Chapter 225: Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty-five

Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty-five

Malachi’s POV

Pa Wood sat in the hotel bar like he owned it.

Which, knowing Pa, he probably did. Or at least had significant financial interest in. The man didn’t go anywhere he couldn’t control.

He looked older than I remembered. Smaller somehow. Age and illness catching up with him in ways that power and money couldn’t prevent.

"Malachi," he said when I approached. Not standing. Not offering a hand. Just acknowledging my presence. "I wondered if you’d come."

"Maurice said you wanted to talk."

"Sit. Have a drink with your grandfather."

I sat but didn’t order. "I don’t drink anymore. Not when I’m responsible for a seven-month-old."

Something flickered in his eyes. Interest maybe. "The baby. Lia. Tom talked about her constantly at the end. Said she was perfect."

"She is."

"And her mother? The woman who caused all this trouble?"

"Alicia didn’t cause anything. She escaped an abusive marriage and I helped her. Then we fell in love. That’s not trouble. That’s life."

"You abandoned the family business for her. Walked away from everything I built. Everything I taught you. Left it all in Maurice’s hands."

"Maurice is doing better than I ever did. The family’s thriving. More legitimate operations. Less violence. Better reputation. Turns out not having me running things was exactly what you needed."

Pa took a long drink of his whiskey. "You think this is what I wanted? My grandson, my heir, running off to Italy to play house with some woman?"

"That woman is my wife. The mother of my child. And yes, I think deep down you knew I’d never be what you wanted me to be. That I’d eventually break free."

"I trained you. Made you into the perfect weapon. Cold. Efficient. Ruthless."

"You made me into someone who had to unlearn everything to find happiness. That’s not something to be proud of."

"And yet you survived. You succeeded. You built a security consulting business that’s making more money than most of my legitimate operations. You did that because of my training."

"I did that despite your training. Despite everything you tried to make me into."

We sat in silence for a moment. The bar around us busy with travelers who had no idea they were witnessing a confrontation between two men who’d shaped Dark City’s underworld for decades.

"Tom regretted it," Pa said finally. "At the end. He told me he regretted following my orders. Regretted not being a better father to you boys. Said you’d done what he never could. Walked away. Built something clean."

"He told me about my mother. About how you made her leave."

Pa’s jaw tightened. "Layla was a complication. She was making the boys soft. Questioning my methods. Had to be dealt with."

"She was their mother. My mother. And you drove her away to maintain control."

"Control is everything in our world. You know that."

"It was everything in your world. It’s nothing in mine."

"So you’re really done? Never coming back? Never taking your rightful place as head of the family?"

"I was never meant to be head of the family. That was your dream, not mine. Maurice is doing fine. Travis is getting his life together. The family is healing. My presence would only complicate that."

"And what about your daughter? What about Lia? Don’t you want to give her the empire? The power? Everything I built?"

"I want to give her a father who’s present. Who’s not afraid of being vulnerable. Who shows her that strength isn’t about control, it’s about choosing to be better every single day. That’s worth more than any empire."

Pa finished his drink, signaled for another. "You sound like your mother. She used to say things like that. About strength and choice and being better."

"Maybe she was right."

"Maybe she was weak."

"Or maybe she was the strongest person in our family and we were too blind to see it."

The bartender brought Pa’s drink. He stared at it without drinking.

"I’m dying too," he said abruptly. "Same cancer Tom had. Runs in families apparently. Doctors say six months. Maybe less."

The news should have hit harder. Should have meant something more than the vague acknowledgment I felt.

"I’m sorry," I said, meaning it partially.

"Are you? Or are you relieved that the old guard is finally dying off? That soon you’ll be free of all of us?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"I’m already free. Have been since I left. Your death or life doesn’t change that."

"Cold. I taught you well."

"No. Honest. There’s a difference. I don’t wish you harm, Pa. But I don’t need your approval anymore either. Don’t need your permission to live my life the way I choose."

"And if I said I was proud of you? That watching you walk away took more courage than anything I ever did? Would that matter?"

I looked at him, this old man who’d shaped so much of my life, who’d tried to mold me into his image and failed.

"It would have mattered once. When I was younger. When I was still trying to earn your respect. But now? Now I get my validation from my wife’s smile. From my daughter’s laugh. From building something that helps people instead of hurts them. Your pride doesn’t factor into that equation anymore."

"You’ve changed."

"I’ve grown. There’s a difference."

"Because of her. Because of Alicia."

"Because I chose to. Alicia showed me it was possible. But the choice was always mine."

Pa was quiet for a long moment, swirling his drink. "I want to meet her. And the baby. Before the funeral. Before I die. I want to see what convinced you to walk away from everything."

"Why?"

"Because Tom got to meet them. Got to hold Lia and make peace with his choices. I want the same opportunity."

"And if Alicia says no? If she doesn’t want to meet the man who built the empire that nearly destroyed her?"

"Then I’ll respect that. But ask her. Please."

The please surprised me. Pa didn’t say please. Didn’t ask for things. He demanded. Commanded. Controlled.

"I’ll ask. But if she says no, you accept it. No manipulation. No guilt. No trying to force the issue."

"Agreed."

I stood to leave, then paused. "For what it’s worth, Tom did become a better man at the end. He tried. He made amends. He died knowing his sons loved him despite everything. You could do the same. Use your six months to be better instead of bitter."

"Is that what you’d do? In my position?"

"I’d spend every moment with the people I love. I’d apologize for the hurt I caused. I’d try to leave the world better than I found it. But that’s me. You’ll do what you do. You always have."

I left him sitting there, nursing his drink, looking smaller and older and more alone than I’d ever seen him.

When I got back to the room, Alicia was feeding Lia while Signora Moretti read nearby.

"How did it go?" Alicia asked.

"He wants to meet you. And Lia. Before he dies."

"He’s dying too?"

"Six months. Same cancer as Tom."

"That’s horrible. I’m sorry."

"Don’t be. He’s had more time than he deserves. More time than a lot of the people he’s hurt got."

"Still. Death is hard. Even when it’s someone who caused pain."

I sat beside her, watched Lia eat with single-minded focus. "You don’t have to meet him. I told him if you said no, he’d accept it."

"Do you want me to meet him?"

"I want you to do whatever feels right for you. This isn’t about what I want or what he wants. It’s about what you’re comfortable with."

She was quiet for a moment, looking down at our daughter. "I’ll meet him. Once. Brief. With you there. Not for his sake. For yours."

"You don’t have to do this for me."

"I’m not. I’m doing it because you deserve closure. Because six months from now, when he’s gone, I don’t want you wondering what might have been different if I’d said yes."

"Thank you."

"But Malachi? If he’s cruel to me, if he says anything to hurt me or disrespect me, we leave immediately. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

Signora Moretti looked up from her book. "This man. This Pa Wood. He is dangerous?"

"He was. Now he’s just old and dying and trying to make peace with his legacy."

"Then you meet him. You show him what his grandson became despite his influence. You show him what real strength looks like."

The next morning, we arranged to meet Pa in his hotel suite. Private. Controlled. Safe.

Alicia dressed carefully. Not trying to impress, but not hiding either. She looked beautiful and confident and exactly like the woman who’d survived everything to build this life.

Lia wore the outfit Signora Moretti had bought her. Soft pink. Embroidered with tiny flowers. Perfect and innocent and completely unaware of the weight of this meeting.

Pa’s suite was massive. Expensive. The kind of power display he’d always favored.

He stood when we entered, slower than he used to, leaning slightly on a cane I’d never seen him use before.

"Alicia," he said. "Thank you for coming."

"Mr. Blackwood."

"Please. Call me Joseph. Or Pa if you’re comfortable. We’re family now after all."

"Are we? Because from what I understand, you tried to prevent Malachi from leaving. From choosing me."

"I did. I was wrong. I thought keeping him in the business was protecting the family. I didn’t understand that I was destroying it."

He looked at Lia, his expression softening in ways I’d never seen. "May I?"

Alicia looked at me. I nodded.

She carefully transferred Lia into Pa’s arms. He held her like she was made of glass and gold. Like she was the most precious thing he’d ever touched.

"Hello, little one. I’m your great-grandfather. The old fool who almost ruined everything." He looked at Alicia. "She’s beautiful. Perfect. You’ve given my grandson everything I never could."

"I gave him a choice. The rest he did himself."

"Still. You’re the reason he’s happy. The reason he found his way out of darkness. That’s worth more than anything I ever built."

We stayed for thirty minutes. Pa holding Lia. Asking questions about her development. Telling stories about Malachi as a child that I’d never heard.

When we finally left, Pa stopped us at the door.

"Thank you. For this. For giving an old man a chance to meet his great-granddaughter before he dies."

"You’re welcome."

"And Malachi? Take care of them. Protect them. Love them. That’s the only legacy that matters."

"I will. I am."

In the elevator going down, Alicia leaned against me.

"That wasn’t what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"Someone cruel. Someone who’d try to hurt me or manipulate you. Someone who’d be angry about losing control."

"What did you get?"

"Someone tired. Someone at the end of his life realizing what actually mattered. Someone trying to make peace before he runs out of time."

"Does it change how you feel about him?"

"No. He still built an empire on violence. Still hurt countless people. Still drove your mother away. But it makes him human instead of just a monster. And somehow that makes it sadder."

The elevator doors opened. We walked through the lobby and out into the bright morning sun.

"One more day until the wedding," I said.

"One more day until we celebrate new beginnings while mourning endings."

"Life is complicated."

"Life is messy and beautiful and complicated and perfect all at once."

"Just like us."

"Just like us," she agreed.