The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 54 - fifty four

Chapter Fifty-Four

Malachi’s POV

I watched Alicia leave the room. She was limping slightly, one hand braced against the wall for support as she made her way to the door. The sight made something twist in my chest. Guilt, maybe. Or satisfaction. I couldn’t quite tell which.

It seemed I’d been rough on my little bird. Too rough, probably. But I couldn’t help it. Once I’d started touching her, tasting her, I couldn’t stop. Couldn’t be gentle when all I wanted was to consume her completely.

She didn’t look back at me before she left. Just slipped out quietly and closed the door behind her. I stayed in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, her scent still lingering on my sheets.

Eventually, I got up and opened my laptop. The CCTV feeds loaded instantly. I’d had cameras installed throughout the house months ago. Security purposes. But really, it was so I could keep track of everyone. Know where they were. What they were doing.

Especially Alicia.

I found her feed and watched. She’d made it back to her room and was moving slowly, carefully. Like everything hurt. She went to the bathroom first. I couldn’t see inside there, but I could imagine her checking the marks I’d left on her skin.

When she came back out, she was wearing a nightgown. Something soft and modest that covered most of her body. She sat on the edge of the bed and just stared at nothing for a while.

Then she smiled. A small, private smile that made my chest tighten. She touched her neck where I’d marked her. Her fingers traced over the spot gently, and that smile grew a little wider.

She was thinking about what we just had. About me. About us together. I could see it in the softness of her expression, the way she seemed lost in the memory.

Then a frown. My own smile dropped immediately.

Her expression changed. The softness disappeared, replaced by something darker. Worry? Regret? I couldn’t tell from the grainy video feed.

She stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the night. Her shoulders were tense. After a few minutes, she turned away and went back to the bed.

She just went to sleep. Or tried to. She lay down on her side, her back to the camera. The position made it impossible to see her face, to know if she was really sleeping or just pretending.

I kept watching even after that. Watched the rise and fall of her breathing. The way she shifted occasionally, like she couldn’t get comfortable. Maybe she was in pain. Maybe she was thinking too much.

I should have felt satisfied. Should have felt victorious. I’d finally had her. Finally made her mine in the most primal way possible.

But instead, I just felt restless. Unsettled.

Minutes later, I saw movement on the screen. The door to her room opened and someone walked in.

Travis.

My jaw clenched so hard I heard my teeth grind together. What the hell was he doing there?

He staggered toward the bed. Drunk, probably. He was always drunk these days. Drowning whatever demons he had in expensive liquor that did nothing but make him more pathetic.

He climbed into the bed next to Alicia. Just lay down beside her like he had every right to be there. Like she was his.

They were so close together. Like a couple. Like a real married couple instead of two people trapped in an arrangement neither of them wanted.

They were a couple, technically. Husband and wife. Legally bound.

How saddening.

I couldn’t take it. Couldn’t sit there and watch him sleep beside her. Not after what we’d just done. Not after I’d marked her as mine.

I closed the laptop and left my room. The house was quiet at this hour. Most of the staff had gone to bed. Only a few security guards remained on duty, and they knew better than to question where I was going.

I walked all the way to their room. Took the stairs instead of standing still in the elevator where I might change my mind. Where logic might catch up with the rage driving me forward.

The door wasn’t locked. Of course it wasn’t. Travis was too drunk and careless to remember basic security. I pushed it open quietly and stepped inside.

The room was dark except for the moonlight coming through the windows. I could see their shapes on the bed. Travis sprawled on his back, one arm thrown over his head. Alicia still on her side, facing away from him.

I moved closer. Stood beside the bed, looking down at my brother. At the man who’d helped destroy everything good in our family. Who’d played some part in Emily’s death, I was sure of it.

I grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled. He was dead weight, too unconscious to resist. I dragged him off the bed and let him drop to the floor with a heavy thud.

That was where he belonged. On the floor. In the dirt. After hurting my little bird, after forcing her into this marriage, after treating her like property instead of a person.

Alicia stirred but didn’t wake. She just pulled the blanket closer and settled back into sleep.

I watched Travis’ body for some minutes. Watched his chest rise and fall with each breath. Part of me wanted to do more. Wanted to hurt him the way he’d hurt so many others.

But not here. Not with Alicia in the room.

Travis was so broken. We all were, really. But he’d started breaking other people too. Started spreading his damage like a disease. And that’s what made him dangerous.

When I left the room, I was careful to close the door quietly. Didn’t want to wake Alicia. Didn’t want her to know I’d been there at all.

I collided with someone in the hallway. Mother.

She was standing there in her robe, talking to some maids about the next day’s meals. Her voice was low but authoritative. She always had been particular about the household running smoothly.

"Breakfast should be ready by seven," she was saying. "Make sure there’s fresh fruit. And the eggs should be—"

She stopped when she saw me. The maids scattered quickly, probably sensing the tension.

"Malachi," she said. There was something in her voice. Relief? Sadness? "I didn’t know you were still awake."

I tried to walk past her without stopping. I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. Especially not with her.

But she called me back. "Wait. Please."

I stopped but didn’t turn around.

"Can we talk? Just for a moment?"

Against my better judgment, I followed her to the sitting room at the end of the hall. She sat down on one of the chairs and gestured for me to sit across from her.

I remained standing.

"You’ve been home for weeks now," she started. Her hands were folded in her lap. Nervous. "But you feel further away than when you were gone."

I said nothing.

"I’ve missed you, Malachi. We all have. But you’ve become so distant from the family. So cold."

"I’m not a kid anymore," I told her flatly. "I don’t need family dinners and heart to heart conversations."

"That’s not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

She looked up at me. Her eyes were tired. She’d aged since I’d last really looked at her. More lines around her eyes. More gray in her hair.

"I just want you to be careful," she said quietly. "Whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re planning. Be careful."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Yes, you do." She stood up. "You’re your father’s son. You have that same look in your eyes that he gets when he’s planning something. That same cold calculation."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"It’s supposed to be a warning." She moved closer. "This family destroys people, Malachi. It destroyed your father. It destroyed Travis. Don’t let it destroy you too."

"Too late for that."

I left before she could say anything else. Walked away from her concern and her warnings. She didn’t understand. None of them did.

I went back to my room to sleep, though I knew sleep wouldn’t come easily. My mind was too full. Too many thoughts circling like vultures.

The next morning, I woke early. Showered. Dressed. Made my way downstairs for breakfast like nothing had happened.

The dining room was already set. Sophie was there, eating toast and reading her book. Some of the staff were moving around, bringing out dishes.

But Alicia wasn’t there.

I waited. Drank my coffee. Listened to Sophie chatter about her book. But Alicia never came down.

She probably still couldn’t walk properly. The realization made guilt settle heavy in my stomach. I’d been too rough. Too consumed by my own need to think about the consequences.

She didn’t deserve that. Didn’t deserve to be hurt just because I couldn’t control myself.

After breakfast, I called one of the maids over. Told her to send some pain killers and warm soup up to Alicia’s room. Something to help her regain her strength. It was the least I could do.

The maid nodded and hurried off. I watched her go, then headed toward the study.

Grandfather wanted to see me. He’d sent a message early that morning asking me to come by.

I found him in his usual spot. Behind the massive desk, surrounded by papers and ledgers. He looked up when I walked in.

"Malachi. Good. Sit down."

I sat.

"We have a problem," he said without preamble. That was grandfather’s way. No small talk. Straight to business.

"What kind of problem?"

"Someone’s been moving suspiciously around the company locations. Different branches. Different departments." He slid a folder across the desk. "Security flagged several incidents over the past few weeks."

I opened the folder and looked through the reports. I already knew it was Zhao Wei and his companions. I’d been tracking their movements myself. They were getting bolder, more careless.

But I couldn’t tell grandfather that. Not yet. Not when Mario was also involved. Not when bringing it up might reveal more than I wanted to reveal.

"Do we know who it is?" I asked, keeping my voice neutral.

"Not yet. But they’re good. Professional. This isn’t some amateur snooping around."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Handle it." He leaned back in his chair. "Quietly. I don’t want this becoming a bigger issue than it needs to be. Find out who they are. What they want. And deal with them."

I nodded. "I’ll take care of it."

"Good." He studied me for a moment. "You look tired."

"I’m fine."

"You’re never fine, Malachi. None of us are." He waved his hand dismissively. "But that’s not important right now. Just handle this situation. The company can’t afford any more problems."

I left the study with the folder under my arm. My mind was already working through the possibilities. Through what I needed to do next.

Zhao Wei was getting too close. Too comfortable. It was time to remind him exactly who he was dealing with.

And if Mario got caught in the crossfire? Well, that would just be an added bonus.