Pain squeezed Faith’s heart to know her mother had shared her dream with this man—and that he might have been able to make her dream come true.
“I didn’t know Judge Stone was working against us. I thought he was an honorable man like his brother and father. He promised me great career rewards if I worked hard and kept my nose clean. So when he warned me to stay away from the badlands section of the city, I never suspected it was because of your mother. But now I see what a blind fool I’ve been. Your mother sent me a letter shortly before she died, but I thought . . .” He sighed, a deep sadness filling his eyes. “I didn’t trust her. I suspected that my father was using her again to manipulate me. He wants me to go back to his brother’s firm in Chicago.”
“May I ask what was in her letter?” Faith asked.
“Rose said Stone was trying to strip her of her property. I did some digging while I was at the courthouse watching Stone this evening, and it appears she was right. Stone has recently filed papers with the city to list the property as abandoned and seize it for his theater project.” Cuvier shook his head. “I feel like the world’s biggest fool. Judge Stone was using me and your mother to protect his investment.” He handed the letter to Faith. “I let your husband read it while you were tending Cora.”
Faith’s hands shook as she accepted the letter. Her mother’s pretty script filled the page and brought an ache to Faith’s heart.
My dearest Steven,
I need your help. Your father may have directed my actions years ago, but he was right. You would have regretted the sacrifices and losing your position of respect. To confess that Faith was your daughter would have tipped that first domino in your downfall—and perhaps your eventual hatred of me. I kept the truth from you, planning to take our baby away from this place and give her a decent life, but I didn’t have the money and neither did you. I loved you, Steven, and couldn’t stay away from you, but when I got pregnant with Adam, I knew you would recognize him as your own so I had to drive you away before we both did something foolish and ruined your career.
I thought Judge Stone with his big promises could help me and the children break away from this life. He promised to buy the brothel property for double its value if I became his mistress for a year. He talked of tearing down the brothel and building a grand theater right here on this very property. I thought it a noble and admirable plan. He promised to move me and the children to a nice house in a new town where we could build a respectable and happy life. Like a bird following a trail of bread crumbs, I was too busy gobbling up his promises to realize I’d walked myself into a cage.
Stone intends to strip me of my property and home, Steven. He swears he’ll ruin you if I disappear. He is threatening to take Cora from me if I don’t sign the deed over to him. I can’t run and I can’t stay. I have begged Faith to pose as a widow and take Adam and Cora to a safe place, but she fears we’ll never see each other again.
I’m afraid to take a step in either direction for fear of causing more harm, but I refuse to let Judge Stone take away my only means of escaping this life. Please, Steven, go back to Chicago and take our children with you. I know I’ve sacrificed my chance at love and happiness but please help Faith, Adam, and Cora find the life they deserve.
Please accept my love and apology, and respond quickly.
Celia Rose
Faith lowered the letter to her lap. For the first time in her life, she understood her mother’s deep sadness. Each time her mother had prodded her to move away, Faith wondered if they were too much of a burden to her. But her mother had just wanted them safe. She’d made awful choices, and there were many things she could have done better, many ways she could have made Faith, Adam, and Cora feel wanted, but for all her faults and failings, she was only guilty of being naive and thinking with her heart instead of her head.
“Can this letter be used as evidence against Stone?” Duke asked.
Cuvier nodded. “It might not do much good, but I’m willing to face the consequences.”
“You can’t do that.” Faith lifted the letter. “My mother sacrificed her heart to protect you from ruin. To bring all this out now would make her sacrifice worthless.”
Cuvier sighed. “It may not serve us anyhow. But Stone has undoubtedly swindled others. I’ll look over the deals I did for him and see if I can track down any of those former homeowners.”
“Don’t let Stone know what you’re doing before we have a noose around his neck,” Duke said.
“No worry. Now that I know how corrupt he is, we all need to be careful.”
“Why would he do this?” Faith folded the letter. “Why would he manipulate my mother and orchestrate a plan that took twenty years just to make money?”
Cuvier finished his wine and set his glass on the mantel. “I don’t know that it’s about money. But if I were to guess, I’d say he’s trying to outshine his brother Gordon, who is the governor of New York.”
Duke’s mouth fell open. “Governor Stone is the judge’s brother?”
Cuvier nodded. “They’re twins, but they’re as different as night and day. Before Gordon left Syracuse, he donated his money and intelligence to building the courthouse. The statue out front honors him and his work.”
“So by turning the badlands into a thriving theater and business district,” Duke said, “Stone not only gets rich but gets the fame and glory for instituting the project, and possibly upstages his brother.”
“It makes sense. His brother is running for senator, a position once held by their father. Maybe the judge is feeling pressured to measure up to his brother’s success.” Cuvier shrugged. “I don’t know what’s driving him, but I’m going to make him answer for his crimes.” Cuvier crossed to Faith. “I’m sorry I disregarded your mother’s letter, but I never knew when she was being sincere. Every time I believed her, she would do something to tear my heart out. I thought she was lying about Stone because she knew I admired him, and that the letter was a ploy by my father to get me back to Chicago.”
Faith sighed and handed the letter to him. She didn’t blame Cuvier for being suspicious of her mother’s motives; all her life, Faith herself hadn’t known her mother’s thoughts or feelings about anything.
“I’m sorry about all of this,” her father said, his voice filled with remorse. “I let my pride and my pain blind me to a truth I didn’t want to see. Despite your mother’s coldness, I sensed her love, and I sensed you were my daughter. But I didn’t want to know for sure, because with your mother’s constant rejection, I couldn’t bear to have a daughter in my life I wasn’t free to love.”
His honest confession didn’t ease her pain or the years of heartache she’d suffered from being fatherless, but it finally satisfied her question of why he hadn’t come to see her. Steven Cuvier was too easily controlled by others, but he seemed a decent and sincere man. That was far better than the man she’d imagined him to be. And she could forgive him.
“I know it’s too late for me to be a proper father to you, but would you consider letting me come see you from time to time?” A mix of hope and fear filled his eyes. “I can understand if you object, but I hope you’ll allow me the chance to get to know you.”
Her whole life, she’d longed to hear those words from her father. To hear them now was both healing and wounding. It was too late for her to sit on her father’s lap like Cora did with Duke, to feel secure and comforted in his arms. But it wasn’t too late to befriend a man she’d been missing all her life.
