Page 19 of Victorious Vice

“I figured you’d be pleased,” Emily says.

“Pleased? I’m flabbergasted.” I rub my eyes just to make sure that I’m not hallucinating. “Where did this money come from?”

Emily smiles. “It came anonymously about an hour before you got here. It’s already been wired into our client trust account.”

“I can’t accept it,” I say. “Not if I don’t know who it’s from.”

Jared turns to me. “Raven, I’m just an old military guy, but even I know you don’t turn your back on that kind of cash.”

My trust fund is worth ten times that. I figured I’d put about a hundred million of my own money into this, and Robbie was good for fifty million. Maybe one of my brothers kicked in to cover the rest.

“You have to tell me,” I say.

“I would if I could,” Emily says. “But like I said, the donation was anonymous.”

“Why would they send it to you? The only person who knows?—”

I close my eyes. “Of course. My father. Who else knew that you were meeting with me today?”

“You could ask him, I suppose,” Emily says.

“Or you could just tell me.”

Her face remains still. She’s good. “I said I can’t. It came in anonymously. It could’ve come from anywhere. But you’re right. Someone knew to send it to me.”

Who else could’ve known? Vinnie’s family probably has that kind of money lying around, but he’s in Colombia. And he’s pretty much turned his back on me.

My mind races to the text I received on that burner phone.

Who was that Uber driver? And why would he be telling me I’m in danger?

“If it bothers you,” Emily says, “you can always decline the donation.”

It doesn’t sit well with me. I feel like someone’s poking me in the back of the neck. But Jared is right. I need to think of the people I can help with this money. The research that can be done on leukemia and other blood cancers.

“That won’t be necessary,” I say. “I just wish there were someone I could thank for their generosity.”

“I understand,” Emily says. “But anonymous donors stay anonymous for a reason. They’re not looking for glory. They’re not looking for gratitude. They simply want to help people.”

I nod. “Okay. We should have plenty of money, especially after our gala, to get some grants set up and really start helping people.”

“That’s another thing we need to talk about,” she says. “How do you want to set up distribution of resources? We have to have parameters or everyone in the country will be asking you for money.”

“Anyone with a blood cancer who needs money should feel free to ask for it,” I say. “Treatment is so expensive, andinsurance eventually runs out. Not to mention those people who aren’t insured at all.”

“I understand how much you want to help everyone, Raven,” she says. “But even resources as great as yours are going to be limited. Why don’t I come up with some guidelines, and we can look them over at our first board meeting? Do you have any idea of who you’d like to ask to serve on your board?”

“Well, I guess I’ll be on the board. Along with my sister.”

“Anyone else in your family?”

“Normally I would ask my father, but he’s so busy with everything else. Maybe my brother Falcon. He’s the one who donated his bone marrow to save my life.”

“Yes…” She looks down. “But isn’t he an ex-convict?”

“He’s innocent.”

“He may well be. But in the eyes of society, he spent time on the inside and he’s an ex-convict. I believe he pleaded guilty.”

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