The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 96 - ninety six

Chapter Ninety-Six

Malachi’s POV

I stared at Cecilia’s text. Just one word glowing on my screen.

"Hello."

That was it. Nothing else. No explanation. No context. Just hello after years of silence.

My finger hovered over the call button. This could be nothing. Could be her reaching out randomly. But Cecilia Jones didn’t do random. Every move she made was calculated.

I dialed the number. It rang once. Twice. Then went dead. Not to voicemail. Just dead. Like the line had been disconnected.

I tried again. Same result.

What the hell was she playing at?

Then my phone lit up with an incoming call. The same number.

I answered. "Cecilia."

"Malachi." Her voice was wrong. Thick. Shaky. "I’m sorry for the cryptic text. I didn’t know if you’d blocked me."

"I haven’t. What’s going on?"

There was a pause. Then I heard it. A sob. Quiet but unmistakable.

Cecilia Jones didn’t cry. In all the years I’d known her, through everything we’d been through in Dark City, I’d never heard her cry.

"My father," she said, her voice breaking. "Robert’s dead."

The words hit harder than expected. Robert Jones. The man who’d given me my first real opportunity in Dark City. Who’d vouched for me when no one else would. Who’d helped me build connections when I was nobody.

"When?"

"Three days ago. Heart attack. He was gone before the ambulance arrived." She took a shaky breath. "The funeral was yesterday."

"Cecilia, I’m sorry."

"Thank you. But that’s not why I’m calling." Her voice hardened slightly. Getting control back. "His family. His brothers. His cousins. They’re circling like sharks. Already fighting over everything he built."

I knew Robert’s family. Sharp-teethed was putting it mildly. They were vultures who’d resented Robert’s success for years. Waited for any opportunity to take what was his.

"What about the will?"

"That’s the problem. There’s a clause. A stipulation." She laughed bitterly. "My father was old-fashioned. Believed women needed protection. Stability."

I already knew where this was going. "What’s the clause?"

"I can’t inherit anything without being married. Or at least in a committed relationship that his lawyers can verify."

Of course. Robert had been traditional. Protective to the point of controlling. Even from beyond the grave.

"How long do you have?"

"Six months. If I’m not married or engaged by then, everything goes to his brothers. They’ll dismantle everything he built. Sell it off piece by piece."

"Can’t you contest it?"

"Already tried. The will is ironclad. My father made sure of that." Another shaky breath. "Malachi, I need to see you. To talk properly. Not over the phone."

I looked at my watch. Late afternoon. I had time before dinner. "Where are you?"

"Silver Lake City. I flew in this morning. I’m staying at the Grandeur."

She was here. In my city. That couldn’t be coincidence.

"There’s a restaurant two blocks from your hotel. Luciano’s. Meet me there in an hour."

"Thank you. I know this is—"

"Just be there."

I ended the call and stood there processing. Cecilia Jones back in my life. Robert dead. Some inheritance scheme that required marriage.

Nothing about this was simple. Nothing with Cecilia ever was.

But I owed Robert. Owed him more than I could ever repay. The least I could do was hear his daughter out.

I grabbed my keys and headed out. Told Maurice I’d be back later. Didn’t explain where I was going. Didn’t need to.

The drive to Luciano’s gave me time to think. To remember Dark City. The early days when I’d first left Silver Lake. When I’d been nobody trying to become somebody.

Robert had seen potential in me. Had taken a chance when no one else would. Had introduced me to the right people. Taught me how to navigate that world.

I owed him. Even if his daughter was complicated. Even if this request was going to be difficult.

When I arrived at the restaurant, Cecilia was already there. Sitting at a corner table. Looking composed on the surface but I could see the cracks underneath.

She’d always been beautiful. Dark hair. Sharp features. The kind of woman who commanded attention just by existing. But now she looked fragile. Breakable in a way I’d never seen before.

I sat down across from her. "Tell me everything."

She ordered wine first. Then started talking. About Robert’s death. About the will reading. About the family members who’d shown up circling like vultures. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"They’re contesting everything," she said. "Claiming I’m incompetent. That I don’t deserve the inheritance. That my father was senile when he made me primary beneficiary."

"But the will is valid?"

"Completely. But they’re making it hell. Dragging everything through lawyers. Making sure I can’t access anything until the marriage clause is satisfied."

I studied her face. "What exactly do you want to do?"

She met my eyes. Direct. "I need someone to play the role. Temporarily. Just until I can secure the inheritance. Then we go our separate ways."

"You want me to pretend to be your fiancé?"

"Or boyfriend. Whatever works. The lawyers just need proof of a committed relationship." She leaned forward. "I know it’s a lot to ask. But you’re the only person I can trust with this."

I wanted to say no immediately. Wanted to shut this down before it got complicated.

"Malachi, I can’t do this alone. Those vultures will take everything my father built. Everything he worked for. I can’t let that happen."

"There must be someone else. Someone in Dark City—"

"No one I trust. No one who wouldn’t try to actually stake a claim." Her eyes were desperate now. "Please. Just six months. Maybe less if I can expedite things."

"Cecilia—"

"My father helped you," she said quietly. "When you first came to Dark City. When you had nothing. No connections. No money. No reputation. He gave you all of that."

The words hit their mark. She knew exactly which buttons to press.

"He vouched for you when everyone else thought you were just another entitled rich kid slumming it," she continued. "He introduced you to people. Got you into rooms you never would have accessed otherwise. Helped you build everything you have now."

It was true. All of it. Robert Jones had been instrumental in my survival in Dark City. In my transformation from Blackwood disappointment to something more.

"I know what I’m asking is huge," Cecilia said. "I know you have your own life here. Your own complications. But I’m desperate. And you’re the only one I can ask."

I thought about Alicia. About what this would mean. About how it would look if I suddenly had a fiancée. Even a fake one.

But I also thought about Robert. About the debt I owed. About what it would mean to let his life’s work be destroyed by family members who’d never appreciated him.

"Six months?" I asked.

"Maybe less. As soon as the inheritance is secure, we end it. Clean break. No complications."

"This will be complicated no matter what."

"I know. But I’m out of options." She reached across the table. "Please, Malachi. Help me."

I sat there looking at this woman I used to know. This woman whose father had changed my life. Thinking about debts and obligations and what the right move was.

Thinking about Alicia and how this would affect her. How it would look. What it would mean for us.

But also thinking about Robert. About honor. About paying back what I owed.

"Malachi?" Cecilia’s voice was small. Vulnerable. "Please?"

I looked at her tear-stained face. At the desperation in her eyes. At the weight of obligation pressing down on both of us.

And I opened my mouth to give her an answer.