The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 161 - One Hundred and Sixty-One

Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-One

Malachi’s POV

I couldn’t stop thinking about Alicia. Even when I was supposed to be focused on Zhao Wei. Even when I was planning operations. Even when I should have been sleeping.

She was everywhere. In every quiet moment. In every decision I made. In the hollow space in my chest that nothing seemed to fill.

But I had to handle this first. Had to deal with Zhao. Had to investigate Hong Wei’s death. Had to meet this mysterious person who claimed to have answers about why Alicia ran.

Then maybe. Maybe I could figure out how to get her back.

The meeting was set for midnight at the old factory district on the west side. Abandoned. Isolated. The kind of place where things happened that couldn’t happen in daylight.

I arrived early. Checked the perimeter. Made sure I wasn’t walking into an ambush. Rose wanted to come with me but I’d refused. The message had been clear. Come alone.

So I was alone.

At exactly midnight, a figure appeared from the shadows. Dressed in all black. Hood up. Face covered by a dark mask. Moving with a grace that suggested female, though everything else was carefully concealed.

She stopped about ten feet away from me. Close enough to talk. Far enough to run if needed.

"You came," she said. Her voice was distorted. Some kind of modulator making it impossible to identify.

"You said you had information about Alicia. About why she ran."

"I do. But first, we need to talk about other things. About you. About who you’ve become."

"I don’t have time for games. Tell me what you know or I’m leaving."

"So impatient. You weren’t always like this. You used to be patient. Thoughtful. Kind, even."

I frowned. "You don’t know me."

"Don’t I? I knew you when you were younger. Before Dark City. Before you became this cold, controlled thing that pretends not to feel."

Something about the way she said it made my skin prickle. This wasn’t just someone who’d researched me. This was someone who claimed to actually know me.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who’s been watching. Someone who’s been waiting to see if you’d remember how to be human. Spoiler alert: you failed."

"If you’re just here to insult me—"

"I’m here to help you. Even though you don’t deserve it. Even though you’ve become exactly what I always feared you’d become."

I noticed something then. A piece of fabric attached to her coat. Delicate. Expensive-looking. The same kind of fabric that Ross had found at Emily’s grave.

My pulse quickened. "You’ve been visiting Emily’s grave."

She went still. "So you did investigate that. I wondered if you would."

"Who are you? How did you know Emily?"

"I knew Emily very well. Better than anyone. Better than you, certainly, even though everyone thought you two would end up together."

"Everyone thought a lot of things. Doesn’t mean they were right."

"No. They weren’t right. You didn’t love Emily. Not the way she loved you. Not the way she deserved."

There was pain in her voice now. Even through the distortion, I could hear it.

"You’re talking about her like you were close to her."

"I was closer than you could imagine."

She started walking. Slow circles around me like she was assessing. Remembering.

"Do you remember the summer you turned fifteen? You and Emily spent the whole summer by the lake. She taught you how to skip stones properly because you kept doing it wrong."

My chest tightened. That memory was real. But it wasn’t public knowledge. Wasn’t something that could be found in files or records.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I was there. I remember everything. How you’d laugh when the stones sank immediately. How Emily would demonstrate over and over until you finally got it right. How you looked at her like she was magical."

"Who are you?"

"I remember when you came back from Dark City too. Three years later. Changed. Hardened. With eyes that didn’t smile anymore. Emily was so worried about you. She wanted to help you. To bring back the boy she remembered."

"Stop."

"But you wouldn’t let her. You pushed everyone away. Built walls so high that no one could reach you. And then Emily died and you didn’t even cry. Didn’t shed a single tear for the girl who loved you her whole life."

"I said stop." My voice was dangerous now. This person was touching nerves I’d buried. Saying things that hurt in ways I didn’t want to acknowledge.

"Why should I stop? Because the truth hurts? Because facing what you’ve become is uncomfortable?"

"Because I don’t know who you are and I don’t appreciate strangers psychoanalyzing me based on memories that could have come from anywhere."

"They didn’t come from anywhere. They came from being there. From watching. From caring about you even when you made it impossible to care."

She stopped moving. Stood directly in front of me now. Close enough that I could see her eyes through the mask. Dark eyes that looked familiar somehow.

"You asked me why Alicia ran. The answer is simple. She heard recordings of you torturing people. She heard you laugh while someone begged for mercy. She saw who you really are underneath all the control. And it terrified her."

"I know about the recordings. What I want to know is who sent them."

"Does it matter? They were real. You did those things. The only question is whether you regret them."

"They were necessary. Those people betrayed me. Stole from me. Tried to kill people I cared about."

"And that makes torture acceptable? That makes cruelty justified?"

"In my world, yes."

"Your world." She laughed. Bitter. Sad. "You’ve built yourself such a dark world, Malachi. And now you’re angry that Alicia doesn’t want to live in it with you."

"She didn’t have all the information. If I could just explain—"

"Explain what? That you’re violent but only when you think it’s justified? That you’re capable of terrible things but only to people who deserve it? Do you really think that makes it better?"

I was getting frustrated. This conversation was going in circles. "Why am I here? What do you actually want from me?"

"I want you to remember. Remember who you were before you became this. Remember the boy who laughed. Who felt things. Who wasn’t afraid to be human."

"That boy is gone."

"I know. I mourned him years ago. But I thought maybe. Maybe if I showed you what you’d lost. Maybe if I made you face it. You’d find your way back."

"Back to what?"

"To yourself. To the person you could have been if Emily hadn’t died. If Dark City hadn’t broken you. If you’d chosen differently."

"Emily." I said her name carefully. "You talk about her like you knew her intimately. Like you understand exactly how she felt."

"I do understand. Better than anyone."

"Then tell me who you are. Stop hiding. Stop playing games. Tell me who you are and what you want."

She was quiet for a long moment. Then she reached up slowly. Deliberately.

Her hands found the mask. Started to remove it.

"You want to know who I am? Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you."

The mask came off. Then the hood. She stepped forward into the light from a nearby street lamp.

Dark hair. Changed from the burgundy I remembered. Dark eyes. The same eyes. The same face.

But it couldn’t be. She was dead. Had been dead for five years. I’d been at the funeral.

Except she was standing right in front of me. Alive. Real.

My heart stopped. My brain refused to process what I was seeing.

"E... Emily?"