Page 122 of Empire of Ache & Ruin

“Yeah.” Jacob nods. “Somehow lying to Paloma about her mom feels more fucked up than everything else. Why is that?”

“Because now she’s upstairs thinking she’s been fucking her big brother,” Gardenia blurts out.

“Gardenia.” Fisher’s voice rumbles in the room. “Watch your words.”

“Sorry.” She looks at me. “But you know it’s true. How are you going to convince her of the truth, without telling her the whole truth?”

“I don’t know.” I sit back and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I think the only way out of this mess is to come clean. Tell her everything. It’s a risk we can’t avoid anymore. She has to know.”

“What about the paintings? Will you be okay if those get destroyed too?” Fisher asks. “Because that’s exactly what the Senator is going to do once he finds out you and Freya are still alive.”

“I know. That’s why we need to get them back tonight.” I brace my arms on my knees and meet Jacob’s gaze. “Did we figure out where he took the paintings after he lost the mansion?”

“Yes. Security is minimal. I mean, he’s certainly not expecting Tristan Sallows to come looking for his family heirlooms. So, the portraits are not guarded at all. They’re in his beach house in the Hamptons.”

“That’s an easy job.” Fisher rubs the side of his face. “Once you have the paintings, it’ll be easier to explain to Paloma why the Senator lied about Freya’s portrait.”

“The question is, if Paloma can believe her father lied about her real mom, would that help her process the fact that he’s also a killer? That he not only killed my dad, but he also stole his life?” I release a breath.

I can’t lose her. Her father has his hooks into her so deep, she can’t see him for what he is. Even now, she chose to run away and hide in our suite rather than face the fact that everything she knows about her mom is possibly a lie. Or that, at the very least, she doesn’t know what her mom looks like.

Acid pools in my stomach as I consider the many times the Senator pointed at my mother’s portrait and called her image a whore. No wonder he has so much contempt for her. Was my mother’s face a reminder of what all the horrible things he had to do to get to the level of power and wealth he has now?

“You know.” Mom shifts her body to look at me. “Paloma looks familiar.”

“How do you mean?” I furrow my brows at her. “She doesn’t look like the Senator at all.”

“Her golden eyes are so distinct. I’ve only known one other person with eyes like that. She was a friend back at my ballet company. We both joined at the same time.” She bites the inside of her lip. “I can’t remember her name. It was a Spanish name.”

“Um.” Gardenia slides down onto the sofa cushion. “Do you want me to poke around the archives and see if seeing a few names can jog your memory?”

“There’s no time for that, Gardenia.” Fisher places a hand on Mom’s shoulder, and Mom leans into it.

“I can multi-task.” She rolls her eyes. “If you’re going to tell Paloma that the mom she thinks is her mom is not her mom, at least offer her the truth. If Aunt Freya’s old ballet friend can help us find Paloma’s real mom, we kind of owe it to her to find out. Don’t you think?” She looks to me. “Archer?”

“She’s right, Fisher.” I nod. “Do it. Whatever we can do to ease Paloma’s pain is worth our time.” I face Jacob. “You and I can work out a plan for tonight.”

“I’m always up for a heist.” Jacob smirks.

“Be careful, Son.” Mom pats my hand. “This man is dangerous. Someone who can live with a lie for twenty years isn’t right.” Her eyes fill with pity and sorrow. “No matter what you do to this man, it won’t bring Edward back. I made peace with that. I was hoping that being here and getting married would help you do the same. But now I see that it only served to fuel your anger even more.”

“Mom, I promise. When all this is over, I will finally find peace. And if I have any say in it, Paloma will be part of my new life, my new family.”

“Yes.” She nods, smiling. “Fisher already explained. And it’s easy to see when you’re together. You’re like magnets.”

“She’s important to me.” I meet her gaze.

Beyond my obsession for her, this is the first time I admit in front of my family that what I feel for Paloma is more than an inexplicable attraction. She’s more than mine. She’s my life.

“You’re in love with her.” Mom cups my cheek. “And if her reaction to me is any indication, she’s in love with you too.”

“I want to forget about all the bad. But until she sees who her father really is, she won’t be free. I need to face the Senator. For her. And for me.” I scan the faces around the room. “Until he’s gone, none of us will be free.”

One by one they all nod in agreement. Paloma is one of us now. She needs our protection. The Senator is the only person standing between her and the happiness she deserves. I don’t care if he’s punished anymore. I care that he’s gone for good—out of our lives forever.

“Okay, so step one is get the paintings back.” Gardenia jumps to her feet and ambles to my desk. “We followed the moving truck that left the mansion a few months back to the beach house. I did a bit of recon. The ten-thousand square foot home belongs to an LLC. Like Jacob pointed out, there’s minimal security. They’re not expecting anyone to come for the paintings. The security guards are all retired cops. They’re just there to keep intruders out. Nothing fancy.”

“There’s a cellar.” Jacob joins Gardenia and looks over her shoulder at my laptop screen. “There. It’s underground. I bet you that’s where he’s keeping them.”

---