Page 191 of Titus

“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, cariño,” 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?”