Caroline sank onto the bottom step of the wooden stairs, her expensive coat soaking up the dirty water on the floor.

For the first time in my life, she looked old.

“You were my masterpiece, Natalie,” she said, looking up at me with cold, empty eyes.

“Everything I did was to ensure your rise to the top.”

“You did not want a daughter,” I said, tucking my weapon away.

“You wanted an asset.”

Voss did not try to run.

He knew the perimeter was already surrounded.

He dropped his handgun onto the concrete floor with a dull clatter.

Within ten minutes, the basement door was crowded with federal agents in tactical gear.

They did not point their weapons at me.

Mara walked down the stairs behind them, her trench coat wet with rain, a look of quiet relief on her face.

She looked at me and nodded once.

“It is over, Colonel,” Mara said.

“The media is already running the story.”

“The Attorney General just issued the arrest warrants.”

I let out a breath I felt like I had been holding for years.