine! Ha… haha…"
She put her hands on her hips, laughing in a way that sounded almost unhinged.
"If you're all so eager to decide your own lives, then get out! Get out of this house!
Go live your own lives! This place is rented under my name!
If you want independence, then be men—go find your own place instead of leeching off me!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—kids, what's going on here?"
Frank limped in from outside.
It wasn't obvious at first glance, but anyone could tell his leg had been injured.
"Shut the fuck up, Frank!"
Fiona snapped instantly, yelling at him.
If any of the other kids had spoken to him like that, Frank would've exploded—or even thrown hands.
But Fiona was different.
She was the one child he felt he owed.
So instead of lashing out, he lowered his voice.
"What happened? I'm just trying to care about my kids."
As he spoke, his eyes flicked between Lip and Ian, spinning with some unknown calculation.
Before he could say anything else—
"Frank! Shut your filthy mouth! You trying to get me killed by sunlight, you useless sack of garbage?!
Get over here and bring my wheelchair back inside! You worthless trash!"
Peggy's voice came screaming from the back door.
Frank flinched immediately.
"I'm coming, Mom! Stop yelling!"
He forced an awkward smile, then hurried off to fetch the wheelchair.
None of the three siblings paid him any attention.
To them, Frank was nothing more than a clown.
Lip stared at Fiona, his gaze sharp.
Ian, on the other hand, was starting to panic.
"You serious?" Lip asked suddenly.
"Yes, I'm serious!" Fiona shot back. "Either you get out right now, or you go to college like you're supposed to!
That opportunity—William worked his ass off to get it for you!
Do you have any idea how rare that is for people like us?!
It could change your entire life!"
The moment she mentioned William, Lip—already on edge—completely snapped.
"Fuck William! William, William, William—are you so busy being his little bitch that you've lost your mind?!
Rich people are all scumbags—that's what you taught me, Fiona!
So what the hell happened to you?!
That guy has been screwing us over this whole time! Don't you see it?!"
Lip was fully exploding now.
But Fiona just laughed.
"He's screwing you over? That's rich.
Do you know how much money he spent helping you apply to college?
He's out here spending money just to 'harm' you? What, is he insane?"
Truthfully, that was exactly what Lip couldn't figure out either.
Why would William go through all this trouble? What did he stand to gain?
It didn't make sense.
But his gut kept telling him—
something about William wasn't right.
Watching his brother and sister clash like this, Ian started to feel uneasy.
Because when he really thought about it…
If he got kicked out—
where would he even go?
To Mandy's place?
Live with Mickey?
The thought popped into his head—
and refused to leave.