Roman took a spot at the foot of the bed between the two men. Just in case.
“Now that we’re all here, let’s get started,” Sutton said, his voice so weak Roman had to strain to hear him. He was sitting propped up by a mountain of pillows, which Roman suspected was the only thing holding him upright. It reminded him of Gracie in the limo on the way home the other night, and he instantly wanted to smile.
Graham moved to his future father-in-law’s side. “Roman tells me that you have information about our father.”
“I do.”
“I’m a little confused as to why I’m here,” Carson said. “I know who my father is. I have no relation to the man you’re looking for.”
“This concerns your mother, too,” Sutton told him.
“So out with it,” Brooks snapped, completely insensitive to his rival’s fragile condition.
“You all know that I’m a man of my word. Once I’ve made a promise I will not break it,” Sutton said.
“Which is why you never promise anyone anything,” Roman told him and Sutton shot him a vague, wry smile.
“But I did once, a long time ago. A promise that until recently I intended to take to my grave.” He looked from Brooks to his brother. “One I made to your mother.”
“Your word means nothing to me, old man,” Brooks ground out. “Just tell us what you know.”
“First you have to give me your word that what I am about to tell you will never leave this room.” He looked to Roman. “All four of you.”
“This is business,” Roman said. “I would never divulge to anyone information I obtained in a private meeting with my clients.”
Sutton looked to Graham. He nodded and said, “Of course.” Then Graham gave his brother a look that seemed to say, Do it or else.
Brooks grudgingly nodded. “You have my word, as well.”
“First I want you to know that your mother was an amazing woman. I had never met anyone like her. And I haven’t since.”
“And when was that?” Brooks asked.
“She was pregnant with the two of you,” Sutton said. “Pregnant and alone working as a waitress in a café I went to occasionally. She’d only been working there a week, and she spilled a drink in my lap. She apologized profusely, then broke down in tears, so afraid that she would lose her job...” He smiled vaguely and faded off, as if lost in thought. To anyone who didn’t know what a coldhearted and brutal businessman he was, they might think he was just an average sentimental old man.
“And?” Brooks snapped after several seconds, which earned him another look from Graham. Roman couldn’t deny feeling a little irritated, too. It was obvious that Sutton was in poor shape. Still Brooks couldn’t cut him a break, which said a lot about his integrity. As in he had none. The man lay dying in front of him, confessing a secret he’d once intended to die with, and Brooks couldn’t see past his thirst for revenge. His need to conquer.
But Sutton didn’t even seem to notice. Or didn’t care.
“Let the man speak,” Graham said with a warning tone.
Carson laid a hand on his father’s shoulder and in a patient voice said, “Go on, Sutton.”
Sutton blinked rapidly and snapped back to the present. “I could see the desperation in her eyes, and that she was carrying a child, or as I later discovered, two children. I left her a generous tip, and couldn’t stop thinking about her. When I went back a week later she was working again, and I found that I was happy to see her. But she looked so tired and stressed, as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.
“She thanked me for my generosity the week before. She wouldn’t admit it then—she was too proud—but she had been about to lose the room she was renting and that tip was enough to pay her rent for another month. That was before her coworker Gerty took her in. I hung around for a while, until her shift ended, and I invited her to have dinner with me.
“She hesitated of course, worried I had ulterior motives, but I think hunger won out over her pride. And she ate like she hadn’t seen real food in months. It gave me so much satisfaction to help her.”
“Why do I find that hard to believe?” Brooks said, but Sutton went on as if he hadn’t even heard him.
“I inquired about her pregnancy, and she confessed to me that she hadn’t told the father of her unborn twins about the pregnancy before moving to Chicago from Texas to start over. The long hours on her feet were difficult, but it was the only job she could find. But she said that now, since her pregnancy had begun to show, her boss was making noise like she would no longer be an asset. She knew it was only a matter of time before she was fired.”
“Isn’t that illegal?” Carson asked.
Sutton shook his head. “Not back then. But I admired her courage and fortitude, so I offered her a job.” His eyes belied the affection he felt, and maybe still felt, for Cynthia Newport.
“As your mistress?” Brooks asked.
“As my secretary. She had no experience. She couldn’t even type, but I knew that she would learn and she did. And what started out as a friendship became something more. I helped her as much as I could after you and your brother were born. But we had to keep our relationship a secret.”
“Which is how Carson came to be,” Graham said, looking to his younger brother.
Brooks glared at Sutton. “That’s what womanizers do.”
Sutton faced him, looking almost apologetic. “It was more than an affair. We were deeply in love. Your mother was my soul mate. I would have done anything for her. I wanted to divorce Celeste and marry her, but back then I was still under my father-in-law’s thumb. He threatened to ruin me financially, and keep my daughter and my unborn child from me. Cynthia couldn’t bear to watch that happen. We knew that as long as we were together Celeste’s family would never let us be happy. So we were forced to go our separate ways.
“When she discovered she was pregnant with Carson she said nothing, would never confirm that he was mine, so I tried to forget her. I distracted myself with work, and women who meant nothing to me, thinking it would ease the need to be with her. But it never did. I always told myself, maybe someday... Then she died and I lost my chance.”
“You claim to have loved her, but you didn’t even come to her funeral,” Brooks said.
“I couldn’t,” Sutton said. “It would have caused a scene, and I couldn’t do that to her.”
Carson shot his brother a look and told Sutton, “I understand.”
“The day your mother and I parted ways, she made me promise something, something I had to swear I would take to my grave.”
“Yet here we are,” Brooks said smugly. “And you claim you’re a man of your word?”
“Enough!” Carson snapped at his older brother, and Brooks
