“That sounds generous.”
“It wasn’t free.”
Nothing ever was.
Ray shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.
“Dustin owes Frank money.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“For what?”
“Everything.”
That sounded impossible.
Then I remembered sponsorships.
Fight purses.
Management companies.
Maybe Dustin had never been Frank’s partner.
Maybe he had been another business asset.
That did not excuse anything.
But it explained something.
When I got home, Marcy was at the kitchen table.
Ellen had gone upstairs.
“How did it go?” she asked.
I told her everything.
She listened quietly.
When I reached the part about Dustin owing Frank, she looked away.
“He told me once that his uncle owned him.”
I frowned.
“What did you think he meant?”
“I thought he was being dramatic.”
She rubbed her thumb along the edge of her mug.
“Dad, I need to tell you something else.”
I sat down.
“I knew more about the money than I told you.”
