Page 201 of Titus

“So you never asked for investigators to pursue him or to have charges brought against him, believing he knew about those companies his father created?” I pressed.

“Nothing of the sort.” His confident tone made me sit up straighter, and across from me, Jim’s focus intensified.

“May I ask exactly what you were told?” Jim questioned.

The patriarch was quiet for several moments, as though he were choosing his words carefully.

Finally, he spoke up, “We were informed that Mr. Hawk continued to benefit from structures his father created.”

The statement hung in the room. The way he said it wasn’t an accusation, though. Just something he’d been told. Some conclusion someone had handed them.

“And you believed it?”

His eyes settled on me. “We had no reason not to.”

That answer hurt more than I expected because it was reasonable. I knew that only weeks ago I would’ve reached the same conclusion. Hell, Jim had to correct those thoughts floating around in my head again just on the flight over here.

And for this family, and their track record with Herbert? If someone handed me documents linking a son to his father’s hidden companies, I couldn’t blame them for believing it.

His wife finally spoke. “None of us has ever met Titus Hawk.” I turned toward her, and she offered a polite smile. “We know of his reputation, his company, and his successes, but we do not know him.”

I relaxed a little, because for the first time since arriving, I realized these people weren’t Titus’s enemy. They were simply people who believed they had finally been given answers about Herbert Hawk.

The patriarch’s gaze settled on me again. “Your mother spoke highly of you and of the business you are running these days, Catalina.”

The comment caught me off guard. Out of all the things I expected to hear today, a compliment from my mother wasn’t one of them. He continued before I could respond.

“We always appreciated your mother’s dedication to our family.” A soft smile touched his face. “She was respected and deeply loved by everyone here.”

I nodded because I knew exactly what he was saying, and it was just a simple reminder of why my relationship with my mother was strained.

He brought his attention back to Jim. “Our dispute has only ever been with Herbert.”

Jim nodded. “I suspected as much.”

The patriarch’s expression darkened. “The sins of fathers belong to fathers.”

I felt Jim glance toward me. That sentence could change everything, if only the government believed it.

At the very least, it was reassuring to know the family wasn’t interested in punishing Titus and never had been.

But that meant someone else was.

“So, why now? Why is this all coming up for Titus now?” I asked.

The patriarch clenched his jaw. “That’s the question I find myself struggling with. I thought we were uncovering answers, but it looks like this may have ruined a man’s life instead.”

He stood from his chair and walked toward a cabinet built into the wall. The old man opened one of the doors and removed a weathered leather folder. Something about the folder immediately drew Jim’s attention.

The patriarch carried it back to the table and set it down carefully.

“What is it?” Jim asked.

“The problem,” he said, opening the folder.

Inside it were copies of correspondence, transaction summaries, and handwritten notes. Documents that looked older than I was.

The patriarch tapped a page. “There is something I have never understood.”