The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 179 - One Hundred and Seventy-Nine

Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Nine

Malachi’s POV

The name on the screen stared back at me like an accusation.

Dante.

My closest friend. My right hand. The man I’d trusted with my life for the past fifteen years.

"There has to be a mistake," I said.

Maurice didn’t look at me. Just kept his eyes on the evidence spread across the desk. Bank statements. Transaction records. Security footage timestamps. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"There’s no mistake. The pattern is clear. Every Thursday between two and four PM, when you’re in strategic meetings. When the rest of the inner circle is occupied. He had access. He had opportunity. And according to these transfers, he had motivation."

Two million dollars. Funneled out in small increments over six months. Small enough to avoid automated alerts. Large enough to fund a war.

"Get him," I said quietly. "Bring him here. Now."

Maurice pulled out his phone. Made the call. His voice was professional. Calm. "Dante, Malachi needs you at the office. Yeah, now. It’s urgent."

He hung up. Looked at me. "He’ll be here in twenty minutes."

"Good."

I walked to the window. Stared out at Dark City. My city. Built on blood and secrets and the kind of loyalty that was supposed to be unbreakable.

Except it had broken. Someone I’d trusted had betrayed me.

The door opened fifteen minutes later. Dante walked in wearing his usual casual confidence. Jeans. Leather jacket. The smile that had gotten him out of trouble since we were teenagers.

"You rang?" He saw Maurice and his smile faded slightly. "What’s going on?"

"Sit down," I said without turning around.

"Malachi—"

"Sit. Down."

He sat. I heard the chair creak.

I turned slowly. Let him see my face. Let him see that I already knew.

His expression shifted. The confidence bled away. His hand moved toward his jacket.

"Don’t," Maurice said. He had his gun out. Pointed casually at Dante’s chest.

Dante’s hand stopped. "This is a misunderstanding."

"Is it?" I walked to the desk. Picked up the top bank statement. "Two million dollars. Transferred out of family accounts over the past six months. All during your shift. All from terminals you had access to."

"I can explain—"

"I’m sure you can. You always could talk your way out of anything." I set down the statement. "But I’m not interested in your explanations. I’m interested in the truth."

His jaw tightened. "What truth?"

"Emily. You’ve been helping her. Feeding her information. Funding her revenge plot."

"You’re wrong."

"Maurice, show him the footage."

Maurice pulled out his tablet. Turned it toward Dante. Security footage from three weeks ago. Dante meeting with someone in a dark parking garage. The someone wore all black. Hood up. Mask on.

But the body language was clear. The exchange of a briefcase. The conversation that lasted twelve minutes.

"That’s not Emily," Dante said.

"No?" I took the tablet. Fast-forwarded to the moment when the figure removed their mask for just a second. Long enough to check something on their phone.

Emily’s face. Clear as day.

Dante’s shoulders sagged.

"Why?" I asked. "That’s all I want to know. Why would you betray me? Betray the family?"

He was quiet for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was different. Harder. "Because you’ve become exactly what we swore we’d never be."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"When we were kids. When Pa first started training us. We promised each other we’d be different. Better. That we’d build something that wasn’t just about power and violence."

"We did build that."

"No. You built an empire on torture and fear. You became the monster Pa always wanted you to be."

"I did what was necessary—"

"You enjoyed it." Dante looked at me directly. "I’ve watched you for years, Malachi. Watched you get colder. Darker. Watched you laugh while people begged for their lives. And I kept telling myself it was just business. Just what needed to be done."

"But?"

"But then Emily came to me. Told me what Pa did. What he did to Hong Wei. What he did to her son. And I realized she was right. We are monsters. All of us."

The words hit harder than they should have. Because they were true.

"So you helped her. Helped her try to destroy the family."

"I helped her try to get justice. There’s a difference."

"Justice." I laughed. It came out bitter. "She wants us dead. All of us. How is that justice?"

"Pa killed her father. Killed her child. What would you do in her position?"

I didn’t answer. Because I knew exactly what I’d do. I’d burn the world down.

"Where is she?" I asked. "What’s her plan?"

"I don’t know the details. She kept things compartmentalized. I gave her money. Information. Access to certain files. But the actual execution? She didn’t share that."

"When is she moving?"

Dante hesitated.

Maurice cocked his gun. "Answer him."

"Two weeks. Maybe less. She’s waiting for something. Some final piece to fall into place."

"What piece?"

"I don’t know. I swear I don’t know."

I studied his face. He was lying. Or at least not telling me everything.

"What about Zhao Wei? Is she working with him?"

"Not directly. But she mentioned him. Said he had his own agenda. Said their goals aligned in certain ways."

"And those ways are?"

"Destroying the Blackwoods."

Of course. Emily wanted revenge. Zhao wanted territory and power. Both required us dead or broken.

"What about Alicia?" The question came out before I could stop it.

Dante’s expression changed. Something that looked almost like pity. "What about her?"

"Does Emily know where she is?"

"Yes."

My blood ran cold. "Since when?"

"Since last week. Emily has people everywhere. They tracked her to Italy. To some estate outside Rome."

"The Moretti estate."

"I don’t know the name. Just that she’s there. Safe for now."

"For now." I leaned forward. "What does that mean?"

Dante looked at Maurice. Then back at me. "Emily’s not interested in Alicia. But Zhao is. Very interested."

"Explain."

"Alicia worked in his father’s household when she was a child. Her mother was a maid there. Zhao’s had a fixation on her since then. Some kind of obsession."

I remembered the way Zhao had looked at her at the charity ball. The way he’d danced with her. The careful distance he’d maintained while studying her like a possession he planned to acquire.

"He’s going to make a move," I said. "Isn’t he?"

"I don’t know his timeline. But yes. He’s planning something. He mentioned she’d been to the hospital. Twice. Thought she might be sick. Vulnerable."

Hospital. My chest tightened. Was she okay? Was something wrong?

I pulled out my phone. Called Rose. She answered immediately.

"Status on Zhao’s people in Italy?"

"Still there. Still watching the estate. They’ve been joined by reinforcements. At least six more men arrived yesterday."

"Reinforcements for what?"

"Unknown. But they’re planning something. Soon."

I hung up. Looked at Dante. "If anything happens to her. If Zhao touches her. If Emily uses her as leverage. I’ll hold you personally responsible."

"I didn’t tell them about her—"

"But you gave them the resources. The information. The money to fund operations. So yes, you’re responsible."

"What are you going to do with me?" Dante asked quietly.

Good question. What was I going to do?

He’d betrayed me. Betrayed the family. Under normal circumstances, there was only one response to that. One punishment.

Death.