Chapter 52
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
By the time I made it home, my head hurt. Not from crying or exhaustion. My mind was simply overloaded, trying to process everything happening right now.
I needed to call my team to let them know I would be terminating the lease on our new space because there was no way I was going to be in the same vicinity as those Jameston fuckers, much less continue running a business there.
Everything was relatively calm at work right now anyway. Most of our usual events were being held overseas, and since I’d opted to stay stateside for the summer, we all pretty much knew we had the season off.
Until Titus brought his yacht out here, of course, but what the hell did that matter right now? That floating resort was probably being watched like everything else seemed to be in Titus’s world.
Amelia and Jessica had enjoyed their time on the yacht so much that they decided to extend their vacation and head to Carmel for a few more days, and I couldn't have been more relieved by their decision.
I honestly needed this place to myself right now. Between having to call our mother and not knowing how the hell the conversation would go, I needed time to think and figure out exactly what I was going to say and how to say it.
What the hell am I supposed to tell her?
I did not want to make this call, but I needed a way to meet with that family, and whether I liked it or not, my mother was my only path to them.
I had about thirty minutes until it would be six in the morning in France, where she now lived. I poured a glass of wine, sat out on my balcony, and tried to let the cool breeze and the sound of the ocean unwind my mind.
Unfortunately, nothing was working to relax me. I swear, I felt like a zombie with the ladies after they’d picked me up from the cottage. And God knows I tried to keep my mind off everything, but nothing worked.
I finally acknowledged that watching Titus get arrested was truly traumatizing. The hardest part was feeling a deep longing to be in his arms once more and to wake up thinking it was all just a terrible nightmare.
But it wasn’t. It was very real, and the man I’d fallen pretty damn hard for was sitting in some federal detention facility.
Fucking unreal.
As I thought back to my meeting with Jim and Spencer, it felt like every answer Jim gave me raised three more questions, and no matter how many times I replayed the conversation in my head, one thing still refused to make sense.
The Valdéz family was attached to the investigation. That didn’t necessarily make them responsible for it. They were good people. I just couldn’t understand why a family my mother had worked for would knowingly help destroy a man for something his father did decades ago.
The more I thought about it, the less it made sense.
Now, I had to find a way to bring this up with my mom. My relationship with her had never been easy, and we certainly weren’t the kind of family that talked every Sunday.
We were never one of those mothers and daughters who called each other to discuss their day. Years could pass with little more than a birthday text or holiday message between us. Our relationship had been reduced to being defined by sharing the same DNA.
I’m not sure whether living my life exactly the way she wanted would have made things different. That’s what pushed us apart in the first place. My mother was a strict, no-bullshit type, and as her child, you never questioned her.
The bigger problem was that she never prioritized my sister or me—not once—and she never hesitated to make us feel like an inconvenience while she devoted herself to that family. They weren’t just a job to her; they were everything.
Their approval mattered. Their needs mattered. Their lives mattered. Ours didn’t.
They made her feel important, admired, and needed. Meanwhile, her own daughters seemed to be nothing more than obligations she was forced to deal with while tending to the people she truly cared about. So she pushed us aside, again and again.
Even now, after all these years, I still believe that if the Valdéz family called and Amelia or I called at the same time, she would answer them first. She always had.
It was sad, but it was just the way things were. I’d moved on and made an amazing life for myself, and Amelia had a promising future with endless possibilities, too.
I picked up my phone before I could talk myself out of it. The number hadn’t changed, nor had the knot in my stomach while the phone rang.
I took another sip of wine while I waited for her to answer.
“Catalina?”
Wow. Her voice sounded exactly the same.
“You must really want something if you’re calling me at six in the morning.”
I laughed despite myself. “I probably deserve that.”
“I’d say so.”
The corner of my mouth lifted.
Some things apparently never changed.
“How are you, mamá?”
“That’s an interesting question to ask after three years.”
“Honestly. How are you?”
“I am alive and have coffee in my hand,” she said, walled off as usual.
“Sounds like things are going well.”
“Reasonably.”
For the first time since dialing, some of the tension eased.
“What happened, Catalina?”
She knew I wasn’t calling to catch up or to check on her, and that was the reason she’d answered.
I looked out into the darkness of the ocean as it continued to roll onto the shore.
“A man I care about was arrested this morning.”
The silence that followed was immediate, probably because the way I said it would lead anyone to believe that my sorry ass was out here dating losers.
“You care about someone?”
Of all the responses I expected, that wasn’t one of them.
I smiled despite myself. “Thank you for that vote of confidence.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I know, and yes,” I said. “I finally started dating again, and the impossible seems to have happened with this man.”
“What happened?”
“His name is Titus Hawk.” I bit my thumbnail. “Have you heard of him?”
“Hawk?”
“Yes.”
“Is he one of Herbert Hawk’s sons?”
“You know who he is?”
“Everyone who knew Herbert Hawk knows who his sons are.”
That made sense, especially since my mother lived around this wealth as much as I did. Even though she retired, she knew the people that family knew.
“True,” I said.
“He was arrested?” she said, as if she’d never imagined a day like this would happen to Herbert or his sons.
“Yes, and the federal investigation involves things his father did in the past.”
My mother sighed heavily. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
I straightened. “Do you know something about him, Herbert?”
“I know the Valdéz family spent years despising that wicked man.”
“Why?”
“Because they believed he had taken something from them,” she said. “But after he passed away, it seemed their hatred faded along with him.”
I frowned. “Did you ever happen to learn what they believed he took?”
“No. I have no idea,” she said. “But he was restricted from being anywhere near them, and that was known to all staff.” She exhaled. “I do know there were lawsuits, disputes, and accusations, and years of hostility. I also know nobody ever seemed to agree on exactly what happened.”
That was pretty much what Jim and Spencer had told me, which meant I was finally hearing something consistent.
“Do you think they would help put one of his sons in prison over it?”
This time, her answer came without hesitation. “Never. Not unless they believed he was part of it, or perhaps the same man as his father. They aren’t cruel people.”
“He’s not part of it,” I said. “I assure you.”
“I know you, Catalina.” I could almost see her smile through the phone. “You wouldn’t dare go near a man like that; however, I am shocked you’ve allowed a man whose father has a notoriously bad reputation anywhere near you.”
“It took him nearly moving mountains for me to allow us to get close,” I said with a soft laugh.
I could tell her about him helping Amelia and how that moved things forward between Titus and me, but a big part of that story was Amelia’s to tell, and I wasn’t about to overshare without her permission.
I just needed to stay focused on the reason I called her.
“Anyway,” I continued, “if they knew that Titus was nothing like his father, you don’t think they would want him to serve time because of what his father did, do you?”
“No. Never. They may have hated Herbert Hawk, but the people I knew would never punish a son for his father’s mistakes.”
That was what had been bothering me since this family’s name was brought into Titus’s arrest. Nothing about this felt right.
My mother continued, “Catalina, I’m very confident that if they’re involved, and Titus Hawk is innocent, they haven’t been told the entire story.”
I slowly nodded. That’s exactly how I felt, too.
“I need to speak with them,” I said, my voice softer. “I would really like to talk to them personally.”
“I know they would love to see you again,” she said, “but are you comfortable approaching this topic with them?”
“It doesn’t matter at this point,” I answered. “James Mitchell will be with me as well. I wish it were to reconnect over old stories, but this is a bad situation Titus is in, and I need them to at least see that Titus wasn’t part of the crap his dad pulled on them.”
“James Mitchell? Is that any relation to Howard Mitchell?”
I chuckled. Of course, my mom knew about all these people. “Yes, that’s his oldest son. He and his wife are good friends.”
“Well, my, my, my,” she said with humor. “You must be the talk of the town out there?”
“My business is doing well,” I said. “Through that, I was able to develop friendships and, without me even trying, managed to attract Titus Hawk into my life.”
“You sound like this relationship is serious?”
“I’m not saying that,” I answered. “We just started getting closer recently, and each time we’re together, I’m learning that my first opinions of him were wildly inaccurate.”
“You’ve never been one to form easy opinions of others until they prove their integrity to you,” she said.
I took another sip of wine. “I know, and that mentality almost ruined something really nice between Titus and me.”
“I’m happy for you, carino,” she said.
My eyes widened. I hadn’t heard my mom refer to me that way since I was a little girl.
“And how’s Amelia? She mentioned her pregnancy and that boy leaving her?”
I was somewhat surprised to hear that Amelia had reached out to our mother about the pregnancy, but I was happy she did. Now, I didn’t need to worry about slipping up and letting the cat out of the bag.
“She’s doing very well,” I said. “She had a little scare in the beginning. Titus helped her while I was overseas, which was the reason I started opening up to him.”
“That’s good,” she said, and I could sense her shutting down.
It was always like this. The moment my mother softened or showed even the slightest warmth, the moment I started to think we might actually be making progress, she pulled away again.
I knew she was the reason I was the way I was. I trusted no one because she’d taught me not to. She conditioned me to expect people to do exactly what she did to Amelia and me— show interest, draw us in, let us believe they cared, and then shut us out again.
That was why I never called her about anything personal. Those conversations brought out the mother I’d spent my whole life wishing for, and for reasons I would never understand, she seemed determined to make sure that wasn’t the kind of mother she was going to be.
“Will you contact Senor Valdéz and let him know I would like to arrange a time to meet with him?” I said, returning to a conversation she could actually have.
“I will,” she replied. “I’ll ask him to call you to set up the meeting. Should I mention that it’s about Titus Hawk?”
“No,” I said. “But do tell him it is an important matter, and I will reveal the details as I’m comfortable.”
“Absolutely. It was nice talking with you, dear. Give Amelia my love, and I hope you get the answers you’re after,” she said.
“Thank you.”
“Bye, Catalina.”
“Bye, mamá,” I responded before hanging up.
I shook my head and curled my feet beneath me on the sofa. I wouldn’t dare go into my feelings about that call. I knew how my mother was. I knew I had to call her, and I got what I needed from the call. That’s it. Case closed.
I already knew this night was going to be a struggle to sleep. I let my head relax back against the sofa I sat on outside and looked up at the stars, appearing like glitter in the sky.
It looked so peaceful and still up there. I couldn’t even imagine what Titus was going through right now. The man owned homes larger than some luxury resorts. Hell, he owned most of the luxury resorts, too.
He slept on custom mattresses, flew in private jets, and had staff anticipating his needs before he voiced them. But tonight? I had no idea if he was staring at a concrete wall or lying awake, wondering how the hell his life had turned upside down in a single morning.
I rubbed my forehead again and could only hope that Jim and I could reach this family and that somehow, they could help prove Titus’s innocence.