The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 171 - One Hundred and Seventy-One

Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-One

Malachi’s POV

I hadn’t slept in three days.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Emily’s face. Heard her voice. The way she’d looked at me like I was something broken and unsalvageable.

Maybe I was.

I sat in my office staring at the files Maurice had compiled. Everything we’d found on Emily’s death. Or what we thought was her death.

The hospital records were legitimate. At least, they looked legitimate. Birth certificate for the baby. Death certificate for Emily. All signed by the attending physician.

Except the physician didn’t exist.

Dr. Marcus Chen. Licensed. Credentialed. But when we dug deeper, we found nothing. No medical school records. No previous employment. The license number was fake.

Someone had created an entire identity just to sign those documents.

"This took planning," Maurice said. He stood by the window, looking out at Dark City’s skyline. "Years of planning. This wasn’t something she did on impulse."

"I know."

"Which means she’s been working on whatever she’s planning for just as long."

I rubbed my face. My eyes burned. My head pounded.

"Any leads on where she is now?"

"No. She disappeared after the cemetery. Rose and Violet are searching, but it’s like she’s a ghost."

"She calls herself Ghost now."

Maurice turned to look at me. "What?"

"That’s what she told Travis. That she goes by Ghost. That the Emily we knew is dead."

"Do you believe that?"

Did I? I didn’t know anymore. The woman I’d met in that factory, the one who’d threatened my family with cold eyes and a voice full of hate, she wasn’t the Emily I remembered.

But pieces of her were still there. I’d seen them. In the way she’d talked about the past. In the pain that flickered across her face when she thought I wasn’t looking.

"I think she wants to believe it," I said finally. "But I don’t think it’s true."

"Then maybe we can reason with her. Talk her down from whatever she’s planning."

"You didn’t see her eyes, Maurice. She’s not interested in talking. She wants blood."

My phone buzzed. A message from Dante.

*Zhao Wei’s people are moving. Looks like they’re preparing for something.*

I stood up. "I need to deal with Zhao."

"Now? With everything else—"

"Emily’s planning something, but it’ll take time. Zhao is an immediate threat. I need to handle him before he becomes a bigger problem."

Maurice didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t argue. "What’s the plan?"

"I gave Travis the assignment. Let’s see if he can actually follow through on something."

"You think he’s capable? He’s been drinking himself into a coma."

"Then maybe this will give him something to focus on besides his failures."

I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door. Maurice followed.

"Where are you going?"

"To make sure Travis doesn’t screw this up."

The drive to the location Travis had chosen for the operation took forty minutes. An abandoned warehouse on the east side. Far enough from populated areas that noise wouldn’t be a problem.

Travis was already there when I arrived. He looked better than the last time I’d seen him. Still rough, but sober at least. His eyes were clearer.

"You came to supervise?" he asked when I walked in.

"I came to make sure this gets done right."

"I know how to handle an operation, Malachi. I’m not completely useless."

"Could’ve fooled me."

He glared at me, but didn’t respond. Smart. We didn’t have time for our usual rivalry.

"Where is Zhao now?" I asked.

"His people are meeting at a warehouse three blocks from here. Moving product. We’ve got eyes on them."

"How many?"

"Eight. Maybe ten."

"Armed?"

"Definitely."

I nodded. "And your plan?"

"Wait until they’re done loading. Hit them when they’re distracted. Take Zhao alive if possible. Kill the rest."

"Why alive?"

"Because he might have information we need. About his suppliers. His buyers. His connections."

It was a good answer. Maybe Travis wasn’t completely incompetent after all.

"Fine. Let’s move."

We took two cars. Travis led with three of his men. I followed with Maurice and two of mine.

The warehouse came into view. Lights on inside. Vehicles parked outside. Just like Travis said.

We parked a block away and approached on foot. Silent. Careful.

Travis gave the signal. His men moved to the back entrance. We took the front.

The door was unlocked. Sloppy. Zhao’s people were getting comfortable. Thought they were untouchable. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

They were wrong.

We moved through the warehouse like shadows. Found them exactly where Travis said they’d be. Loading crates into a truck.

Zhao Wei stood in the center, directing his people. He was smaller than I expected. Mid-forties. Expensive suit. The kind of man who paid others to get his hands dirty.

Travis caught my eye. Nodded.

We moved.

The first shot dropped the man closest to the truck. The second took out the one by the door.

Chaos erupted. Zhao’s people scrambled for weapons. Started shooting back.

I took cover behind a crate. Returned fire. Watched two more go down.

Travis moved like he actually knew what he was doing. Efficient. Precise. Maybe grief had sharpened him.

Within three minutes, it was over. Seven bodies on the ground. Zhao on his knees with Travis’s gun to his head.

"Don’t move," Travis said.

Zhao raised his hands. "You’re making a mistake."

"The only mistake was you thinking you could operate in my city without consequences."

"Your city?" Zhao laughed. "This isn’t your city. This is just a place you’re borrowing until someone stronger takes it from you."

I walked over. Looked down at him.

"You’ve been moving product through Dark City for six months. Cutting into our profits. Bribing our contacts. Did you really think we wouldn’t notice?"

"I think you’re too distracted to do anything about it. Too busy with your family drama."

My jaw tightened. "What do you know about my family?"

"I know Emily Blackwood isn’t as dead as everyone thinks. I know she’s been very busy making plans. Very interesting plans."

My blood went cold.

"How do you know about Emily?"

"She approached me three months ago. Wanted to form an alliance. Said she could help me take down the Blackwood empire from the inside."

"And?"

"And I told her I work alone. Don’t need partners. Especially not bitter ex-wives with revenge fantasies."

Travis’s gun pressed harder against Zhao’s skull. "Watch your mouth."

"It’s the truth. She came to me with this whole elaborate plan about destroying your family. Taking everything you’ve built. She’s obsessed, man. Completely unhinged."

"What was the plan?" I asked. "What did she tell you?"

"Does it matter? I said no. Sent her away."

"But you remember what she said."

Zhao smiled. It was ugly. Calculating. "Maybe. But that information’s valuable. What’s it worth to you?"

I looked at Travis. He looked at me.

"Your life," I said. "Tell us what you know and I’ll let you leave Dark City. Refuse and you die here."

Zhao considered this. "Not much of a negotiation."

"It’s the only one you’re getting."

He sighed. "Fine. She said she had someone on the inside. Someone close to the family who was helping her. Feeding her information. Opening doors."

"Who?"

"She didn’t say. But she seemed confident. Said it was someone you’d never suspect."

A traitor. Inside the family. The thought made my stomach turn.

"What else?"

"She mentioned something about Hong Wei. Said his death wasn’t natural. Said your family was responsible."

I already knew that. Pa had told me years ago. Hong Wei had been a problem. A threat. So he’d been eliminated.

But Emily finding out? That changed things.

"That’s all I know," Zhao said. "Now let me go."

I nodded to Travis. He lowered his gun.

Zhao stood up slowly. Brushed off his suit.

"You’re making a mistake letting me live."

"Probably. But I keep my word."

"You’ll regret it."

"Maybe. But you’ll regret it more if you ever come back to Dark City. Next time, I won’t be so generous."

Zhao walked away. Disappeared into the darkness.

Maurice came up beside me. "You really think letting him go was smart?"

"No. But killing him would start a war with his suppliers. We don’t need that right now."

"And Emily? If what he said is true—"

"Then we have a bigger problem than I thought."

Travis was staring at the bodies. At the blood pooling on the concrete floor.

"She really hates us that much," he said quietly. "Hates us enough to ally with our enemies."

"She thinks we killed her father. Killed her son. Can you blame her?"

"Did we?"

I didn’t answer. Didn’t need to. We both knew the truth.

"We need to find her," Travis said. "Before she makes her move."

"I know."

"And when we do? What then?"

"I don’t know."

Because how do you stop someone who used to be family? Someone who knew all your weaknesses? Someone who had nothing left to lose?

I didn’t have an answer.

And that terrified me more than I wanted to admit.

We cleaned up. Made the bodies disappear. Erased all evidence we’d been there.

By the time we left, the warehouse looked empty. Abandoned. Like nothing had happened.

But everything had happened.

And Emily was out there somewhere. Planning. Preparing. Getting ready to destroy everything I’d built.

I needed to find her.

Before she found me.