The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 163 - One Hundred and Sixty-Three

Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Three

Malachi’s POV

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. The world had tilted sideways and nothing made sense anymore.

Emily was dead. I’d buried her myself. I’d held her cold hand and put her in the ground and stood there for hours after everyone else had left because I couldn’t make myself walk away.

But she was standing in front of me. Breathing. Alive.

"Is it really you?" My voice came out rough. Broken.

She laughed, and the sound was nothing like I remembered. It was harder. Sharper. "The Blackwoods are so easy to fool. You see what you expect to see. Believe what you want to believe. You never questioned it, did you? Never wondered if maybe things weren’t exactly what they seemed."

I took a step toward her. She didn’t move. Didn’t flinch.

"How?" That was all I could manage. One word. One question that encompassed everything I couldn’t understand.

"Does it matter? I’m here now. That’s what matters."

"You died in labor. The baby..." I stopped. Couldn’t finish.

"The baby died. That part was real." Her voice went flat. Empty. "But I didn’t. I came close. Close enough that everyone believed it when they were told I didn’t make it. Close enough that no one questioned the body in the casket."

"I buried you."

"You buried someone. Not me."

The memories came flooding back. The hospital. The chaos. Being told she was gone. The funeral that happened so fast, like everyone wanted it over with. The closed casket because the family said it was what Emily would have wanted.

I’d believed all of it. Never questioned. Never demanded to see her. Just accepted what I was told because the pain was too much to examine closely.

"Why?" I asked. "Why would you do that? Why would you let everyone think you were dead?"

"Because I needed to disappear. Needed time to plan. To become someone the Blackwoods wouldn’t recognize."

"The Blackwoods." I caught the way she said it. Like she wasn’t one of them. Like she’d separated herself completely. "What are you talking about?"

She smiled, but there was nothing warm in it. "That’s the real question, isn’t it? Not how I’m alive. Not where I’ve been. The real question you should be asking is why I’m here. Why I came back. Why I’m standing in front of you now after five years."

Something cold settled in my chest. I knew that tone. Had used it myself plenty of times. It was the tone of someone about to reveal something that would hurt.

My eyes darkened. "Tell me."

"The Blackwoods took everything from me. My child. My life. My future. They used me and discarded me and never looked back." She took a step closer. "So I’m going to do the same to them. I’m going to take everything. Destroy everything. Leave them with nothing but ashes and regret."

I stared at her. At this woman who wore Emily’s face but spoke like a stranger.

"And if you cooperate," she continued, "if you help me, you might survive what’s coming. You might even get what you want."

I laughed. Couldn’t help it. The sound echoed in the empty space between us.

"Are you threatening me?"

She didn’t smile. Didn’t react at all. "I’m offering you a choice. Work with me or get destroyed with the rest of them. It’s that simple."

"You think you can destroy the Blackwoods? You think you can come back from the dead and just tear down everything they’ve built?"

"I know I can. I’ve been planning this for five years. I know their weaknesses. Their secrets. Their fears. I know exactly how to break them."

"And me? Where do I fit in this plan of yours?"

"That depends on you. On whether you remember who you used to be. On whether there’s anything left in you worth saving."

I moved fast. Had her backed against the wall before she could blink. My hand on her throat. Not squeezing. Just holding her there.

"Let’s get something straight. I don’t care if you’re Emily or a ghost or whatever the hell you think you are. You don’t threaten my family. You don’t threaten the Blackwoods. And you sure as hell don’t threaten me."

She didn’t look scared. Should have. Anyone else would have. But she just looked at me with those dark eyes and smiled.

"There he is. The monster everyone’s afraid of. The man who tortures people and calls it justice. This is who you’ve become, Malachi. This is what they made you."

I let her go. Stepped back. My hands were shaking and I hated that she could see it.

"Meeting’s over," I said.

"Running away? That’s not like you."

"I’m not running. I’m leaving before I do something I might regret."

"You don’t regret anything. That’s your problem."

I turned and walked away. Didn’t look back. Couldn’t. Because if I did, I might actually hurt her, and some part of me, some buried part that remembered the girl she used to be, wouldn’t let me do that.

I drove straight to my office. Called Maurice. Then Rose. Then Dante, Mavis, and Violet. Told them all to meet me immediately. Didn’t explain why. Just said it was urgent.

They showed up within the hour. Maurice looked worried. Rose and Violet looked alert, ready for anything. Dante looked annoyed. Mavis looked curious.

"This better be important," Dante said, dropping into a chair. "Some of us were sleeping."

"Emily’s alive."

Silence. Complete and total silence.

Rose spoke first. "What?"

"Emily. She’s alive. I just met with her."

"That’s impossible," Maurice said. "We were all at the funeral. We saw—"

"We saw a closed casket and believed what we were told. But she’s alive. I saw her. Talked to her."

Violet leaned forward. "Are you sure it was her? Could it be someone pretending—"

"It was her. She knew things. Specific things that only Emily would know."

"Then where has she been for five years?" Mavis asked. "And why reveal herself now?"

"She’s planning something. Something big. She said the Blackwoods took everything from her and she’s going to return the favor. She’s coming after the family."

Rose and Violet exchanged glances. They were twins, my best assassins, and they could communicate without words. Right now, they were both thinking the same thing. Threat assessment. How to neutralize it.

"What do you want us to do?" Rose asked.

"I need information. Everything you can find on Emily’s death. Hospital records. Funeral home records. Who handled the arrangements. Who confirmed the death. Everything."

"You think someone helped her fake it?" Maurice asked.

"I know someone did. You can’t just fake your own death without help. Someone on the inside. Someone who had access and authority."

Dante stood up, pacing. "You’re overworking yourself. You’ve been obsessing over Alicia, dealing with Zhao Wei, and now this? When’s the last time you slept?"

"I don’t care about sleep."

"Well, you should. Because you’re starting to make decisions that don’t make sense. Calling emergency meetings in the middle of the night because you think you saw a dead woman—"

"I didn’t think I saw her. I did see her."

"Or someone who looks like her. Or someone who’s playing you. Have you considered that?"

I had. Of course I had. But those eyes. Those memories. The way she moved. It was Emily. I was certain.

"I know what I saw."

Dante shook his head but didn’t argue further. He knew better.

"What else did she say?" Violet asked. She was the quieter of the twins. More analytical. "Did she give you any specifics about her plan?"

"No. Just that she’s been planning it for five years and knows how to break the Blackwoods."

"And she offered you a way out?" Rose asked. "Why?"

That was the question I’d been asking myself the whole drive back. Why offer me cooperation? Why single me out?

"She said something about remembering who I used to be. About whether there was anything left worth saving."

Mavis frowned. "That sounds personal. Like this isn’t just about the Blackwoods. It’s about you."

She was right. I’d felt it too. The way Emily had looked at me. Talked to me. Like she was disappointed. Like she’d expected something different and found something worse.

"I don’t care what it’s about. I care about stopping it. Rose, Violet, start digging. Maurice, pull every file we have on Emily. Everything. Mavis, I need you to check our security systems. If she’s been watching, she’s had access. Find out how."

They all nodded. Started to leave.

"And no one talks about this outside this room," I added. "If Emily’s planning something, I don’t want her knowing we’re onto her."

"What about Travis?" Maurice asked. "He was married to her sister. Should we tell him?"

"No. Travis is dealing with his own problems. I’ll handle this."

They left. All except Dante, who stood by the door watching me.

"What?"

"You’re going to burn out," he said. "You can’t keep running on empty. Can’t keep taking on everything yourself."

"I’m fine."

"You’re not fine. You haven’t been fine since Alicia left. And now this Emily situation. You need to slow down. Delegate. Trust the people around you."

"I do trust them."

"Then let them help. Stop acting like you have to carry everything alone."

He left before I could respond.

I sat down at my desk. Looked at the files scattered across it. Operations. Targets. Plans. So much to do. So much to manage.

And now Emily was back. Back and threatening everything.

I should have been angry. Should have been cold and calculating. But all I felt was tired.

Tired of fighting. Tired of losing people. Tired of this life that demanded everything and gave nothing back.

But I couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t stop. Because the moment I did, the moment I let my guard down, everything would fall apart.

So I’d keep going. Keep pushing. Keep fighting.

Because that’s what I did. That’s who I was.

And maybe Emily was right. Maybe I had become a monster.

But I was a monster who protected his family. Who kept the Blackwoods safe no matter what it cost.

Even if it cost me everything.