The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 102 - one hundred and two

Chapter One Hundred and Two

Malachi’s POV

The moment Alicia disappeared down the hallway, I grabbed Cecilia’s wrist and pulled her into my room. Harder than necessary. My control was slipping.

I pushed her inside and locked the door. Then I had her against the wall, my hand around her throat before she could react.

Not squeezing. Not yet. Just holding. Making a point.

"What the hell was that?" My voice was low. Dangerous.

"What?" Her eyes were wide. Shocked.

"The kiss. On my cheek. In front of her."

"I was making it look real. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?" Cecilia’s voice shook slightly. "We’re supposed to be convincing."

"I said convincing. Not familiar. Not intimate." My grip tightened just slightly. "If you still need my help, you better learn your limits."

"Malachi, I’m sorry. I thought—"

"You thought wrong." I released her throat but didn’t step back. "We have a contract. A business arrangement. That’s all this is. Don’t forget that."

Tears welled in her eyes. Real tears. I’d scared her. Good.

"I won’t forget," she whispered.

We stood there for a moment. The tension thick between us. Then she asked the question I’d been dreading.

"Do you love her? Alicia?"

The question hit like a punch. I kept my expression neutral. Cold.

"That’s none of your concern."

"It is if it affects our arrangement. If you’re in love with your sister-in-law—"

"What I feel or don’t feel for Alicia is none of your business." My voice was ice. "And you’d do well to remember that."

"It’s taboo, Malachi. She’s married to your brother. Even if something was happening between you two—"

"I said it’s none of your business." I stepped back. Creating distance. "We have an agreement. You play your part. I play mine. What happens outside of that doesn’t concern you."

"I’m just trying to understand—"

"No. You’re trying to insert yourself into something that has nothing to do with you." I walked to the door and opened it. "Get out."

"Malachi—"

"Now."

She left quickly. Wiping her eyes. Looking shaken.

I closed the door and leaned against it. Ran my hand through my hair.

That had been too close. Too revealing. Cecilia was perceptive. She’d seen something. Noticed something between Alicia and me.

I needed to be more careful. More controlled.

But watching Alicia hurt, watching her pretend to be okay while dying inside, was destroying my control. Making me volatile. Dangerous.

I checked my watch. A few hours until dinner. I could use the time to work. To focus on something other than the mess I’d created.

I pulled out my laptop and went through emails. Reports. The usual business that kept the Blackwood empire running.

My phone buzzed. Maurice.

"Tyler’s been spotted in Dark City. Multiple confirmed sightings over the past three days."

I sat up straighter. Tyler. My banished cousin. The one Pa Wood refused to talk about.

"Where in Dark City?"

"Near the docks. Meeting with some of Zhao Wei’s people."

Zhao Wei. Everything kept circling back to him.

"Get me everything. Who he’s meeting. What they’re discussing. Where he’s staying."

"Already on it. I’ll have a full report by tomorrow."

"Good. And Maurice? Keep this between us for now. Don’t tell Pa Wood."

"Understood."

I ended the call and sat back. Tyler was back. Working with Zhao Wei. That couldn’t be coincidence.

Whatever was happening, whatever games were being played, Tyler was involved. And that made everything more complicated.

Dinner time came too quickly. I headed downstairs to find the family already gathering. Mario and Isabella. Tom. Pa Wood at the head of the table. Sasha looking subdued.

And Alicia. Sitting in her usual spot. Looking composed but I could see the coldness in her eyes. The distance she was putting between herself and everyone else.

Especially me.

Cecilia appeared at my side. I offered my arm. She took it. We walked to the table together. The perfect couple.

I pulled out her chair. She sat. I took the seat across from Alicia.

Our eyes met briefly. Hers were ice. Completely shut off. She’d rebuilt all her walls. Reinforced them. Made them impenetrable.

I’d done that. Pushed her too far. Hurt her too much.

Dinner was served. Conversation flowed around me but I barely heard it. Too focused on Alicia. On the way she was deliberately not looking at me. The way she engaged with everyone except me.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out discreetly.

Maurice again.

"Tyler spotted boarding a plane. Heading to Silver Lake. Arrives tomorrow morning."

I frowned. Tyler was coming here? Why now? Why during all of this?

I typed back. "Keep tracking him. I want to know the moment he lands."

Before I could put my phone away, there was a commotion at the entrance. One of the staff rushed in, looking flustered.

"Mr. Blackwood, sir. A delivery just arrived. At the front door."

Pa Wood looked up. "A delivery? At this hour?"

"Yes, sir. It’s... unusual. I think you should see it."

We all stood. Followed the staff member to the front entrance.

On the doorstep was a large box. Black. Elegant. With a red ribbon.

Pa Wood gestured for someone to open it.

Inside were roses. Dozens of them. But they were dead. Blackened. Rotting. The smell hit us immediately.

And there was a card. Pa Wood picked it up and read it. His face went dark with rage.

"What does it say?" Tom asked.

"’For the Blackwood family. May you rot as beautifully as these flowers.’" Pa Wood crushed the card in his fist. "Who has the audacity? Who would dare send this to my house?"

Everyone started talking at once. Speculating. Demanding answers.

I looked at the roses. At the calculated cruelty of it. This wasn’t random. This was a message. A threat.

And judging by the timing, it was connected to Tyler. Or the mysterious person using Sasha as a puppet.

My eyes found Alicia. She was staring at the dead roses with an expression I couldn’t quite read. Fear? Recognition?

Did she know something? Had something else happened that she hadn’t told me about?

"Find out who sent this," Pa Wood ordered. "I want names. I want addresses. I want whoever did this brought to me."

The staff scattered. Security was called. The box was taken away for analysis.

But I knew we wouldn’t find anything. Whoever sent this was too careful. Too professional.

They were toying with us. Letting us know they could reach us. That we weren’t safe even in our own home.

And based on Alicia’s reaction, I had a feeling she knew more than she was saying.

I needed to talk to her. Alone. Away from Cecilia and the family and all the pretenses.

But as I moved toward her, she turned and walked away. Back upstairs. Escaping before I could corner her.

"Let her go," Cecilia said quietly at my side. "She’s probably just scared. We all are."

My brows didn’t relax.

"Malachi,"

She moved forward.

"We have to visit my family tomorrow, to proceed with the inheritance acquisition."

"Fine."

I said, tone flat.

I retrieved my keys from my pocket and left the house. Cecilia called after me, but I never turned back. I needed to clear my head.

I didn’t know where I was going, but I kept driving through the city. I needed—

Alicia!

Alicia!

Alicia!

She was in my head again. Every smile. Every frown. It was all etched in my head. Slithering through my mind.

She didn’t wear my necklace today. Staring at her bare throat without that accessory twisted something deep in my chest. Like dull knives twisting slowly in flesh.

Did she not love me anymore? Or was she all over it now?

Had I angered her? Yes.

Shit!

I hated that I couldn’t comprehend it. I’d always been able to tell what my little bird was up to. But this time was different.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Maurice.

Maurice: This was sent to me by an anonymous account.

Anonymous. I was tired of that word. Everyone seemed to work as ghosts now.

I clicked on the image. It was blurry, but I could make out a woman kneeling in front of a headstone. Emily’s head stone.

My breath caught as panic surged through me.

I quickly changed course immediately.

It took ten minutes to get to the cemetery. And those ten minutes were hell. Who dared to go to Emily’s resting place without permission?

The cemetery was cold. And dark. Filled with deafening silence.

I walked steadily towards where Emily was laid to rest.

There was no sign of any woman being there.

I frowned, looking around for any detail that could be of help.

That was when I saw it. Half burnt currency notes lying next to a blown out candle. Whoever was here just left. And in a hurry.

The question was, who could it be?