MY FAMILY LOCKED MY SISTER IN A FREEZER — BUT THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT SHE HID IN HER COAT 109a

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I met Jake at a diner across from the police station. He looked tired—like he hadn't slept. Maybe he hadn't.

"You got it?"

I handed him the ledger. The phone. The recording.

He looked through it all. His expression didn't change. But his jaw tightened.

"This is... this is everything."

"Enough?"

"More than enough." He looked at me. "We can arrest her. Today. Right now."

"Then do it."

He made a call. Low. Urgent. When he hung up, he was smiling.

"We're going in. SWAT. Full team. She's still at the cabin?"

"As far as I know."

"You know the way?"

"Better than anyone."

We drove in silence. Jake's team followed in another car.

The cabin looked the same as it had hours before. Quiet. Still. But now I knew what was waiting inside.

"She's there," I said. "I can feel it."

Jake nodded. "Stay in the car."

"Like hell."

"Marcus—"

"I'm going in. She's my mother. I need to see this."

He stared at me. Then sighed.

"Fine. But stay behind me."

We approached the cabin. The door was open. The lights were on.

I stepped inside.

Mom was sitting at the table. Alone. A glass of wine in front of her.

"Marcus." She smiled. Like this was normal. Like we were just having dinner. "I was wondering when you'd come back."

"Where are the others?"

"Gone. Ray. Danny. They left. Cowards."

"And Frank?"

"Frank." She sipped her wine. "He was always a problem."

"What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything. The bullet did."

I lunged for her. Jake caught me.

"Easy."

"She killed him. She killed Frank."

"She'll pay. But not like this."

Mom laughed. "Such drama. Frank was a traitor. Just like your father. Just like you."

"You killed Dad."

"I did what needed to be done."

"He loved you."

"Love is weakness." She set down her glass. "I loved your father. I did. But he was going to destroy everything. Everything I'd built. For what? Some moral high ground?"

"He was going to go to the police."

"He was going to get us all killed." She stood up. "The people I work with... they don't play games. If your father had talked, they would have killed us all. Slow. Painful."

"So you killed him first."

"I killed him to protect my family."

"You tried to kill Karen."

"Karen is a problem. She always has been."

"She's your daughter."

"She's a traitor." Mom's face twisted. "Just like you."

Jake stepped forward. "Rosalie DeLuca, you're under arrest for the murder of Anthony DeLuca, the attempted murder of Karen DeLuca, and conspiracy to commit money laundering."

She laughed. "Do you have a warrant?"

Jake held up the ledger. The phone.

"We have everything."

Mom's face changed. The mask slipped. For the first time, I saw fear in her eyes.

"You think this is over?" she whispered. "You think you've won?"

"It's over."

"It's never over." She backed toward the fireplace. "The people I work for... they're everywhere. They'll find you. They'll find Karen. They'll—"

"Rosalie, put your hands up."

She smiled. Reached behind her.

Jake drew his gun. "Don't!"

She pulled out a small pistol. Aimed it at me.

"I'm sorry, Marcus."