The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 148 - One Hundred and Forty-Eight

Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Eight

Alicia’s POV

I stared at my phone, reading Malachi’s text over and over.

Travis knows. About us. He confronted me.

My hands were shaking. Part of me felt terrified that everything was out in the open now, that there would be consequences I couldn’t control. But another part felt relieved. Maybe even happy. No more hiding. No more pretending. Just the truth, finally.

I was reaching for my bag, planning to leave work early and go to Malachi’s place like he’d asked, when my phone vibrated again.

Not a text this time. A file. Multiple files actually. Voice recordings from an unknown number.

I frowned, staring at the screen. What were these? Who sent them?

I hesitated, then clicked on the first one. Put my phone to my ear.

At first, there was just static. Then sounds. Movement. Someone breathing hard.

Then screaming.

A man’s voice, high-pitched with terror. "Please. Please, I’m begging you. I’ll do anything. Just stop."

"Anything?" That was Malachi’s voice. Cold. Detached. Nothing like the way he spoke to me. "You should have thought about that before you stole from me."

"I didn’t. I swear. It wasn’t me."

"Liar."

The sound that followed made my stomach turn. Something breaking. The man screaming. Wet sounds that I didn’t want to identify.

"Please!" The man was crying now. Sobbing. "Please stop. Please."

Malachi laughed. Actually laughed. Like this was entertaining. "Stop? But we’re just getting started."

I clicked off the recording. Felt bile rise in my throat. My hands were shaking worse now.

There were five more recordings. I didn’t want to listen. Didn’t want to know. But I couldn’t stop myself.

I played the second one. Different victim. Same result. Pleading, begging, Malachi inflicting pain while sounding completely calm. Detached. Like he was doing something mundane instead of torturing someone.

The third recording was worse. A woman this time. Younger sounding. She was crying so hard she could barely speak. And Malachi’s voice was still that same cold calm.

"I already told you what I want. Give it to me or this continues."

"I can’t. I don’t have it. Please believe me."

"Wrong answer."

I stopped the recording. Couldn’t listen anymore. Tears were streaming down my face and I hadn’t even realized I was crying.

This was Malachi. The man I loved. The man who’d held me gently and promised to protect me. The man who’d looked at me like I was precious.

This was who he really was.

A monster.

I thought about all the times I’d seen that darkness in his eyes and told myself it was just intensity. Just passion. Just the edge that came from being powerful and dangerous.

But this wasn’t edge. This was cruelty. This was enjoying someone else’s pain. This was torture.

My phone buzzed again. Another text from the unknown number.

Still think he loves you? Or does he just own you like he owns everyone else?

I dropped my phone like it burned. Stood up on shaking legs. Grabbed my bag.

I was done. Done with the Blackwoods. Done with their secrets and their violence and their casual cruelty. Done with loving a man who laughed while people screamed.

I ran out of the office. Didn’t care who saw me crying. Didn’t care about anything except getting away.

My car was in the parking garage. I drove too fast, tears blurring my vision, hands gripping the wheel so tight they hurt.

I had to get Sophie. Had to get her away from this family before they destroyed her too.

The school let me sign her out early without asking questions. Maybe they could see the panic on my face. Maybe they just didn’t care.

Sophie climbed into the car looking confused. "Alicia? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?"

"We’re leaving."

"Leaving where?"

"Just leaving. Pack your things. We’re done with the Blackwoods."

"What happened?"

"I can’t talk about it right now. Please, Sophie. Just trust me."

She must have heard something in my voice because she stopped asking questions. Just sat quietly while I drove back to the mansion.

We went straight to our rooms. I threw clothes into bags without caring about folding or organizing. Just grabbed everything important. Photos of our mother. Documents. Money I’d been saving in case of emergency.

This was an emergency.

Sophie packed her things too, moving quickly like she understood the urgency even if she didn’t understand the reason.

"Are we going to Cassie’s?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Okay."

We loaded everything into my car. I left a note on Travis’s desk. Simple. Direct.

I want a divorce. My signature is already on the papers in the top drawer. Sign them and leave me alone.

Then we left. Drove away from the mansion and everything it represented. Away from Malachi and his darkness. Away from Travis and his cruelty. Away from all of it.

Remembering something, I stopped abruptly by the road side.

"Why are we stopping?"

Sophie asked, full of concern.

"Our phones,"

I picked mine.

"They could trace us with these."

A small frown settled on her face, but she quickly dropped it and picked her phone too.

After taking care of them, I resumed driving.

Cassie opened her door looking shocked. "Alicia? What’s going on?"

"Can we stay here? Just for a little while until I figure things out?"

"Of course. Always. But what happened?"

I walked inside, Sophie following behind me. Set our bags down in Cassie’s living room.

"I’m done with the Blackwoods," I said. My voice sounded hollow even to my own ears. "I left divorce papers for Travis. I’m never going back there."

"Did something happen? Did Travis hurt you again?"

I thought about the recordings. About Malachi’s laugh. About everything I’d thought I knew being a lie.

"It doesn’t matter. I just need to be away from them. All of them."

Cassie pulled me into a hug and I finally let myself completely break down. Sobbed into her shoulder while Sophie watched with worried eyes.

Malachi was a monster. I’d fallen in love with a monster. And now I had to figure out how to survive the consequences of that terrible choice.