Chapter Twenty-Four Karmen
We pull up to the estate, and the sight of the dozens of cars crowding the driveway sends a dark thrill through me.
Perfect. Exactly what I wanted. An audience.
And what better moment to expose him than during a luncheon packed with his most polished colleagues and friends.
Reid and the rest of the team took care of the guards at the gate, expertly clearing our path.
Benson shifts the SUV into park and turns to face me, his gaze determined and steady. “You ready?”
“Absolutely.”
He leans over and presses a hard kiss to my lips, grounding me and giving me the extra courage I need. “You got this.”
A quick check-in with Reid confirms that the team is in position.
Then we’re out of the vehicle, gunning toward the front entrance.
Two more guards from the security detail step forward, their hands drifting toward their weapons.
Benson drops the first one with precision, disarming him before he has even hit the ground.
I take out the second with a swift kick to the gut, a sweep of the leg, and a sharp crack on the skull with the stock of my gun. He collapses in a heap at my feet.
“Well, that was easy,” I say, sliding my weapon back into its holster.
“Fucking amateurs,” Benson mutters as we zip-tie their hands and head inside.
Murmured voices, clinking glasses, and raucous laughter greet us as we enter, along with the sour smell of corruption.
Guns drawn, we move deeper into the house until we reach the dining room.
Several familiar faces turn toward us. The senator’s expression twists in a mix of confusion and disdain the moment he sees me. I don’t give him a chance to speak.
I raise my gun, aiming straight at his head. “Get up.”
He barely glances at me. “As you can see, I’m in the middle of something.” He continues his conversation as if I’m nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
“Fine,” I say. “We’ll do this here.”
He narrows his eyes. “Do what?”
“I know you’ve been laundering money through your charity. I know all about the offshore accounts, and I know you’ve been working with Salazar.” His complexion turns ashen. “And I know you’re a cop killer.”
That gets his attention.
He stands calmly buttoning his suit jacket. “Excuse me,” he says. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”
He reaches for my arm, but Benson steps between us. “You touch her, you die.”
His voice is lethal, deadly.
The senator freezes, stunned, then pivots sharply, leading us down the hall to his office.
The moment the door shuts, he explodes. “Are you fucking insane? How dare you walk into my house and disrespect me like this after everything I’ve done for you?”
“Everything you’ve done for me?” My laugh is sharp.
This man is unbelievable.
“What have you ever done for me besides lying to me my entire life?” I ask.
“You wouldn’t have made it as far as you have without me. Without the Ashford name.”
“Bullshit. I’ve worked for everything I have. None of it came from you.”
“And where are you now? No job. A doomed relationship with a fucking loser who is about to go to prison. And after that little stunt in there,” he grits out, pointing at the door, “you’ve secured yourself a one-way ticket out of town.”
“Are you going to toss me in the Potomac, too?”
His eyes flash with anger. “Careful, Karmen. He may be able to protect you now, but once you walk out of this house, I’ll—”
I take a step forward. “You’ll what?”
He has no idea what’s coming. No idea how thoroughly his world is about to collapse.
“I just want to know why,” I ask. “Why lie to me all these years? Why not tell me the truth?”
“The truth about what?”
“About who my real father is?”
His expression hardens, cold and bitter.
“You want the truth? You want me to tell you how your whore of a mother had an affair right after we got married with the fucking landscaper of all people. She humiliated me. Betrayed me. Then she turned up pregnant. I wasn’t about to let a bastard child ruin my career, so I got rid of him. ”
Pain slices through my chest. My entire life has been built on his lies.
And he stole any chance I ever had of knowing my real father.
Anger coils hot and violent in my gut, my forefinger itching to hug the trigger.
To end him. But shooting him would be mercy, and I want him to live with this for the rest of his pathetic life.
“And as for your little boyfriend?” he sneers. “That was Salazar’s idea. I just benefited. The only thing we didn’t expect was your connection to him. But I should’ve known. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
I collect two steps forward, pulling my cell phone from the pocket of my jeans. Chin lifted, I square my shoulders and hold it out for him to see. His eyes widen, face turning the palest shade of white as the image pops up on the screen.
“You fucking bitch.”
“The Feds already know everything. Your confession is just the icing on the cake.”
He reaches for the phone, but Benson slams him onto the desk, pinning him with a forearm to the back of his neck.
“You want to do the honors?” Benson asks.
The senator grunts in pain, struggling to get free.
“You go ahead, baby. And make it hurt.”
“You’ll pay for this. Both of you. This isn’t over!” he shouts as Benson cuffs him and hauls him upright.
“No,” I say, meeting his eyes. “You’re right, this is far from over.”
Benson escorts him out first, his expression a storm of fury and disbelief. The sun offers a bit of warmth to the brisk afternoon as the rest of the task force fans out across the area, agents moving with efficiency as they work to separate and detain every guest.
I step outside into chaos, scanning the black SUVs lining the driveway. I spot Reid leaning against one of them, speaking quietly with another agent, posture relaxed but eyes sharp like a razor—just like his brother, always assessing. Always aware.
When he notices me approaching, he straightens, giving me his full attention.
“Where is she?” I ask.
Reid jerks his chin toward the SUV behind him. “Backseat.”
“Can I have a minute?”
He studies me for a beat, assessing me. “You good?”
I release a calming breath, grounding myself for what I’m about to do. “Better than I’ve been in a really long time.”
Reid’s expression softens as he gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, then he steps aside, giving me space while staying close enough that I know he’s watching my back.
I open the door. My mother sits inside, wrists cuffed in front of her, mascara staining her red cheeks. Even now, she’s wrapped in one of her expensive designer dresses, the kind she wears like a piece of armor.
Her eyes widen when she sees me. “Karmen—oh my God.” Her voice cracks. “Can you please tell me what’s happening? Where’s your father?”
“He’s been detained,” I say, my tone colder than I’ve ever used with her.
“Pending a full investigation, but I’ll be honest with you, it’s not looking good.
He’s going to prison for the rest of his life.
” I let the words hang between us, watching her face as they fully sink in. “What will you do then, Mother?”
Her mouth twists, eyes flaring with indignation. “What are you talking about? I’ve done nothing wrong. Tell them to take these off now.” She shakes her cuffed hands at me. “This is ridiculous.”
“You knew,” I say quietly.
Her brows knit in confusion.
“Knew what?”
“All of it.”
“I didn’t know anything,” she insists. “I swear.”
I lean in, lowering my voice. “But you do know who my real father was, don’t you?”
Her breath stutters, a flicker of panic flashing across her face. “How—how do you know that?”
“It doesn’t matter how.” My throat tightens, but I don’t look away, and for once in my life, I don’t hide the hurt or the pain I’m feeling. “What matters is that you kept it from me. You hid an essential part of my life. My past. My identity.”
Her lips part, but no words come out. And for the first time, she looks truly afraid. Afraid of me seeing her for who she truly is.
My mother’s breath hitches, her perfect composure slipping. The mask that she’s worked on for so long is cracking right down the center. For a moment, she looks smaller, more fragile than I’ve ever seen her. It makes me sad for her. I feel sorry for her. That she wasted her life on a man like him.
“Karmen,” she whispers, voice trembling with regret. “I only wanted to protect you.”
“Protect me?” A bitter laugh escapes before I can stop myself. “From what? From the truth? From the man who raised me? From the man who isn’t even my father? Or from the man who was?”
She darts her eyes away, but she can’t hide the guilt written all over her face. “You don’t understand,” she murmurs. “Your father—your real father—he was dangerous. I was trying to keep you safe.”
“Safe?” I repeat, leaning in. “You married a corrupt man who’s treated me like shit my whole life, who launders money for a fucking cartel. A dangerous man who has killed people to get what he wants. Don’t talk to me about safe.”
She flinches at my words as they hit their intended target.
“You choose him. You always choose him over me,” I say, my heart breaking a little more.
No matter how much I want to block out the pain, I can’t. These people hurt me. They lied to me.
“No, that’s not true. I chose you.”
“No.” I shake my head. “If you had chosen me, you would’ve told me the truth a long time ago.”
She reaches for me. “Karmen, please.”
I pull back, shaking my head. “I’m done living in the dark,” I say quietly. Her eyes fill with tears. I don’t look away. “And I’m never going to let you drag me back into it. Secrets and lies built this family, but they’re not going to destroy me or rob me of the happiness I truly deserve.”
Without another word, I shut the door on my mother and my past for good.