The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 87 - eighty seven

Chapter Eighty-Seven

Alicia’s POV

My entire world was collapsing. That was the only thought that could form in my frozen mind.

All the time I’d spent with Malachi flashed before my eyes like a movie playing at double speed. The first time he’d looked at me with that intensity that made my breath catch. The night we’d first kissed. Intimacy we shared. The morning at the park when he’d won me that stupid stuffed rabbit and I’d felt happy for the first time in years. Every stolen moment. Every secret touch. Every whispered word in the darkness.

All of it exposed. All of it out in the open now.

I couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t process that our carefully guarded secret was suddenly public knowledge. That everyone in this room, everyone who mattered in Silver Lake City’s social circles, now knew about Malachi and me.

My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold my phone. The images kept loading. Photo after photo of us together. Looking at each other. Touching. Kissing. The intimacy obvious in every single frame.

How? How had someone gotten these photos? We’d been so careful. So cautious about being seen together.

Except at the park. We’d been carefree at the park. Let our guards down. Let ourselves pretend to be normal for just one morning.

And someone had been watching. Someone had been following us. Documenting everything.

My vision started to blur. The room felt too hot, too crowded. I could feel eyes on me from every direction. Judging. Condemning. Whispering about the scandal unfolding before them.

This was it. This was the end of everything. My marriage, whatever it was. My place in this family. My protection. Sophie’s school. Everything I’d endured for three years was crumbling around me.

Travis’s grip on my arm tightened painfully. I could feel his rage radiating off him in waves. Could imagine what he’d do once we were alone. Once there were no witnesses.

Then Sasha spoke, her voice cutting through the chaos.

"I think everyone can see now what kind of person Alicia really is. A thief. Stealing what doesn’t belong to her."

A thief. She was calling me a thief. For being with Malachi. For falling in love with someone who actually saw me as a person instead of a possession.

The injustice of it made something hot and angry burn through the fear. I was a thief? I was the problem? When Travis had never wanted me in the first place? When this marriage was forced on both of us?

But before I could find my voice, before I could defend myself against the accusation, someone from the crowd spoke up.

"Actually, I think we can see who the real thief is."

I frowned. What?

The murmurs around the room shifted. People were still looking at their phones but their expressions had changed. The shock was now directed elsewhere.

"These financial records. Travis has been embezzling from the company?"

"Gambling debts hidden in false expense reports."

"Using company funds for personal expenditures."

My brain struggled to process what I was hearing. They weren’t talking about me and Malachi anymore. They were talking about Travis. About money. About theft of an entirely different kind.

I looked at Travis. His face had gone from red with anger to white with panic. His hand loosened on my arm.

"That’s not—I can explain—" he stammered.

But the crowd wasn’t interested in his explanations. The evidence on their phones was apparently too damning.

I needed to see what they were seeing. Needed to understand what had just happened. How the narrative had shifted so completely in a matter of seconds.

I yanked my arm free from Travis’s grip and snatched the phone from his hand before he could stop me.

His screen showed a message thread. Attachments. Documents. I opened the first one.

Financial records. Expense reports with highlighted discrepancies. Bank statements showing transfers to offshore accounts. Receipts from casinos. Documentation of loans taken against company assets without authorization.

I scrolled through them quickly, my mind racing. This was detailed. Professional. The kind of evidence that would hold up in court.

Someone had compiled everything. Every illegal transaction. Every hidden debt. Every lie Travis had told about where the money was going.

I was surprised. Completely blindsided. Because this wasn’t about me and Malachi at all. Or rather, it had been, but someone had countered Sasha’s attack with an even bigger bombshell.

Travis was the real thief. Had been stealing from his own family’s company. Using Blackwood resources to fund his self-destruction.

The irony wasn’t lost on me. Sasha had tried to brand me as a thief for an affair, only for Travis to be exposed as an actual criminal.

I looked up from the phone. The room was in chaos. Board members gathering in urgent clusters. Pa Wood’s face was a mask of fury. Layla looked like she might collapse.

And Layla’s eyes found mine across the room. Angry. Accusing.

"You," she hissed, pushing through the crowd toward me. "You did this."

"What? No, I—"

"Don’t lie to me! You exposed him! You’ve been planning this!" Her face was twisted with rage and something else. Desperation. Fear for her son.

"I didn’t do this," I said firmly. "I had no idea about any of this."

"Liar! Who else would have access to his financial records? Who else would benefit from destroying him?"

People were staring now. The attention had shifted from the scandal on their phones to the confrontation happening in front of them.

"Mrs. Blackwood," one of the board members interrupted, his voice cold. "We need to speak with Travis immediately. These allegations are serious."

"My son is being framed!" Layla shouted. "Can’t you see that? This woman has manipulated all of you!"

"The documents appear authentic," another board member said. "We’ll need to verify, of course, but the detail level suggests—"

"I don’t care what they suggest! This is a setup!"

Pa Wood finally moved. He stepped between Layla and me, his presence commanding immediate silence.

"Enough," he said quietly. But the word carried weight. Authority. "This is not the time or place for accusations. We will sort through this privately. As a family."

"But Pa—" Layla started.

"I said enough." His eyes swept the room. "This event is over. Everyone please exit calmly. The Blackwood family thanks you for attending."

People began moving reluctantly. No one wanted to leave. This was the scandal of the decade and they all wanted front-row seats.

But Pa Wood’s security team started ushering guests toward the exits. Firmly but politely. Within minutes, the ballroom was clearing out.

I stood frozen in the center of it all. Still holding Travis’s phone. Still trying to process everything that had just happened.

Sasha had tried to expose my affair with Malachi. But instead, Travis had been exposed as an embezzler. The attention had shifted so completely that most people probably hadn’t even looked at whatever photos Sasha had sent.

Who had done this? Who had such detailed information about Travis’s finances? Who had timed it so perfectly?

My eyes scanned the room, looking for answers. Looking for Malachi.

I found him near the edge of the ballroom. Still seated. Sophie beside him looking confused and scared.

But Malachi wasn’t confused. Wasn’t scared. Wasn’t even particularly surprised by the chaos unfolding around us.

He was smirking.

That small, dark smile that I’d seen before. The one that said he knew exactly what was happening. The one that said this had all gone according to plan.

Our eyes met across the room. And in that moment, I knew.

Malachi had done this. Had orchestrated this entire counter-attack. Had Travis’s financial crimes compiled and ready to deploy at exactly the right moment.

The realization sent chills down my spine. Not fear, exactly. But something close to it. A reminder of who Malachi really was beneath the soft touches and gentle words.

He was dangerous. Calculating. Someone who planned moves so far in advance that by the time you realized you were in checkmate, it was already over.

He’d just publicly destroyed his own brother. Exposed him in front of the entire company. Humiliated him beyond repair.

But all I could feel was a growing sense of dread. Because if Malachi could do this to Travis, his own blood, what else was he capable of?

What other plans did he have in motion that I knew nothing about?

And more terrifyingly, what would he do to anyone else who threatened me?

Layla was still ranting at Pa Wood. Travis stood frozen, his career and reputation crumbling around him. Sasha had disappeared into the crowd, her triumph turned to failure.

And Malachi sat there. Calm. Collected. Smirking.

Like he’d just won the most important game of his life.

Maybe he had.

But I was beginning to understand that I wasn’t just a player in this game. I was the prize. The reason. The motivation behind moves I didn’t fully understand yet.

And I didn’t know if that made me powerful or powerless.

Sophie tugged on Malachi’s sleeve, saying something I couldn’t hear from this distance. He leaned down to respond, his expression softening as he spoke to her.

Two sides of the same man. Gentle with those he loved. Ruthless with those who threatened them.

I was still staring when Malachi’s eyes found mine again. The smirk had faded but the intensity remained. A silent question. Are you okay?

I didn’t know how to answer. Didn’t know if I was okay. Didn’t know if anything would ever be okay again.

But I gave him a small nod anyway. Because what else could I do?

Pa Wood’s voice cut through my thoughts. "Alicia. Come with me. Now."