The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 60 - sixty

Chapter Sixty

Malachi’s POV

I woke up to Rose’s text in the morning. The notification lit up my phone screen at six AM, pulling me from restless sleep.

"Got everything on Mario. Check your email."

I sat up immediately, all traces of sleep gone. Grabbed my laptop from the nightstand and opened my inbox. The file was massive. Rose had been thorough. Financial records, phone logs, meeting schedules, everything.

I scrolled through it quickly, my pulse quickening with each page. Mario had been busy. Meetings with shell companies. Transfers to offshore accounts. Connections to people who shouldn’t exist on paper.

But I needed more. Needed a direct link between Mario and Emily.

I picked up my phone and called Maurice. He answered on the first ring.

"Sir?"

"I need you to search for something. Any interaction between Mario and Emily. Any time they were in the same place. Any communication. Anything at all."

"Emily Cartwright?"

"Yes. Go back as far as you need to. I want every detail."

"I’ll get on it immediately."

"And Maurice? This stays between us."

"Understood."

I ended the call and went back to reading Rose’s report. The more I read, the clearer it became. Mario wasn’t just corrupt. He was running an entire operation under the family’s nose. Using Blackwood resources for his own gain.

But why kill Emily’s child? That piece still didn’t fit.

After an hour of reading, I showered and got dressed. My mind was already working through possibilities. Connections. Theories.

I needed to talk to someone. Needed to think out loud.

Pa Wood had sent word that he wanted to see me in the study. Perfect timing.

I found him there, sitting behind his desk with papers spread out in front of him. He looked up when I walked in.

"Malachi. Good. Sit down."

I took the chair across from him.

"I wanted to talk to you about Travis and Alicia," he started.

My jaw tightened immediately. Of course he did.

"What about them?"

"They need to warm up to each other. This distance between them isn’t good for the family image." He leaned back in his chair. "I’m expecting a grandchild soon. From them."

The words hit me like a physical blow. A grandchild. Travis and Alicia’s child.

I couldn’t imagine it. Couldn’t picture Alicia pregnant with Travis’ baby. The thought made something violent twist in my chest.

"They’re adults," I said carefully. "They’ll figure it out."

"Will they?" Pa Wood shook his head. "Travis is drowning in bottles and Alicia keeps to herself. Someone needs to push them together."

Not me. Anyone but me.

I said nothing. Just sat there, fighting to keep my expression neutral.

Pa Wood continued talking. "Alicia is good for this house, you know. She’s smart. Calm. Always avoiding trouble with Layla and Sasha. Never causes problems."

That was true. Alicia had a way of moving through the mansion like water. Flowing around obstacles instead of crashing into them.

"She reminds me of Emily in that way," Pa Wood said. "That quiet strength."

The mention of Emily’s name made me focus completely.

"Sasha is becoming more like her father every day," Pa Wood continued with a sigh. "Spoilt. Entitled. Mario is passing his venom to his kids unknowingly. Or maybe knowingly. I don’t know anymore."

"You raised Mario," I pointed out. "How did he turn out so cold and heartless?"

Pa Wood was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was tired. "I’ve asked myself that question a thousand times. I gave him everything. Love. Opportunity. But somewhere along the way, something broke in him. Or maybe it was always broken and I just didn’t see it."

He rubbed his temples. "Layla is in charge of planning the anniversary event. God help us all. I’m praying everything turns out smoothly and she doesn’t turn it into a circus."

I almost smiled at that. Layla had a talent for making everything more dramatic than it needed to be.

"Speaking of the anniversary," Pa Wood said, looking at me directly. "What have you been able to find out about Zhao Wei?"

I’d been expecting this question. Had prepared my answer carefully.

"He’s been moving product through our distribution channels. Using our connections to expand his own network. He’s based primarily in Dark City but has been making moves here in Silver Lake."

"How deep does it go?"

"Deep. He’s got people in several departments. Low level mostly, but enough to cause damage."

"And you’re handling it?"

"Yes."

Pa Wood studied me. "What aren’t you telling me?"

Everything. I’m not telling you that Mario is involved. That your son is a traitor. That he might have killed Emily’s child.

"There are still some loose ends," I said instead. "I’m tracking them down."

He didn’t look convinced but didn’t push. "Keep me updated."

"I will."

There was a pause. Then I asked the question that had been eating at me. "What did Tyson do to get banished? And where did he go?"

Pa Wood’s expression closed off immediately. "I don’t want to talk about that."

"Grandfather—"

"I said I don’t want to talk about it." His voice was final. "Some things are better left in the past."

I felt a headache coming on. The old man was always keeping things to himself. Always hiding secrets. This family ran on secrets and lies, and Pa Wood was the keeper of most of them.

But I let it go. For now. Pushing him would only make him more stubborn.

Pa Wood went back to talking about Alicia. He seemed fixated on her today.

"She has real strength, you know. The kind that doesn’t need to announce itself. Just like Emily did." He smiled, but it was sad. "In a way, she fills the hole Emily left behind. Brings some warmth back to this cold house."

I smiled despite myself at the thought of Alicia. He was right. She did bring warmth. Light. Something good in a place that had forgotten what good looked like.

She was the only thing that really mattered to me anymore. The only thing I cared about protecting.

But I was also jealous. Jealous that Alicia was warm with Pa Wood. That she smiled easily around him. Laughed at his stories. Showed him a softness she kept carefully hidden from me.

With me, she was different. Guarded. Cold sometimes. Like she was protecting herself from something.

From me, probably.

"Join me for lunch," Pa Wood said, standing up. "I’m tired of eating alone."

I followed him downstairs. The dining room was already set. A few family members were scattered around. Sophie was there, reading her book. Adrian was on his phone as usual.

I took my usual seat and poured myself water. Listened to the idle conversation around me without really hearing it.

Then Alicia walked in.

I looked up and forgot how to breathe.

Her hair. It was completely different. Silver. Not gray, not white, but pure silver. Like moonlight. Like something from a dream.

She’d always had burgundy hair. I’d gotten used to that warm, deep color. Had imagined running my fingers through it countless times.

But this. This was something else entirely.

The silver made her look ethereal. Otherworldly. Like she didn’t quite belong in this dark house full of dark people.

I loved the burgundy color. But this brought thoughts I couldn’t control. Dangerous thoughts. I imagined my fingers fisted in that silver hair while she rode me. Imagined it spread across my pillow. Imagined wrapping it around my hand while I took her from behind.

I was too stunned to say anything. Just sat there staring like an idiot while everyone else exclaimed and asked questions.

She took her seat next to me. So close I could smell her perfume. Could see the way the light caught in her new hair color.

"Silver?" Layla was saying. "That’s your natural color?"

"Yes," Alicia said calmly.

"I’ve never seen hair that color before," Pa Wood said. "Not naturally."

"It’s rare."

She was so composed. So unbothered by all the attention. Like she changed her hair color every day.

I still couldn’t speak. Couldn’t form words. My brain had short circuited.

"You’ve had burgundy hair since you arrived," Pa Wood continued. "Why change it now?"

"I felt like it was time."

Time for what? Time to drive me completely insane?

"It’s very striking," Layla said. "Unusual."

"Thank you."

The conversation moved on but I couldn’t stop staring. Couldn’t stop thinking about that silver hair. About what it would feel like. How it would look in different lighting. In darkness. In the morning sun.

Finally, she turned to look at me. Our eyes met and the world narrowed to just the two of us.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing," I managed to say, though my voice came out rough. "Just didn’t expect this."

"Do you like it?"

The question hung in the air between us. She was asking for my opinion. Cared what I thought.

"Yes," I said. Just that one word. But I put everything I couldn’t say into it. All the want. All the need. All the dark thoughts running through my head.

Her eyes darkened slightly. She’d heard what I wasn’t saying.

"Good," she said, turning back to her food.

But I couldn’t look away. Couldn’t stop watching her. The way she moved. The way that silver hair caught the light every time she shifted.

Lunch felt endless. Every minute was torture. Sitting so close to her. Watching her. Wanting her. And not being able to do anything about it.

When it finally ended, people started leaving the table. I stayed seated, finishing my water. Giving myself time to get control back.

Later, I was heading upstairs when I saw her in the hallway. She was coming from Sophie’s room,

We both stopped. The hallway suddenly felt too small. Too intimate.

I didn’t say anything at first. Just stood there, blocking her path, staring at her. At that silver hair that was going to haunt my dreams.

I fought the urge to tell her what I really thought. Fought the urge to push her against the wall and show her exactly what that hair was doing to me.

Fought the urge to tell her about the dark thoughts running through my head. About how I wanted to fist my hands in that silver hair while I made her scream my name.

But I held back. Barely.

"It suits you," I said finally. "The silver."

"Thank you."

"Why burgundy before? Why hide this?"

She looked away. "I wanted to blend in. Silver hair makes you memorable. I didn’t want to be remembered."

"And now?"

"Now I’m tired of hiding."

Good. Because I wanted to see all of her. Every part she’d been keeping hidden.

I stepped closer. Close enough to touch. Close enough to smell her shampoo.

"I see you, little bird," I said quietly. "I’ve always seen you."

Then I walked past her before I did something stupid. Before I forgot we were in a hallway where anyone could see.

But that silver hair. That goddamn silver hair was going to be the death of me.

I went back to my room and pulled out my laptop. Tried to focus on Rose’s report. On Mario. On finding answers.

But my mind kept drifting back to Alicia. To her silver hair. To the way she’d looked at me during lunch.

My phone buzzed. A text from Maurice.

"Found something. Mario and Emily were seen together multiple times. Sending details now."

Finally. A real connection.

I opened the file Maurice sent and started reading. This was it. This was what I’d been looking for.