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His voice cracked and his eyes glazed over as he re would be a one-ti schedule, they'd pick the shipment They'd let me knoith plenty of time to up the insurance so I could make so his expression "But that was peanuts in cooods on the street"

Ryan's head began to pound, but he forced himself to focus on as most important "Why did you pay Faith to leave?"

Uncle Russ sla Ryan flinch

"You're a s habit She wasn't getting better Hell, she just didn't care Living at home, she was destined to repeat the cycle and I was afraid Baldwin's would be in bed with the ot away fros in the first place,I've ever heard," Ryan o What did I know about addiction? As the only person as thinking clearly about the business and the family, I had to consider the possibility that Faith was on such a destructive path, eventually she'd cause soet hurt We were already involved with the"You have to believewhat a shock all this was, and knowing his uncle had made a profit off the scheme, at the moment Ryan wasn't sure what to believe "Yet you lied and told us all that Faith stole money from you to run away"

"That wasn't far fro with false insurance papers docuoods"

Ryan narrowed his gaze, confused "You'd been helping her Why would she turn on you before leaving?"

Russ spread his hands wide "She was a drug addict, Ryan Who knohy she did what she did?"

"Why did you continue the scam over the years?" Ryan asked

Russ frowned "Who says I did?"

"You did Through your actions" Though Ryan laughed, he recognized the hollowness in the sound "If you'd done it once to help Faith, you wouldn't have been in a panic when you saw Sam's key Your actions were screwed-up, but sort of justifiable and eventually forgivable"

"I don't see you believing in me at the moment," his uncle said, his voice laced with bitterness

"That's because Faith's letter indicated you made money off the scheme more than that one time It seems she kept those papers in the locker for a year or so, adding to theain, then finally said, "How the hell would she have known?"

"Because like you said, she was a drug addict She needed drugs after she ran away and turned to her 'friend' to supply her before she finally took off for New York He must have filled her in"

"Good Lord" Uncle Russ turned toward the

"Yeah," Ryanon?"

Russ faced theain "It was supposed to be one tiain Between their veiled threats to reveal my insurance scam and the fact that the extra money infor cash from the business," Ryan pointed out

"And neither is your father or brother and they don't work nearly as hard as I do After a while, it see what I deserved fro?"