The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 180 - One Hundred And Eighty

Chapter One Hundred And Eighty

Malachi’s POV

But Dante wasn’t just any traitor. He was my friend. Had been since we were fifteen. Since Pa had pulled him out of a bad situation and given him a home. Given him purpose.

We’d grown up together. Fought together. Built this empire together.

And now I had to decide if that history mattered more than his betrayal.

"Maurice, take him to the holding room. Make sure he’s comfortable. We’ll decide what to do with him after I deal with more immediate problems."

"You’re not going to kill me?" Dante sounded genuinely surprised.

"Not yet. Maybe not ever. I haven’t decided." I turned back to the window. "But you’re done. You don’t work for me anymore. You don’t have access to anything. You’re alive because of our history. But that protection ends if you step out of line again. Understood?"

"Understood."

Maurice pulled Dante to his feet. Started walking him toward the door.

"Malachi," Dante said.

I didn’t turn around.

"I’m sorry. I really am. But I’d do it again. Because someone needs to stop what this family has become."

"Get him out of here," I told Maurice.

They left.

I stood alone in my office staring out at the city. At the empire I’d built. The empire that was crumbling around me.

Emily was planning something big. Zhao was going after Alicia. My closest friend had betrayed me. And the woman I loved was halfway across the world, possibly sick, surrounded by a family I knew nothing about.

I needed to get to Italy. Needed to get to her before Zhao did.

My phone buzzed. Message from Rose.

Emily spotted at the old harbor. Meeting with unknown male. Asian. Mid-40s. Taking photos.

Zhao. Emily and Zhao were meeting. Whatever alliance Dante claimed didn’t exist was clearly forming.

Another message. This one from Violet.

Dante’s apartment has been searched. Found these.

She sent photos. Documents. Plans. Maps of the Blackwood properties with security weaknesses marked. Lists of family members with their schedules. Everything someone would need to coordinate an attack.

Dante had given Emily everything.

I forwarded the photos to Maurice. Typed: Change the security protocols. All of them. Assume everything is compromised.

Then I called him.

"I need more information on Alicia," I said when he answered. "You said Zhao’s people mentioned she was at the hospital. Find out why. Medical records. Anything."

"That’ll take time—"

"I don’t care. Do it. I need to know if she’s okay."

"Alicia or the surveillance?"

"Both. All of it. Everything."

I hung up and started pacing. The hospital. Why would she go to the hospital twice? Was she sick? Injured?

Or was it something else?

My phone rang twenty minutes later. Maurice.

"What did you find?"

"You’re not going to like this."

My stomach dropped. "Just tell me."

"She was admitted to emergency. Severe dehydration and malnutrition. They ran tests."

"And?"

Maurice was quiet for a beat too long.

"Maurice. And?"

"She’s pregnant, Malachi. About eight weeks."

The world stopped.

Pregnant.

Alicia was pregnant.

With my child.

I sat down before my legs could give out. Put my head in my hands.

A baby. We were having a baby.

She’d been carrying my child this whole time. Running. Hiding. Dealing with everything alone in a foreign country while I’d been here playing political games and hunting down traitors.

"Malachi? You still there?"

"Yeah. I’m here."

"The medical report says she’s okay now. Baby’s fine. But she needs rest and proper nutrition."

A baby. A daughter or a son. Part of me. Part of her.

Something tightened in my chest. Not quite pain. Something else. Something I couldn’t name.

Joy. Terror. Pride. Guilt.

All of it at once.

"Does anyone else know?" I asked.

"If they do, it’s not in any reports I can access. Looks like she’s keeping it quiet."

Of course she was. Because she was afraid. Afraid of what I’d do if I found out. Afraid I’d come for her. Take the baby. Trap her in this life she’d run from.

God, she probably thought I’d use the child as leverage. As a way to control her.

Was she wrong?

No. If I was honest with myself, part of me had already thought about it. About how a baby would tie her to me. Make it impossible for her to leave. Give me a reason to keep her close.

But that wasn’t what I wanted. Not really.

I didn’t want her tied to me out of obligation. Out of fear.

I wanted her to choose me. Choose us. Choose the family we could build together.

But how could she do that when she was terrified of what I was?

"Malachi?"

"I’m going to Italy. Tonight. Have the jet ready in two hours."

"What are you going to do when you get there?"

"I don’t know. But I need to see her. Need to make sure she’s safe."

"And the baby?"

The baby. My child. Growing inside her. Completely dependent on her for everything.

And she was alone. Malnourished. Working as a maid in some stranger’s house.

The anger came then. Hot and sharp.

She should have told me. Should have let me help. Instead she’d run and put herself and the baby at risk.

But the anger faded almost as quickly as it came. Because I understood why she’d run. Why she hadn’t told me.

I’d given her every reason to be afraid.

"The baby doesn’t change anything," I lied. "I still need to protect her from Zhao."

"It changes everything and you know it."

He was right. Everything had changed the moment I heard those words.

She’s pregnant.

I was going to be a father.

The thought should have terrified me. Should have made me want to run in the opposite direction. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Instead, all I felt was this overwhelming need to get to her. To see her. To put my hand on her stomach and feel the life we’d created together.

To tell her I was sorry. Sorry for being what I was. Sorry for scaring her. Sorry for not being the kind of man she could trust with something this precious.

But also to tell her I’d change. I’d be better. I’d be whatever she needed me to be.

For her. For the baby.

For our family.

"Get me everything you can on the Moretti estate," I told Maurice. "Security. Layout. Staff. I need to know what I’m walking into."

"You’re really doing this."

"Yes."

"Even though she ran from you. Even though she’s made it clear she doesn’t want to be found."

"She’s carrying my child, Maurice. She’s in danger. What else am I supposed to do?"

"Respect her choice. Let her live her life."

"I will. After I make sure she’s safe. After I tell her..." I stopped. Didn’t know how to finish.

After I tell her what? That I love her? That I want to be a father? That the thought of my child growing up without knowing me makes me want to tear the world apart?

All of it was true. None of it would matter if she couldn’t get past her fear.

"Just get the jet ready," I said.

I hung up and sat in silence.

A baby.

I put my hand on my chest. Felt my heart beating too fast.

I’d spent my entire life building walls. Protecting myself. Never letting anyone close enough to hurt me.

And then Alicia had walked into my life and shattered every defense I’d built.

Now she was giving me something I never thought I’d have. Never thought I deserved.

A child. A family. A future that was about more than power and violence and the endless cycle of the Blackwood empire.

If she’d let me have it.

If she could forgive me for being what I was.

If she could trust me not to become my father. Not to raise our child in the same darkness that had shaped me.

My phone buzzed. Another message from Rose.

Zhao’s men are moving. Looks like they’re preparing for an operation. Tonight.

Tonight. Not in two weeks. Not in a few days.

Tonight.

Zhao was moving on Alicia tonight.

On the mother of my child.

I grabbed my jacket. My keys. Started for the door.

My phone rang. Maurice.

"The jet’s ready. But Malachi, you need to think about this. You can’t just—"

"I’m not thinking anymore. Zhao’s moving tonight. I need to be there."

"You’re eight hours away. Even if you leave now—"

"Then I’ll be too late. But I’m going anyway."

I hung up. Got in my car. Drove to the airfield faster than I should have.

The whole way there, all I could think about was Alicia.

Pregnant. Alone. In danger.

Carrying my child and probably terrified of what would happen if I found out.

Well, I’d found out.

And everything had changed.

I wasn’t going to Italy to drag her back. Wasn’t going to demand she come home.

I was going to protect her. Protect our child.

And then I was going to prove to her that I could be the man she needed.

The man our baby deserved.

Even if it meant becoming someone I didn’t recognize.

Even if it cost me everything I’d built.

Because nothing I’d accomplished mattered compared to this.

Compared to her.

Compared to the tiny life growing inside her that was half me and half the only woman I’d ever loved.

I made it to the jet. Maurice was already there.

"Ready?" he asked.

"No. But let’s go anyway."

I climbed aboard. Sat in the leather seat. Stared out the window as we taxied to the runway.

Eight hours. That’s all that stood between me and her.

Eight hours to figure out what to say. How to make her understand.

How to convince her that the monster she was afraid of could also be a father. A partner. A man worthy of the gift she was carrying.

I closed my eyes.

Alicia. My Alicia.

Pregnant with my child.

Working herself to exhaustion in a stranger’s house because she was too afraid to ask for help.

Too afraid of me.

The thought hurt worse than any wound I’d ever taken.

But I’d fix it. Somehow.

I’d find a way to make her see that I wasn’t the enemy.

That I’d burn the world down before I’d let anything happen to her or our baby.

Starting with Zhao Wei.

If he touched her. If he so much as looked at her wrong.

I’d make him regret ever learning her name.

That was a promise.

To her. To our child. To myself.

The jet lifted off. Carrying me toward Italy. Toward Alicia.

Toward a future I never thought I’d have.

If she’d let me claim it.