The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 175 - One Hundred and Seventy-Five

Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Five

Malachi’s POV

I couldn’t sleep. Again.

Three in the morning and I was sitting in my office, staring at the blank screen of my laptop, thinking about her.

Always her.

Alicia.

The way she’d looked at me the last time I saw her. Fear mixed with something else. Something that had felt like goodbye.

I hated it. Hated that she was afraid of me. Hated that she’d run. Hated that I couldn’t find her and drag her back to where she belonged.

With me.

Not with Travis. Never with Travis. He’d had his chance and he’d wasted it. Treated her like garbage. Broken her down piece by piece until she was a shadow of the woman she should have been.

I’d been fixing that. Slowly. Carefully. Showing her what it felt like to be wanted. Cherished. Worshipped the way she deserved.

And then those recordings.

Someone had sent her recordings of me at my worst. Doing what needed to be done. Eliminating threats. Extracting information. Being the monster the family needed me to be.

She’d heard me torture someone. Heard me laugh while they begged.

And she’d run.

Smart girl.

She should be afraid of me. I was dangerous. Violent. Capable of terrible things.

But God, I wanted her anyway.

Wanted her with an intensity that bordered on obsession. Maybe crossed that border entirely.

I wanted to find her. Wanted to make her understand that everything I did, every dark thing, every violent act, was to protect what was mine. To build something strong enough that no one could take it away.

To build something strong enough to keep her safe.

Even if she didn’t understand that yet. Even if she thought I was a monster.

I’d prove to her that monsters made the best protectors.

I picked up my phone and called Maurice. He answered on the second ring, his voice rough with sleep.

"It’s three in the morning."

"I know what time it is. Have you found her?"

A pause. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because we’re not trying."

I sat forward. "Explain."

"You told us to monitor her accounts. Her cards. Her digital footprint. We’ve been doing that. But she hasn’t used any of it. No credit card transactions. No phone activity on her old number. No job applications using her real name or credentials."

"So she’s gone completely dark."

"Yes. Which means she knew you’d be watching. Knew you’d track her the conventional way. She’s smarter than we gave her credit for."

I smiled despite myself. Of course she was. Alicia had always been intelligent. Quick. Adaptable.

She’d survived years with Travis. Years of being diminished and overlooked. And she’d still managed to keep that sharp mind intact.

"What about Sophie? Her sister?"

"Same thing. No activity. They both disappeared completely."

"Cassie? David?"

"David’s jet flew to Italy three weeks ago. But that’s all we have. No specific location. No paper trail after they landed."

Italy. At least I had a country.

"Expand the search. Check hotels. Rental properties. Anywhere they might have gone."

"Malachi, if she doesn’t want to be found—"

"I don’t care what she wants. Find her."

Maurice was quiet for a moment. "Can I ask why?"

"Why what?"

"Why you’re so obsessed with finding her. She’s Travis’s wife. Not yours. And she clearly doesn’t want anything to do with any of us."

"She’s not his wife. Not in any way that matters."

"Legally she is."

"Legally means nothing. He never deserved her. Never appreciated what he had. I’m not making the same mistake."

"So what, you’re going to bring her back? Force her to be with you? You think that’ll work?"

"I’m going to bring her back and make her understand. Make her see that running was pointless. That she belongs here. With me."

"That’s not love, Malachi. That’s possession."

"Maybe I don’t know the difference anymore."

Maurice sighed. "You need to let her go."

"No."

"She’s terrified of you. You heard those recordings. She knows what you’re capable of."

"Which is exactly why she should be with me. I can protect her. Keep her safe from everyone who’d try to hurt her."

"Including yourself?"

The question hit harder than I expected. "I’d never hurt her."

"Not physically maybe. But what about emotionally? What about the fact that she’s running because she can’t handle what you are?"

"She’ll learn to handle it."

"Or she’ll break."

"She won’t break. She’s stronger than that."

"Everyone breaks eventually, Malachi. Even the strong ones."

I ended the call. Didn’t want to hear any more of Maurice’s logic. His reasonable arguments about why I should let Alicia go.

Because I couldn’t let her go.

Wouldn’t let her go.

She was mine in every way that mattered. I’d touched her. Tasted her. Made her come apart in my arms. Heard her say my name like a prayer.

She could run to Italy or Antarctica or the fucking moon. It didn’t matter.

I’d find her eventually. And when I did, I’d make sure she understood that there was no escaping me.

Not because I wanted to cage her. But because she was the only thing in my dark, violent world that felt like light.

The only person who’d ever looked at me and seen something other than the Blackwood heir. The weapon. The monster.

She’d seen me. Actually seen me.

And I couldn’t let that go. Couldn’t let her go.

Even if keeping her meant becoming more of a monster than I already was.

I stood up and walked to the window. Looked out at Dark City spread below me. My city. My kingdom.

But it felt empty without her.

Everything felt empty without her.

I’d built an empire. Accumulated more power and wealth than most people could imagine. I could have anything I wanted with a phone call.

Except the one thing that actually mattered.

Her.

My phone buzzed. A message from Rose.

Emily was spotted near the old factory district. Want us to move?

I stared at the message. Emily. The ghost who’d come back to haunt us. Who wanted to destroy everything I’d built.

She should be my priority. The immediate threat.

But all I could think about was Alicia. About where she was. If she was safe. If she thought about me the way I thought about her.

I typed back. Track her but don’t engage. I want to know what she’s planning.

Then I opened a new message to Maurice.

Double the resources on finding Alicia. I want results within the week.

It was obsessive. Possessive. Maybe even wrong.

But I didn’t care.

Because the alternative was living in this hollow existence. Going through the motions. Being the monster everyone expected without anything to balance it out.

Alicia had been my balance. My light in all this darkness.

And I’d be damned if I let her slip away forever.

I’d find her. Bring her home. Make her understand that running was pointless.

That she was mine.

And I protected what was mine. Always.

Even if she hated me for it.

Even if it made me more of a monster.

I’d rather be a monster with her than human without her.

That was the truth of it. The dark, twisted truth.

I loved her. In my own broken, possessive way.

And love, for someone like me, looked a lot like obsession.

I went back to my desk and pulled up every file we had on Italy. Every contact. Every resource.

I’d find her.

And when I did, I’d never let her go again.

That was a promise. To myself. To her.

Whether she wanted it or not.