3: 3
The crowd's faces stiffened.
The town head hurried over, all smiles. "Come on, Ruby, don't act on impulse."
"You've got to have a heart for your elders. Money doesn't come easy."
"You're a blogger with a million followers. You post a couple of photos and the cash rolls right in."
"Why haggle over pocket change? A person's got to think of the bigger picture."
So they knew exactly how far they'd gone, and still wanted me grateful for it.
On my knees, handing them money.
Watching me wire out another seven hundred thousand, Luther Welch looked positively smug.
He pulled a phone out from behind his back and aimed it at me.
"Everyone watching online, are you seeing this?"
"Ruby Pruitt, that shady blogger, has finally been brought down by justice."
"You're livestreaming?" My voice stayed level.
"Heh. I'm defending the rights of our farmers, that's all. Not letting profiteers like you take advantage."
"Fine. I hope you stick to the facts."
"Who cares?"
His grin turned oily. "All I've got to do now is trash you online, and the views come pouring in."
"Guess I owe you thanks for being my stepping stone."
Candice signaled that she'd gotten all of it on video.
I didn't bother with him anymore. I turned to leave.
But the town head chased after me.
"Ruby, now that the accounts are settled, everyone's willing to let the legal side of things slide, out of respect for me."
"Tourism's booming in the village right now. We're planning to take out a billion-dollar loan for a second phase."
"You'll promote it for the village for free. Consider it making up for what you did."
"This is the villagers putting their trust in you. Treasure the opportunity."
I just kept walking.
"Sorry. Your project's too big. I can't afford to take it on."
Every villager went pale.
Without my promotion, would the tourists keep coming in these numbers?
They shot resentful looks at the town head.
Luther, though, only sneered. "Dad, don't waste your breath on them. She actually thinks she's somebody."
"It's a few tourism promo videos. That's all."
"She's not the only one in this village who knows the internet."
"But—"
Luther cut the town head off.
"No buts. Tourists coming to spend money has nothing to do with promotion."
"Our village is gold. Gold shines anywhere it goes. She just happened to cash in on it."
"Without some shady blogger pulling stunts, this village will only earn more and more."
At the word earn, the villagers broke into smiles at once.
They fell over each other praising Luther, saying he'd amount to something.
When it counted, it took a son to hold the line. No use pinning your hopes on a girl.
Behind me, the cheering rose.
I didn't know whether to laugh or grieve for them.
Did they think the internet was their family business?
If I hadn't poured money into buying reach and called in every favor I had,
why would anyone have given them the exposure?
Without a million-follower account vouching for them, why would any travel agency touch a deal that was far away and made no money?
But none of it was my problem anymore.
I took out my phone and dialed a number.
"Is this Stonebridge? Your tourism project—I'll take it."
Thomas Lambert practically jumped for joy.
"Ms. Pruitt! We've been waiting so long for you."
"As long as you can save our village, we'll cover every expense. Three million commission."
"And once the project's running steady, another ten percent of the revenue."
We set a time to meet, and I went to the hospital first to see my mother.
Thankfully it was only cuts and bruises.
The moment she saw me, she started crying.
"Sweetheart, this is all my fault. If I hadn't talked you into coming back to help everyone, they never would've bullied us like this..."
I held her hand to comfort her.
"There's nothing wrong with us being kind. The wrong is theirs, for being greedy."
"But all that money..."
I shook my head, smiling.
"Don't worry. They won't get to keep it. They'll pay it back double."
I opened the file on Stonebridge.
I started drawing up a shooting plan.
Then my phone rang. It was an administrator from the platform.
"Ms. Pruitt."
"Your account has been reported by multiple users. The platform has decided to ban it."
