Finding Forever(5)

It had made Frederick look in the mirror, and he hadn’t liked the man he saw. From that moment on, he’d made changes to become a better man. He’d always thought he’d have another chance — a chance for him and his son to rebuild what was broken.

That dream was now lost. Now, his son would never know all that his dad had done to improve himself, to become a worthy father. And because of that, he wouldn’t get to apologize the way he needed to. To make things right.

If ever he’d felt broken, now was that time.

“Father? What’s wrong?”

Frederick answered through a tight throat. “I have some bad news.”

“You pulled me from a business meeting and I have a lot of work to do, Father. Maybe you should just spit it out,” Liam told him.

Frederick was filled with even more despair. Even though Liam hadn’t left, he also resented his father and had now turned into the man that Frederick had once been — driven, angry, short with others, and with his heart locked away. He was unwilling to let anyone in.

“I’ve messed up so many times in my life, Liam, and I’m sorry about that. I should have been more of a parent, should have shown you more love …”

“Father, I really don’t have time for this,” Liam said as he began moving toward the door.

“Sit down!” Frederick thundered. But he spoke more evenly when he next opened his mouth. “Your brother is gone.”

Liam was quiet for several moments. “I know he’s gone. He left twelve years ago.”

“I mean that he’s died. He had a wife, and she died too.”

Liam’s eyes widened for a moment before his expression blanked. “How did you find out?”

“We received a letter from him.”

“That makes no sense, Father.”

“Let me show you, son.”

Neither of them spoke for several tense moments as Frederick pulled out the letter and laid it on the desk. Then Liam came forward, snatched up the letter, and quickly scanned the one-page note.

When he set the paper down, he displayed the same shock on his face as his father had not too long before.

“Do you think this is true?” Liam asked “That this really is from him? It can’t be …” But he knew he was grasping.

“Yes, son, the letter has been verified. And all the details.”

“Then we need to find the children!” Liam was forceful in his words.

“This is the reason your brother didn’t want the letter delivered for a full year after his death. He didn’t want us storming in and uprooting them from their lives.” Frederick looked with sorrow at his surviving son.

“They are family. They should be raised here,” Liam insisted.

“Your brother clearly states in the letter that they will be raised by his wife’s sister if he and his wife should die together. He had an iron-clad will in place.”

Yes, Frederick knew he could get around a will. When a man had as much money as he had, there was almost nothing he couldn’t obtain. He was only saying the words to see his son’s reaction. And because he was a new man and he wouldn’t go against his eldest son’s wishes.

“We both know that will means nothing. This aunt of theirs can’t possibly be able to take care of these children. She has no idea who they really are.” Liam almost sneered. “Or maybe she knows exactly who they are and is waiting for payday.”

“I want to meet them, my son. I’m an old man, and my time is running out.”

“You’re only sixty-two. Your time probably won’t run out until long after mine does. We both know very well that you play the sick card whenever you want to get your way.”

“Nonsense.”

Liam actually rolled his eyes. “It won’t work on me now, Father. But I do agree. We need to see Vincent’s children.”

“We’ll bring them here, meet them, and make sure they know their ancestry and their importance,” Frederick told Liam.

“Good.”

When Liam walked from the room, his father leaned back. His heart was both shattered and full of joy. Though one of his sons had been taken from this world while still young, Frederick now knew that he had two grandchildren, and with that knowledge, a new hope was blossoming.





Chapter Three


The insistent knock on the front door made Whitney’s hand fling out, and the flour that flew up coated her already disheveled hair and blurred her vision.

“Dammit!”

After lurching over to the sink, she scrabbled around until she found the washcloth and turned on the water as she tried to regain her sight. Just then, another knock sounded at the door, this one even more forceful than before.