The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 159 - One Hundred and Fifty-Nine

Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Nine

Sasha’s POV

I was in my room when my phone buzzed. The burner phone I kept hidden in a locked drawer, the one only he knew about.

One new message.

It’s done. Files released to three major outlets. Should hit the news cycle within the hour.

I smiled. Typed back quickly.

Perfect. Thank you.

The response came immediately.

This is just the beginning. Your father will pay for everything he’s done. To you. To your mother. To Tyler.

I stared at those words. To Tyler. My brother. The one who’d been banished five years ago because of my father’s machinations. The one no one was allowed to talk about. The one I missed every single day.

My father had destroyed Tyler. Had worked with Pa Wood to get him banished. Had stood by and watched as his own son was erased from the family like he’d never existed.

And for what? Pride? Control? Because Tyler had dared to question him?

I’d never forgiven him. Never would. And now, finally, he was going to face consequences.

I’ll be watching. Let me know if you need anything else.

I will. And thank you again. For everything.

I deleted the conversation like always. Turned off the burner phone and hid it back in the drawer. Then I waited.

It took less than an hour for the chaos to start.

I heard shouting from downstairs. Pa Wood’s voice, loud and furious. My father’s voice responding. Other family members gathering.

I took my time walking down. Wanted to savor this. Wanted to see my father’s face when his world fell apart.

The family room was packed when I arrived. Pa Wood standing at the center holding his tablet, his face twisted with rage. Tom looking shocked. Isabella pale and worried, wringing her hands. Travis in the corner, useless as always. And my father, Mario, standing there with his phone in his hand and fear in his eyes.

"Have you all seen this?" Pa Wood’s voice was shaking. Actually shaking with fury. "Mario’s financial records. His private dealings. All over the news. Every major outlet is running stories about Blackwood corruption."

"Someone leaked them," my father said, his voice defensive. "Someone had access to files that should have been impossible to access."

"Impossible?" Pa Wood’s face was turning red. An unhealthy red. "Or just password protected by someone too arrogant to think anyone would dare look?"

"I don’t know how this happened—"

"Bribes to city officials!" Pa Wood was shouting now. "Insider trading! Fraud! Threats! Do you understand what you’ve done? Do you understand the investigations this will trigger? The scrutiny this brings on the entire family?"

"It’s taken out of context—"

"Don’t lie to me!" Pa Wood slammed his tablet on the table. "I’ve read the files. I’ve seen the evidence. There’s no context that makes this acceptable. You’ve been running your own criminal enterprise under the Blackwood name, making us all complicit in your corruption!"

My father’s face was red now too. "I was building our wealth! Making deals that benefited everyone! Don’t act like you’re innocent. You’ve done worse—"

"I’ve never been stupid enough to leave a paper trail!" Pa Wood was breathing hard now. Too hard. His hand went to his chest. "I’ve never been caught! I’ve never endangered this family with my carelessness!"

"Father." Tom stepped forward, his voice concerned. "Maybe you should sit down. You’re not well."

"I’m not well? Of course I’m not well! My own son has destroyed decades of careful work! My own son has made us targets!" Pa Wood was coughing now. Deep, rattling coughs that shook his whole body.

"Someone get him water," Isabella said, moving toward him.

But Pa Wood waved her off. Still coughing. His face was purple now. He pressed harder against his chest.

Then he coughed again and this time blood came out. Actual blood, speckling his white shirt, dripping from his mouth.

"Father!" Tom rushed forward as Pa Wood collapsed into a chair, still coughing, blood on his lips.

The room erupted in chaos. Isabella screaming for someone to call a doctor. Travis frozen in the corner. My father standing there looking shocked.

And me. I watched it all with a strange detachment. This was what corruption looked like when it ate you from the inside. This was what happened when you built an empire on lies and violence and exploitation.

"Someone call an ambulance!" Tom was yelling.

"I’m calling now," Isabella had her phone out, hands shaking.

Pa Wood was trying to speak but the coughing wouldn’t stop. Blood kept coming. He looked old suddenly. Fragile. Like a man instead of the monster I’d always known him to be.

The doctor arrived within ten minutes. Not an ambulance. The family doctor who made house calls and kept secrets. He examined Pa Wood quickly, gave him something to stop the coughing, cleaned the blood.

"Stress," the doctor said quietly to Tom. "His blood pressure is dangerously high. He needs rest. Absolute rest. No stress. No confrontations. Or next time he might not survive."

Tom nodded. Looked at the room full of family members. "Everyone out. Now. He needs quiet."

We filed out slowly. My father tried to approach Pa Wood but Tom blocked him.

"Not you. You’ve done enough."

"He’s my father—"

"And you almost killed him. Get out."

My father left. I followed, wanting to see his face. Wanting to see him finally face consequences.

We gathered back in the family room. Everyone except Pa Wood who was resting in his study under the doctor’s supervision.

Tom looked at my father with an expression I’d never seen before. Disappointment. Pure, undisguised disappointment.

"I’m ashamed of you," Tom said quietly. "I’ve always known you were ambitious. Always knew you bent rules. But this? Endangering Father? Endangering the entire family?"

"I didn’t mean for any of this to happen."

"You never mean for anything to happen. You just do whatever benefits you and expect everyone else to clean up the mess."

"That’s not fair—"

"Fair?" Tom’s voice rose. "Fair? You’ve been jealous of me your entire life. Jealous of Malachi. Jealous of anyone who got recognition you thought you deserved. And instead of working harder, instead of being better, you cheated. You lied. You hurt people. And now we all have to pay for it."

My father had no response. Just stood there taking it. For once in his life, he had nothing to say.

The study door opened. Pa Wood emerged, leaning on the doctor but walking on his own. His face was pale but his eyes were clear. Focused.

"Everyone sit," he said, his voice hoarse but commanding.

We sat.

Pa Wood remained standing. "I’ve made a decision. Mario, you are hereby banished from Silver Lake City. You will leave within twenty-four hours. You will not contact anyone in this family. You will not use the Blackwood name in any business dealings. You are done."

"Father, please—"

"I should have done this years ago. Should have seen what you were. But I was too focused on other things. Too willing to overlook your flaws. No more. You’ve endangered everyone I’ve worked to protect. You’ve brought shame on this family. You’re finished."

"You can’t do this. I’m your son!"

"You were my son. Now you’re just another mistake I need to correct. Get out. And if you’re not gone by tomorrow morning, I’ll have you removed by force."

My father looked around the room. At Tom, who turned away. At Isabella, who couldn’t meet his eyes. At me.

I smiled. Couldn’t help it. This was justice. Finally. After years of watching him hurt everyone around him. After years of watching him destroy my brother. After years of waiting.

He was finally getting what he deserved.

"Sasha seems happy about this," my father said bitterly. "My own daughter celebrating my downfall."

"You’re not my father," I said calmly. "You’re just the man who happened to contribute DNA. A real father protects his children. You only ever cared about yourself."

"You ungrateful—"

"That’s enough." Pa Wood’s voice was weak but firm. "Leave, Mario. Before I change my mind and do worse."

My father left. Actually left. Walked out of the room with his shoulders slumped and his head down.

I felt lighter than I had in years. Like a weight had been lifted. Like I could finally breathe.

"Sasha." Pa Wood’s voice pulled me back. "A word. Privately."

Everyone else filed out. Just me and Pa Wood. Him looking at me with those sharp eyes that saw too much.

"You did this," he said. It wasn’t a question.

I thought about lying. About denying it. But what was the point?

"He deserved it."

"He did. But you’ve set something in motion that can’t be stopped. Those files. That information. It won’t just hurt Mario. It’ll hurt all of us."

"Good. Maybe this family needs to hurt. Maybe we all need to face consequences for what we’ve done."

Pa Wood studied me for a long moment. "You’re more like me than I realized. Ruthless. Strategic. Willing to destroy to get what you want."

"I’m nothing like you. You destroy for power. I destroyed him for justice."

"Justice." Pa Wood smiled grimly. "Is that what you call it? Tell me, Sasha. What happens next? What’s phase two?"

My stomach dropped. He knew. Of course he knew.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Yes, you do. This isn’t over. Mario was just the beginning. You have more planned. More files. More revelations. Don’t you?"

I said nothing. Couldn’t confirm or deny without giving too much away.

"Be careful," Pa Wood said quietly. "Revenge has a way of consuming the person seeking it. You might destroy the family in the process of getting justice. Are you prepared for that?"

"If that’s what it takes."

"Then do it knowing the consequences. Do it knowing you can’t go back. Do it knowing that once you start this kind of fire, you can’t control where it spreads."

He walked away slowly, the doctor helping him back to his study.

I stood there alone in the family room. Thinking about his words. About consequences. About fires that couldn’t be controlled.

But I didn’t care. My father was banished. Tyler was avenged, at least partially. And the family was finally starting to face what they’d done.

If it all burned down in the process, so be it. Some things deserved to burn.

I pulled out my burner phone. Sent a message.

Mario’s banished. Phase one complete. Phase two will target Pa Wood directly. Are you ready?

The response came quickly.

Always ready. Tell me when and where. We finish this together.

I smiled. Yes. Together. We’d finish what Tyler had started. We’d make them all pay.

Every single one of them.