The Funeral Home, Viewing Room.
Comrade Kev was never good at keeping secrets or shutting his mouth. His startled exclamation was loud.
Everyone in the viewing room heard it. Frank and his three brothers, as well as Carl and Debbie.
Instantly, all eyes turned to Kev.
Being stared at by so many people, Kev realized he had messed up. He forced a goofy grin, trying to play it off. "Don't look at me. I don't know what I'm saying."
Frank, who was currently high, heard it crystal clear. He whipped his head around to look at Carl (mistakenly thinking Kev was talking about him at first, then realizing), "Ian isn't my biological son?"
Carl and Debbie: "..."
Everyone else: "?????"
Debbie was speechless. She blinked, snapped out of it, and turned to ask Kev, "Kev, what are you talking about? Ian isn't Frank's biological son?"
Kev flashed his goofy grin again, refusing to answer, pretending he hadn't heard anything.
Seeing this.
The funeral was just about to get lively because of Kev's loose lips. How could they let it die down now?
Dexter immediately spoke up for Kev. "We just think Ian looks exactly like Clayton. They might be father and son."
As soon as the words were out.
Everyone's gaze shifted in unison to Clayton.
Clayton was dumbfounded. Instinctively recalling his past with Monica, he felt a wave of fear. He froze, unable to speak. "..."
Debbie and Carl naturally started scrutinizing Clayton carefully. Frank and the others did the same.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
"Jesus!" Carl couldn't help but say aloud. "They really do look fcking alike!"
Debbie had to nod in agreement.
Several barflies present who knew Ian had the same reaction, their faces lighting up with the excitement of impending gossip.
Just then, Frank, having put two and two together, blinked and shouted unhappily at Clayton, "Clayton, you fcked Monica?"
Hearing this.
Clayton's expression changed drastically. Panicked, he stood up and instinctively lied to defend himself. "I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!"
Hearing this, Frank lunged forward, getting right in Clayton's face, practically nose-to-nose, and interrogated him. "Then why does Ian look exactly like you?"
Clayton hurriedly backed away a few steps, flustered. "How should I know?"
By this time, a brilliant idea had popped into Frank's head.
Since Ian was Clayton's son, and Clayton was obviously doing well financially, then as compensation for raising Clayton's son for all these years, asking Clayton to cough up some cash wasn't excessive, right?
Frank thought it made perfect sense. He spoke again. "No wonder I always thought Ian didn't look a thing like me. Turns out he's your son!"
"Clayton! You did a great job, letting me raise your son for you all these years!"
"We need to settle this account!"
"Do you know how much money I spent raising Ian all these years..."
Frank's eloquence had always been top-notch. He rambled on without taking a breath.
In terms of verbal skills, Clayton was far inferior. Under Frank's relentless barrage, his head was spinning. His instinct was to turn and run.
When money was involved—potentially a lot of money—Frank was incredibly sharp. He instantly anticipated Clayton's move and grabbed his arm.
"Clayton, don't even think about running. We need to settle this!"
"Besides, I know where you live. If you run today, I'll bring Ian to your house to find you!"
"You don't want your wife finding out about this, do you?"
Frank threatened with a twisted expression.
And honestly, that threat was extremely effective.
Clayton was genuinely terrified of the consequences if his wife found out. He immediately abandoned the idea of running and asked, bracing himself, "Jesus fck, Frank, what do you want?"
Hearing this, Frank grinned brilliantly. "Now we are talking! What I want is simple. Money! Can't you tell?"
"I don't have money," Clayton said, shaking his head, feeling like his head was about to explode.
Frank smiled slyly. "You live this well, and you say you have no money? Don't try to fool me. I believe you can definitely find a way to get money. Come, sit down. Let's have a good talk."
Clayton fully believed that if he ran, Frank would definitely show up at his door. He had no choice but to sit down obediently.
Seeing Clayton sit, Frank immediately pulled up a chair and sat facing him. "Clayton, now let's calculate..."
Just then.
Debbie, who had been watching this unfold, couldn't take it anymore. She whispered to Carl, "Can I borrow your phone? I need to call Ian."
Carl, never stingy, pulled out his phone without hesitation, unlocked it, found Ian's number, and handed it to Debbie.
"Thanks," Debbie took the phone and walked quickly out of the viewing room.
Outside the room.
The call connected.
"Ian, it's me, Debbie," Debbie said immediately. "Can you come to the funeral home right now? It's urgent! I think I found your biological father!"
"????" Ian, who had just showered and laid down, was understandably dumbfounded hearing this out of the blue. "Debbie, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Debbie patiently explained the situation. Then she added, "Judging by that Clayton guy's reaction, there's a ninety percent chance you really are his son. Hurry over."
Ian understood. He hesitated, remaining silent for a moment. "Let me think."
Debbie didn't understand what there was to think about. "Don't you want to meet your biological father?"
Ian's mind was a bit chaotic. "I don't know. Let me think about it. Thanks, Debbie."
After speaking, Ian hung up.
Beep, beep, beep...
Listening to the dial tone, Debbie couldn't understand Ian's reaction. After thinking for a moment, she decided to call Lip, the smartest Gallagher.
This was a habit formed over the years among Fiona, Ian, Debbie, and Carl: for complex problems requiring brains, find the smartest one, Lip. Lip would definitely have a solution.
The call connected quickly.
Debbie explained the situation again.
Hearing it, Lip was also stunned. "What? Ian isn't Frank's son?"
After his initial shock, Lip said, "Okay. I'll talk to Ian."
"Hurry. That Clayton guy won't stay here long," Debbie urged.
"Okay."
Call ended.
Debbie smiled bitterly, shook her head, returned to the viewing room, sat back next to Carl, and returned his phone.
Carl took the phone, looked at Debbie, and wanted to laugh. "How does it feel being back?"
Debbie smiled bitterly again. "The Gallagher house hasn't gotten better. It's gotten even messier."
"Haha," Carl laughed.
In the viewing room, the farce between Frank and Clayton was still ongoing.
Dexter was enjoying the show immensely.
---
A few minutes flew by. 9:51 AM.
Fiona walked in holding Liam, followed by Monica.
Whoosh!
With Monica, the female lead, making her entrance, everyone naturally shifted their gaze to look at her.
The attention was intense, momentarily stunning both Monica and Fiona.
The next second.
Years of experience told Fiona this was definitely not a good sign.
Fiona instinctively asked, confused, "What?"
No one answered.
Then, Frank spoke up with a smile, happily beckoning Monica. "Monica, come here quick."
Hearing Frank's call, Monica ignored everyone's stares. She walked briskly and happily to Frank's side, then grinned and greeted the distressed and panicked Clayton. "Oh, Clayton, long time no see. You're still so handsome."
Hearing this, the corner of Clayton's mouth twitched instinctively. He couldn't speak.
"Monica, a situation was presented to me not long ago," Frank spoke again. "Ian isn't my son, but Clayton's son. They look exactly alike. You fcked Clayton back then, right?"
As soon as the words were out.
Buzz, buzz, buzz...
Fiona, who was confused a second ago, felt her brain buzzing non-stop. She zoned out uncontrollably. At the same time, she instinctively walked a few steps closer to Clayton's side, staring wide-eyed at him.
And she looked...
Holy sht! They look too fcking alike!
Fiona instantly believed it about eighty or ninety percent. Then, she zoned out even more.
What does this mean?
Ian is only half family?
Jesus!
Fiona didn't know how to feel. Her mind was in chaos.
Dexter watched, about to die of laughter. He couldn't help turning his head and whispering to Kev, "The Gallagher family drama really never seems to end."
Kev nodded with a goofy expression of agreement. "Indeed."
Veronica felt the same, but her mood was complicated, so she said nothing.
---
Hearing Frank's question, Monica—who had just been released today and was barely normal thanks to treatment and meds—was a little flustered and embarrassed. She opened her mouth but couldn't speak.
Frank actually didn't care that Monica fcked Clayton back then. Seeing her reaction, he smiled and said, "Monica, I don't blame you. Just tell the truth."
Hearing this, Monica hesitated, then nodded. "I think we did fck a few times back then..."
"Jesus..." Seeing Monica admit it, Clayton, who could never resist Monica's charm and was still attracted to her even now, groaned in distress, rubbing his face hard.
Frank smiled happily and turned to Clayton. "Clayton, you're a man. I raised your son for you all these years. No matter what, you have to cough up some money."
"I don't want much. Just give me twenty thousand dollars."
"Not excessive, right?"
Hearing this.
Fiona finally fully understood what Frank was doing. Instantly, she was dumbfounded, unable to believe Frank was actually selling Ian!
The next second, Fiona panicked. She immediately roared at Frank, "Frank, what the fck are you doing?"
Seeing a huge sum of money within reach, Frank couldn't be bothered with Fiona, the buzzkill. "None of your business! Go play somewhere else!"
Fiona: "?????" "How is this none of my business? I raised Ian! You didn't do anything!"
Frank ignored her, focusing happily on pressuring Clayton. "Clayton, you have to pay this money. Otherwise, Monica and I will bring Ian to your house tomorrow."
"I really want to see your wife's reaction after she learns the truth."
Clayton was terrified. "...Frank, I really don't have money. I'm bankrupt..."
Frank sneered immediately. "Fine, Clayton. You want to play it that way, huh?"
Saying that, Frank turned to Monica. "Monica, you're up. Clayton has never been able to resist your charm."
Hearing this.
Monica, who was truly a match for Frank in shamelessness and acted as his partner in crime, smiled brilliantly. She agreed without hesitation, then moved to sit on Clayton's lap.
"Oh, Clayton, you know Frank won't stop until he gets a few thousand dollars..."
Clayton really couldn't resist Monica's charm. He was about to go crazy from Monica's actions. "Monica, don't do this..."
And so.
The Gallagher family farce continued.
The liveliness of this funeral reached a new level.
For a moment, except for the funeral director, no one cared about the funeral anymore.
---
Before they knew it, it was almost 10:00 AM.
The funeral director checked his watch. Although he also wanted to keep watching the drama, he reined it in. He quietly approached Dexter, squatted down, and whispered, "Mr. King, two minutes to ten. Should we start the funeral?"
This show was so good; how could it end now?
Dexter shook his head decisively. "Don't rush. Let me finish watching the show. I'll pay for the overtime."
There weren't really any overtime fees.
But making money is always good.
The funeral director nodded immediately. "Okay."
Agreeing, the director consciously retreated, not disturbing Dexter's viewing.
Veronica heard what Dexter said and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Dexter, is this appropriate?"
"Haha, it's fine, it's fine. Watch the show first. Everyone is watching very intently," Dexter replied with a smile, looking around.
By this time, many barflies who frequented the Alibi had arrived.
The chairs in the viewing room were almost full.
And, as Dexter said, everyone was indeed intently watching the Gallagher drama.
Veronica looked around too and found it was true. Even more amused and speechless, she didn't say anything more.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Monica's actions became more and more exaggerated.
Clayton was really losing control.
It looked like the two might start going at it right there.
Fiona was going crazy.
Frank laughed gleefully.
Unknowingly, some time passed.
Suddenly.
Three more people entered the viewing room.
Lip, Karen, and Ian walked in.