Page 129 of Destiny

“And what if it’s not?”

“Then I’ll still probably have some money in my trust fund, right, Dad?”

“That will drain a lot of it, Ava,” Ryan says. “But if Wendy’s money is clean, you’ll have something. You’ll never be destitute, of course. Your trust fund isn’t your only inheritance. But it’s yours to live on now, before you inherit everything along with your sister and cousins.”

“Since I haven’t touched it yet, and I don’t plan to, I’ll be fine.”

I squeeze her hand. “Ava, baby, you’ve got to be sure about this. You didn’t create this mess. Your grandmother did.”

“She did. None of it is my fault, Brendan. I know that. But I feel in my heart and my soul that I’m the one who needs to clean this up. There’s a reason why I’m me. Why I am Ava. Why I haven’t touched my trust fund up to this point. I was saving it. I was saving it for something like this. And in some way, perhaps my grandmother knew. Perhaps that’s why she reached out to me.”

“You’re giving her way too much credit,” Ryan says.

“Perhaps. But this feels right to me, Daddy. So right. I understand all of it now. I think we can all move on.”

“Even without finding out who shot your uncle? And the other questions?”

“I feel certain that it will all be revealed in time,” Ava says. “And I also feel certain that, now that Wendy is truly dead, the rest of these things are going to take care of themselves.”

“I wish I shared your feelings,” Ryan says. “Are you sure about this?”

“How many times do I have to say it, Daddy? I’m very sure. This makes sense to me. This is the end. The end of this portion of our lives. We’re going to take care of all of this. We’re going to give the good people of Snow Creek their property. If my grandmother’s money turns out to be clean, I’ll repay my trust fund, and I’ll share it with Jack and maybe even Pat Lamone. They’re her grandchildren too, and they deserve it.”

I shake my head. “Ava, you’re amazing.”

“I’m not amazing, Brendan. I just know this is the right thing to do. My grandmother chose me to right her wrongs.”

“That’s not why she chose you, Ava,” Ryan says.

“It’s the way I choose to see it, Daddy. This will fix things in town.”

“First, Ava, you don’t have to share your trust fund with Jack and Pat. I’ve already started talking with your uncles and your aunt. If Lauren turns out to be a daughter of Brad Steel, we’re going to set up funds for both of them. And as for the town, they may not want your money,” Ryan says.

“Leave that to me,” the attorney says. “We can do it anonymously. I’ll contact all the property owners in town, let them know the liens have been released, and send them checks for their portions of the two million dollars. They’ll never know it came from you.”

“They’ll assume it’s from the Steels,” I say, “but they won’t have proof. These are special circumstances. It’s because of Wendy Madigan’s dealings with the Steel family that this all happened in the first place. She chose Ava. She chose Ava because she felt the two of them had some kind of connection, but she underestimated the size of Ava’s big heart.”

Ava squeezes my hand again. “Thank you for understanding, Brendan. And Daddy? Please understand too.”

“I understand, darlin’. And I agree with Brendan. Your heart is bigger than most. If this is what you want to do, I will facilitate it. And Mr. Wolfram here will make sure the good people of Snow Creek accept your generous gift.”

“What about your fees, sir?” Ava asks.

Mr. Wolfram nods. “We’ve been on retainer from the Fleming Corporation for years, decades even. Our fees have already been taken care of. Now that Wendy is gone, the Fleming Corporation basically no longer exists. All her assets will be transferred via the will to Ava.”

“You send me a bill for anything that’s not covered,” Ava says. “We’ll take care of it.”

“You’re an amazing young lady,” Mr. Wolfram says. “And you, sirs, are lucky to have such a fine daughter and girlfriend.”

“I know,” Ryan and I say in unison.

“I’ll get the paperwork started. We will make this happen.”

“We need to get on the road if we’re going to be home for dinner,” Ryan says.

“Yeah,” I agree. “Sir.” I shake Mr. Wolfram’s hand. “Thank you for everything.”

Ryan drives, and I sit in the front seat with him because of my long legs. All I can think, during the entire four-hour drive home, is how the one woman who was the culmination of all the evil and greed in the world could be only two generations removed from the most generous and wonderful person I’ve ever met.

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