My Husband and Sister Faked Their Deaths to Destroy My Life

Chapter 4: The Truth They Buried

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After I posted the video, the questions started online almost immediately.

The evidence I presented was more complete than Francesca’s. The process I described matched every detail of the case.

On camera, Francesca’s hair and makeup were flawless, her skin perfect. She didn’t look like someone who had spent three years undercover in a criminal organization.

People started emailing the police department and the mayor’s office, demanding a new investigation, demanding that the honor that was rightfully mine be returned.

I thought this was it. I thought I could finally use this case to get back to Major Crimes.

But then Francesca started a livestream.

She was sobbing in front of the camera.

“Lorelei is my own sister. I never wanted to expose this, but she’s twisting the truth and trying to steal my credit. I have no choice but to tell everyone what really happened.”

“I spent three years risking my life undercover in that organization to get that evidence. Lorelei has been working with them for a long time. She conspired with them to steal my chain of evidence.”

My mother stood beside her, holding a photo of me speaking with the crime boss during my undercover work in one hand, and my badge and ID in the other.

“I can testify to that. Lorelei has been connected to that criminal organization for years. I have photos of her with the leader. She is a traitor to the force and a disgrace to this family.”

Clara also spoke, her voice thick with tears.

“I’m Lorelei’s best friend, and I can testify, too. I saw that group transfer money into Lorelei’s account. I even walked in on her coming out of motel rooms with that man, both of them half-dressed…”

I stared at the livestream, feeling as if a blunt weight was crushing my chest. I couldn’t breathe.

I posted clarifications in the comments again and again, but they were instantly buried under a tidal wave of new messages.

“Lorelei Lombardi is disgusting. Stealing credit from her own sister.”

“Someone like that is a cop? NYPD needs to fire her.”

“Firing isn’t enough. She worked for criminals. She should be in prison.”

My phone screen lit up.

I swiped out of the livestream and opened the message from the department’s internal system.

“Lorelei Lombardi, your employment has been terminated.”

“Following an internal review, your law enforcement credentials have been permanently revoked.”

I stood there for a long time, not moving.

Everything was gone.

Even the right to be a police officer was gone.

Because I had been suspended, all my investigations had been off the books. I had no way to prove that I was approaching those criminals to investigate them, not to work with them.

And now my family and friends had all come forward to condemn me.

Who would ever believe that a mother would do this to her own daughter?

There was no one left in the world who would believe me.

While I stood there in a daze, I saw a familiar figure staggering toward me.

It was Dimitri.

He stopped in front of me and reached out to wipe a tear from my cheek.

“Lorelei, don’t be afraid.”

“I’ve reviewed your case. If you turn yourself in now, you have a chance at a lighter sentence.”

“And since Francesca just made a major contribution, if she’s willing to speak for you, that could help.”

“Eight years, tops. The day you get out, I’ll be there to pick you up. I’ll convince Mom, Dad, and Francesca, and we can all be a family again.”

I felt a chill spread through me, so deep it ached in my bones.

For this case, for the justice I believed in, I had given everything.