Page 55 of Revealing Mark

I put my hand on his sleeve and shook my head. “Please, can you not call him that?”

It was still too much to say. He nodded with understanding. “Mr. Westwood.”

I nodded. That was better.

“What about his wife and my…half…siblings?” It seemed a world away from the life I had lived. I had siblings I had never met.

“They are well aware of the terms of Mr. Westwood’s will and are happy to carry out his wishes.”

I was at a loss.

“They would very much like to meet you.”

With that news, I shifted away from him. Meet me? “I don’t know…I’m not sure.” I couldn’t deny I was curious to see what my siblings were like, but I was in no place to handle that yet. I wasn’t sure if I ever would be.

“It is entirely up to you.” He gave me a paper with a name and telephone number. “This is the eldest son’s number. He requested to talk to you before you met with the family.”

I took the paper and read the name and number. Sebastian Westwood.

“You will receive your inheritance whether you meet with them or not.”

“I don’t feel like this is right. I didn’t even know him. Why would he want me to be in his will?”

“He wanted all of his children to receive their share of his estate, you included.”

My hand trembled. “How many are there?” I bit my lip.

“Three, including you. You have two older brothers.”

Like I needed any more older brothers, but there was a part of me that was still intrigued.

“I have a question.”

“Sure. I’m here to answer any questions you might have.”

“How did he die?”

“He battled cancer for the last year but finally succumbed a few weeks ago.”

Cancer.

“Do you have a picture of him?” I asked nervously, very much aware that lawyers probably didn’t carry around pictures of their clients, but I was still too scared to search him on the web.

He nodded. On his desk was a picture of an older man with a younger version of Gabriel. He handed me the frame.

“Your father was my mentor.”

I cradled the frame in my hands tightly and allowed my eyes to take in the details of the older man’s features. He had kind eyes, I could tell that right away. Maybe taking endless photos of people like I had had given me a way of seeing some things that others might not. He smiled proudly beside a slightly younger-looking Gabriel. My heart ached.

“How well did you know him?” I found myself asking, needing to know as much as I could.

“I’m Sebastian’s friend so I pretty much grew up with him around.”

I hadn’t expected that. “Tell me about him.” My thumb brushed over the photo like I could touch him.

“He was a good guy. Someone who loved his family and wife more than anything.”

I frowned. “But he had an affair.”