The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 193 - One Hundred and Ninety-Three

Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Three

Malachi’s POV

The club was exactly what Maurice had described.

Expensive. Exclusive. The kind of place where money bought silence and privacy was the most valuable commodity on the menu. Dark wood paneling. Low lighting. Staff who looked straight ahead and saw nothing.

We’d been inside for twenty minutes. Positioned at a corner table with a clear view of the entrance and every exit.

Rose was at the bar. Violet was in the corridor near the private dining rooms. Maurice sat across from me nursing a glass of whiskey he hadn’t touched.

"They’re late," he said quietly.

"Emily’s always been precise. If she’s late, it’s deliberate."

"She’s watching. Making sure we didn’t bring an army."

"Let her watch."

I picked up my glass. Set it back down without drinking. My mind wasn’t here. Wasn’t fully present in this expensive Parisian club with its low music and oblivious clientele.

My mind was with Alicia.

Her last message.

I trust you. I love you. Come home to us.

She’d turned off her phone after that. I’d tried calling twice. Nothing.

Which meant something was happening at the estate. Something she didn’t want me to know about because she knew I’d abandon this operation and go back to her.

Smart woman. Infuriating woman.

"She’s fine," Maurice said. Like he could read my thoughts.

"You don’t know that."

"The Morettis have doubled security. Alessandro is capable. Marco is careful. She’s fine."

"And if she’s not?"

"Then we wrap this up faster. But Malachi, you need to focus. Emily and Zhao walk through that door and you need to be present."

He was right. I knew he was right.

I forced my mind back to the room. To the task.

Rose’s voice came through the earpiece. "Movement outside. Three vehicles. Black. No plates."

"How many?"

"Six. Maybe eight. Armed. They’re staying with the vehicles. Only two coming inside."

Two. Emily and Zhao. Coming in with minimal protection because they thought this was a private meeting. Because they didn’t know I was already here.

Or because they did know and wanted me here.

I couldn’t decide which was worse.

The door opened.

Zhao Wei walked in first. Smaller than I remembered. Mid-forties. A suit that cost more than most people made in a year. He moved through the room like he owned it, which he probably did.

Emily was behind him. Different from the last time I’d seen her. She’d changed her appearance. Dark hair cut shorter. Dressed in a way that made her look like someone’s elegant business associate rather than a dead woman plotting revenge.

But those eyes. I’d know those eyes anywhere.

They scanned the room. Found me.

Emily stopped walking. Said something to Zhao. He looked across the room at me and smiled.

That smile. Like he’d been expecting this. Like he’d arranged it.

They walked over. Sat down across from us like this was a scheduled meeting and I was the one who was late.

"Malachi." Emily’s voice was normal now. No distortion. No modulator. Just her voice. The voice I remembered from years ago. "You look terrible."

"You look alive. For someone who’s supposed to be dead."

"Perspective." She signaled to a waiter. Ordered wine without looking at the menu. "You know Zhao Wei."

"By reputation."

Zhao inclined his head. "And I you. The famous Malachi Blackwood. Dark City’s favorite monster."

"Careful."

"I’m always careful. It’s how I’ve stayed alive this long."

The wine arrived. Emily poured. Pushed a glass toward me.

I didn’t touch it.

"Why did you want to meet?" I asked.

"We didn’t," Emily said. "You crashed our meeting."

"Then I’ll ask differently. What were you two planning to discuss tonight?"

"Business." Zhao leaned back in his chair. Completely relaxed. "The kind that concerns you."

"Enlighten me."

Emily and Zhao exchanged a glance. Something passed between them. An agreement. A decision.

"We’re going to destroy the Blackwoods," Emily said simply. "We’ve discussed it at length. We have a plan. And we have the resources to execute it. Tonight, actually."

"I know about tonight. The attack on the estate."

"Then you know there’s nothing you can do. You’re here. Your family is there. By the time you get back to Dark City, it’ll be over."

"I’ve already warned them. They’re secured. Your attack will fail."

Emily tilted her head. "Maybe. But that’s not the part I care about most."

"What do you care about most?"

"The evidence. The records I’ve collected. The proof of everything your family has done over the past twenty years. That can’t be secured. Can’t be hidden. It’s already in the hands of journalists. Lawyers. Law enforcement in three countries."

She said it like she was ordering dessert. Calm. Satisfied. Final.

"You’re bluffing."

"Am I? Check your phone. I sent the first package to the Associated Press at eight PM. That was twenty minutes ago."

I looked at Maurice. He already had his phone out. His face was tight. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"She’s not bluffing," he said quietly.

The room shifted. The careful plan I’d built started to crumble.

"Even if that’s true," I said slowly, keeping my voice steady, "the family has lawyers. Resources. We can fight any legal—"

"Not this time. The evidence is airtight. Multiple sources. Verified. Your father ordered Hong Wei’s death. Ordered the hospital fire. Ordered a dozen other murders going back fifteen years. It’s all documented. All verified."

"Then why are you here? If you’ve already won, why meet with Zhao? Why be in Paris at all?"

Something shifted in her expression. Almost imperceptible.

But I caught it.

"Because the evidence only destroys Pa. Only destroys Mario and the old guard. But you survive. You’re clean, Malachi. Careful. Your hands are dirty but your paper trail is spotless. The evidence doesn’t touch you."

"And that bothers you."

"It should bother you. Because when Pa falls, you become the head of the family. And everything gets worse. More violent. More controlled. More Malachi."

"Unless I’m dealt with separately," I said. Looking at Zhao. "That’s where you come in."

Zhao smiled. "Smart man."

"You’re not here for business. You’re here to plan how to neutralize me. How to remove me from the board so Emily’s plan works completely."

"We prefer the word eliminate," Zhao said pleasantly. "But yes."

"And Alicia? Where does she fit in your plan?"

Zhao’s expression shifted. Something darker underneath the pleasantness. "Alicia is mine. She’s always been mine. Once you’re gone, once the Blackwoods are finished, she’ll have no reason to run. No reason to hide."

"She’ll never go with you willingly."

"People’s willingness changes when their circumstances change. When their support systems disappear. When they’re alone." He paused. "Or when people they love are in danger."

Sophie. He was talking about Sophie. About the threat he’d sent.

My hands tightened under the table. "Touch her sister and I’ll kill you with my bare hands."

"There he is." Zhao leaned forward. "The monster. Right there. That’s what Alicia is running from. That’s what she’s afraid of. And you expect her to love you? To trust you?"

"She already does."

"Does she? Did she tell you that? Because from where I’m standing, a woman in love doesn’t run across the world to hide from her lover."

"She ran from what she heard on those recordings. She ran because she was scared. But she came back to me. Even knowing what I am, she chose me."

"She chose the father of her child. There’s a difference."

"No. There isn’t."

We stared at each other across the table.

Emily had been quiet. Watching. Now she spoke.

"This isn’t what I wanted, Malachi. None of this. I didn’t want to destroy the whole family. I just wanted justice for what they did to my father. To my son. Your father took everything from me. Mario helped him. They deserve to suffer for that."

"And me? Travis? Do we deserve to suffer too?"

"Travis deserves his own suffering. He wasn’t there. He failed me when I needed him most. But you..." She stopped. "You were there. You held my hand. You were the one who stayed when everyone else disappeared."

"I remember."

"So why are you protecting them? Why are you protecting Pa after everything he’s done?"

"I’m not protecting Pa. I’m protecting what comes after. If you release that evidence, if the family falls, what happens to the people who depend on us? The employees. The businesses. The legitimate operations we run."

"That’s not your real reason."

"No. My real reason is Alicia. Our child. If the family falls, if I spend the next ten years in legal battles or running from law enforcement, I can’t be the father our baby needs. I can’t be what she needs."

Emily’s expression flickered. Something that looked almost like understanding.

"So we’re at an impasse," Zhao said. "You want to protect your family. Emily wants to destroy it. I want Alicia." He spread his hands. "The question is who leaves this table tonight with what they want."

"Only one of us leaves this table tonight with anything," I said quietly.

"Is that a threat?"