Page 31 of Deserving Ryleigh
“Wait, wait, wait. Theoriginalten million? And yougave it away?” Brick asked.
Ry nodded. “It’s been a decade since I split, and since then, that stolen money has accrued interest…and I might have made some wise investment decisions.”
“Okay, then how much with interest?”
Ry glanced at Pipe. “Thirty.”
“Million?” heclarified.
“Uh-huh.”
“And you’ve just given at least ten million away?” Tonka asked in bewilderment.
“Yes.” Ry’s chin lifted slightly. “Over twenty, actually.” She was ashamed of her past, of the things she’d done. The people she’d ripped off. But she’d worked damn hard to atone for her sins. To give back tenfold to those who’d been stolen from.
“To who?” Owl asked.
“Humane societies, no-kill animal shelters, K9 training centers, GLAAD, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, volunteer firehouses, prisons, veteran organizations like the Gary Sinise Foundation, women’s rights organizations, Make-A-Wish, orphanages, St. Jude and other hospitals, homeless centers, drug addiction centers, halfway houses, wild horse organizations, the Red Cross, food pantries, Doctors Without Borders, the NAACP legal fund, Helen Keller Intl, boys and girls clubs, breast cancer research, Toys for Tots, Ronald McDonald House, the ACLU, National Audubon Society, The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, RAINN, 4H programs…to name a few.”
Ry didn’t blink at the surprise on Owl’s face.
“Wow.”
She wasn’t sure who said it, but she didn’t break eye contact with Owl.
“Okay. All right then.”
“Wait…have you given The Refuge money?” Brick asked.
Ry looked at him, but she didn’t answer his query.
“You have. Shit, Ry, that’s not cool.”
“Why not? You guys are doing amazing things here. So many people have benefited from what you’ve built.”
Brick looked flustered, and Ry had a feeling he wanted to insist she take back any money she’d donated, but that wasn’t going to happen. And she’d never admit tohow muchshe’d donated. The program running on her computer that regularly sent money through the donation button Alaska had added to the website would continue to do its thing until the account the money was coming from ran dry. Which wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. And the money couldn’t be traced back to her. She’d made dead sure of that.
“How much is left?” Pipe asked.
“Around eight million or so,” Ry said. It was still a lot of money, and she’d worked her ass off to get rid of as much as she had. But it seemed as fast as she gave the money away, she made more.
“Right, so…this Harold guy wants his money, which he’s not going to get. He’s doing his best to wreak havoc on The Refuge until Ry does what?” Stone asked.
“It’s not about me. I mean, it is, but it’s not. Now, his goal is to destroy The Refuge. To get back at you for helping me. To make it impossible to work with vendors, or even to function,” Ry said sadly.
“Can you find him?” Tonka asked. “If he’s wanted by the FBI, can you track him down and turn him in, get him off our backs?”
“Maybe,” Ry said. “But I doubt it. He’s good. Not as good as me, but I’m guessing he’s monitoring the FBI tip lines and emails. If I tell them where he is, he’ll be gone before they get there.”
“Even if we could get you an in-person meeting with someone in the FBI?” Brick asked.
“You can do that?”
“We know people with connections who can make it happen.”
“Well…I think we could use all the help we can get. But the FBI is aware of what my dad can do. His skills. Any way wedocommunicate with someone, even if it’s in person…it’s possible he might have a way of knowing we’re planning something.”
“There has to be something we can do,” Owl said. “I’m not ready to watch this place go under.”
