Page 23 of War
Nine
“You’ve been on a roll, lately!” Noah Matthews complimented his brother. “All of these charities you’ve been lending your support to! You’re blessing a lot of people, brother!”
Darren smiled. His plan was working perfectly. During his bye week, he went on a spree of donating his time and energy to many causes, labeling it 7 Charities in 7 Days. A camera crew followed him from start to finish and it was going to be made into a documentary airing on TV.
It had never been done before by anyone and Darren was more than proud to be the first one. He’d already visited the Make-A-Wish Foundation, March of Dimes, Wounded Warrior, Alzheimer’s Association, UNICEF, and Compassion International.
He’d received international attention as Darren brought focus to many different charities, some many have unheard of, and brought awareness to a variety of issues.
As he posed for pictures with some children and their families, Darren made sure all of his perfectly white teeth were shown. He knew this photo was going to be shown all over the world.
Most importantly, it was going to be plastered everywhere Eli D’Amato could see it.
The real reason for this plan was not to show how philanthropic he was. If things went according to plan, the scandal would come out in a day or so. He needed to get on top of it before people didn’t look at him as fondly.
He had nothing to worry about, honestly. The way he painted Faith, all of the negative attention would’ve been on her while he skated by. The robbery was going to take place soon and he would act innocent about anything stolen. Perfect.
His stomach churned thinking about what was to occur. Faith was a good woman. She abided by the rules, doted on her family, and was very active in church. She didn’t deserve the firestorm coming towards her.
Darren had to prove a point to Eli. If the Italian greaseball wanted to play with fire, he was going to get burned; even if it meant Faith would take the brunt. “You know how I am,” Darren smiled as he posed for pictures, “I’ll do anything to give back to charity.”
“Good for you,” Noah grinned. They were helping at the last charity, giving money to a youth center in Harlem. Noah had posed for pictures with several young boys. “This is great work you’re doing here, brother.”
“I hope so,” Darren specifically chose the youth center so Eli knew whose name was on it every time he passed by on the way to Madre’s. Darren made a substantial donation to ensure the center would be renamed in his honor. “I most certainly hope so.”
