Chapter 8 - The Betrayer
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I pressed myself against the ground. Tried to slow my breathing.
The footsteps got closer. Heavy. Deliberate.
I looked up.
Sophie.
She was alone. No gun. No weapon. Just her.
"Marcus."
I scrambled to my feet. Held the ledger like a shield.
"Stay back."
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"You're with them."
"I'm not." She stepped closer. "I'm here to help."
"Bullshit. You sold me out. You told them about Jake."
Her face crumpled. "I didn't know what they were going to do. I swear. Mom said... she said she just wanted to talk to you. To work things out."
"And you believed her?"
"I wanted to believe her." She was crying now. "I've spent my whole life wanting to believe her. And I'm done."
I stared at her. Trying to figure out if this was a trick.
"Sophie, you've been with them this whole time. You watched them lock Karen in a freezer. You sat there while she almost died."
"I know."
"How can I trust you?"
She reached into her pocket. Slowly. Pulled out a phone.
"Because I recorded this."
She hit play.
Mom's voice. Calm. Cold.
"He'll go to the cabin. He's predictable that way. Just like his father."
"What do we do when we find him?" Danny.
"Same thing we did to Tony. Make it look like an accident."
"And the ledger?"
"Burn it. With him."
The recording stopped.
I stared at Sophie. My hands were shaking.
"She killed him."
"She did."
"And you knew."
"I suspected. But I didn't know for sure. Not until tonight."
"Why now? Why come back now?"
"Because I'm tired, Marcus. Tired of being afraid. Tired of pretending." She wiped her face. "I'm not you. I'm not Karen. I've never been brave. But I'm done running."
I wanted to believe her. Needed to believe her.
But I couldn't. Not yet.
"Where's Frank?"
"I don't know. They went inside after you ran. I heard a shot."
I closed my eyes. "He was trying to help me."
"I know."
I opened my eyes. Looked at my cousin. The one who'd sat at the dinner table while my sister froze.
"If you're lying—"
"I'm not."
"Prove it."
She held out the phone. "Take it. The recording. Use it. Go to the police. I'll stay here. I'll take whatever punishment comes."
"What about Mom?"
"She's still at the cabin. Waiting. She thinks you're coming back."
"Why would she think that?"
"Because she doesn't know about the back door. She thinks you're trapped."
I looked at the phone in my hand. The recording. The proof.
"Sophie."
"Yeah?"
"If I do this... if I go to the police... you'll go to jail too."
"I know."
"You could run. Disappear. Start over."
"I could." She smiled. Sad. "But where would I go?"
I didn't have an answer.
I took the phone. Pocketed it.
"Get out of here. Before they find you."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to finish this."
"Marcus—"
"Go!"
She ran. Disappeared into the trees.
I stood there. Alone. The ledger in one hand. The phone in the other.
Time to end this.
I didn't go back to the cabin. That would be stupid.
Instead, I called Jake. Told him everything. He said he was on his way. Said to find somewhere safe and wait.
I didn't wait.
I went back to the road. Flagged down a car. A trucker. Nice guy. Didn't ask questions.
I rode into the city. The sun was rising. The world was waking up.
I had evidence. I had witnesses.
And I had a plan.
The first stop was the hospital. I needed to see Karen.
She was awake when I got there. Sitting up. Better.
"You found him?"
"I found him."
"The ledger?"
"In my hands."
"Thank God." She sagged with relief. "I was so scared."
"Karen... there's something else."
"What?"
"Sophie helped me. She recorded Mom. Confessing."
"Sophie?"
"She's on our side. Or she wants to be."
Karen was quiet for a minute. "What about Frank?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. I heard a shot."
She closed her eyes. "He was a good man."
"He was."
"Mom?"
"She's still at the cabin. She doesn't know I escaped."
"Good." Karen's eyes were hard now. "Then we have the advantage."
"We have to move fast. Before she realizes."
"Go. Finish it. I'll be fine."
I leaned down. Kissed her cheek.
"I love you."
"I love you too." She squeezed my hand. "Now go. Make them pay."
I walked out of the hospital.
The sun was up. The sky was clear.
Time to end this.
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