The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 198 - One Hundred and Ninety-Eight

Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Eight

Malachi’s POV

The moment Zhao stepped through the door, everything in me went cold and sharp.

He had eight men with him. All armed. All professionals by the way they moved. They fanned out immediately, covering exits, scanning for threats.

But Zhao’s eyes were only on Alicia.

"You look well," he said. Like we were at a dinner party. Like he hadn’t just broken into her home with an armed team. "Pregnancy suits you."

I shifted, putting myself more fully between them. "You need to leave. Now."

"Or what? You’ll kill me in front of all these witnesses? In front of her?" He smiled. "You won’t. Because you’re trying to prove you’re not a monster. Trying to be the kind of man she can love without fear."

He was right. And we both knew it.

"This doesn’t have to end badly," I said. "You can still walk away."

"I gave you the same offer in Paris. You didn’t take it. Why should I?"

"Because I’m giving you one more chance. More than you deserve."

"How generous." Zhao took a step forward. His men moved with him. "But I didn’t come here to negotiate. I came here to take what’s mine."

"She’s not yours. She never was."

"She was mine before she was yours. I knew her when we were children. When her mother worked in my father’s house. I watched her grow up. Watched her become beautiful. Watched her marry the wrong man and ruin her life."

"My life isn’t ruined," Alicia said. Her voice was steady. Strong. "And I was never yours. I was a child. You were a child. Whatever you think existed between us was in your head."

"Was it? You don’t remember how you used to look at me? How you’d smile when I walked into a room?"

"I was seven years old. I smiled at everyone."

"You challenged me. Defied me. Made me work for every conversation. Made me feel alive in a way nothing else did."

"That’s not love. That’s obsession."

"Maybe. But it’s kept me going for twenty years. Through building an empire. Through losing my father. Through watching you throw yourself away on men who don’t deserve you." He looked at me. "Including him."

"You don’t know anything about him."

"I know he’s a killer. I know he’s tortured people. I know he’s exactly like his father and grandfather. A Blackwood through and through." Zhao turned back to Alicia. "Is that really what you want for our child?"

"It’s not your child."

"It could be. If you come with me now. If you leave this life behind. I’ll raise the baby as mine. Give you everything. Protection. Wealth. A life away from all this violence."

"By using violence to get me? By breaking into my home with armed men? By threatening my family?"

"Necessary measures. You wouldn’t have come willingly."

"Exactly. Which should tell you everything you need to know."

I could see Zhao’s control slipping. The mask of civility cracking.

"I’ve been patient," he said. His voice harder now. "I’ve waited. I’ve given you chances. But my patience is done. You’re coming with me. Tonight. Whether you want to or not."

Marco stepped forward. "You’re in my house. Threatening my family. You really think you’re walking out of here?"

"I think I have eight armed men and you have what? A few guards? Some family members with guns they barely know how to use?" Zhao gestured to his team. "These are professionals. Former military. They’ve done this a hundred times. You’re outmatched."

"Numbers aren’t everything," Alessandro said from his position near the kitchen.

"No. But they help."

The tension ratcheted higher. Everyone was armed. Everyone was ready. One wrong move and this room would become a bloodbath.

"Zhao," I said quietly. "Look at me."

He did.

"You’re not leaving here with her. That’s not an option. The only question is whether you leave here alive or in a body bag."

"Big talk from a man who’s trying not to be a monster."

"I said I wouldn’t be a monster for no reason. But you’ve given me plenty of reasons. You threatened my child. Threatened Sophie. Broke into Alicia’s home. Those aren’t abstract threats to abstract people. That’s my family. And I’ll do anything to protect them."

"Including kill me in front of the woman you love? Show her exactly what you are?"

"If that’s what it takes."

Alicia touched my arm. "Malachi—"

"Stay behind me."

"I’m not—"

"Please. Just this once. Stay behind me."

She hesitated. Then stepped back. Not because she was afraid. But because she trusted me to handle this.

That trust meant everything.

Zhao saw it too. Saw the way she moved. The way she looked at me. And something in his face changed.

Rage. Pure and simple.

"You don’t deserve her," he said.

"Probably not. But she chose me anyway. That’s the difference between you and me. She chose me. She’ll never choose you."

"Then I’ll take the choice away."

He moved. Fast. Pulled his gun.

Everything happened at once.

Marco’s men opened fire. Zhao’s team returned it. The room erupted into chaos.

I grabbed Alicia. Pulled her down behind the heavy dining table. Sophie was already there, pressed against the wood.

"Stay down," I ordered. Then I returned fire.

Zhao’s men were good. But they were in unfamiliar territory. And the Morettis knew every corner of this house.

Alessandro took out two from his position. Marco got another. The security team got two more.

That left three. Plus Zhao.

I spotted him moving toward the back hallway. Toward where Alicia was.

Not happening.

I left cover. Crossed the room in seconds. Intercepted him before he could reach her.

We collided. His gun went flying. So did mine.

It came down to fists.

He was good. Trained. Fast. But he was fighting for obsession.

I was fighting for family.

I got him against the wall. Landed a hit that snapped his head back.

"You should have taken my offer," I said.

"So should you."

He kneed me in the ribs. I stumbled back. He followed. Got in two good hits before I blocked.

We fought through the hallway. Into another room. Breaking furniture. Smashing against walls.

I could hear the firefight in the other room winding down. Fewer shots. More silence.

The Morettis were winning.

But Zhao didn’t care. He was completely focused on me. On taking me down. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"She’ll never forgive you for this," he gasped. "For killing me. For being exactly what she’s afraid of."

"Maybe. But she’ll be alive to not forgive me. That’s enough."

I got him in a chokehold. Squeezed. He struggled. Fought. Started to go limp.

Then I heard Alicia’s voice.

"Malachi, stop."

I looked up. She stood in the doorway. Gun in hand. Face pale but determined.

"Don’t kill him," she said. "Please. Don’t make me watch you kill him."

Everything in me wanted to finish this. To make sure Zhao could never threaten her again.

But she’d asked.

And her voice mattered more than my anger.

I released him. Let him drop to the floor. Gasping. Alive.

"Get him out of here," I told the Moretti guards who appeared. "Lock him somewhere secure until we figure out what to do with him."

They dragged him away.

Alicia lowered her gun. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For stopping. For listening to me."

I crossed to her. Pulled her close. "Are you okay? Is Sophie—"

"We’re fine. Everyone’s fine. Marco’s team got all of Zhao’s men. No one on our side was seriously hurt."

I held her. Just held her. Felt her breathing. Felt her alive and safe in my arms.

"It’s over," she whispered. "It’s really over."

"Not yet. We still have to decide what to do with him."

"Let the Morettis handle it. Let Marco make that call. We’ve done enough."

She was right. This was their home. Their rules. Their decision.

Alessandro appeared. "Everyone’s secure. Zhao’s locked in the wine cellar. Marco wants to know what you want to do with him."

I looked at Alicia. "Your call. He threatened you. Threatened Sophie. What do you want?"

She thought about it. "I want him gone. Out of our lives. Permanently. But I don’t want to watch him die. I don’t want that memory."

"Understood." I turned to Alessandro. "Make it clean. Make it quick. And make sure he never threatens anyone again."

Alessandro nodded and left.

Alicia looked up at me. "Is it wrong that I’m relieved? That I want him dead?"

"No. It’s human. He was going to keep coming. Keep threatening. This was the only way to end it."

"I know. But it still feels wrong. Like I should feel guilty. Like wanting someone dead makes me as bad as—"

"Don’t. Don’t go there. Wanting a threat eliminated doesn’t make you bad. It makes you smart. It makes you a mother protecting her child."

She put her hand on her stomach. "I can’t believe this is my life now. That this is normal. Violence and death and armed men in my grandmother’s dining room."

"It doesn’t have to be. After tonight, we can go anywhere. Do anything. Build whatever life you want."

"Can we? Or will there always be another Zhao? Another threat? Another reason to fight?"

I didn’t have an answer. Because she was right. In my world, there was always another threat.

But maybe it didn’t have to be her world. Maybe she could have something different.

"I’ll make you a promise," I said. "After tonight, I step back from the family business. I keep you and our baby away from all of this. We build something new. Something clean. Something safe."

"You’d really do that? Walk away from everything you’ve built?"

"For you? For our family? Without hesitation."

She searched my face. Looking for the lie. The manipulation.

She wouldn’t find it. Because I meant every word.

"Okay," she said finally. "Let’s build something new."

A single gunshot echoed from below.

Then silence.

It was done.

Zhao Wei was dead.

And we were finally, truly free.