The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 151 - One Hundred and Fifty-One

Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-One

Malachi’s POV

I sat in my car outside Cassie’s building for ten minutes, trying to decide how to approach this. Should I go up there demanding to see Alicia? Should I try to be calm and reasonable? Should I wait until morning when emotions weren’t running so high?

The ring in my pocket felt like it was burning a hole through my chest. I’d planned everything so perfectly. The dinner, the proposal, the start of our real life together.

And instead, she’d run.

I got out of the car. Took the elevator to Cassie’s floor. Knocked on her door.

Nothing.

I knocked again. Harder. "Cassie. I know Alicia’s here. I just want to talk to her."

Still nothing.

I tried the handle. Locked. Of course it was locked.

I pulled out my phone, called Cassie’s number. It rang four times then went to voicemail.

A neighbor’s door opened down the hall. An older woman peered out. "If you’re looking for the girl who lives there, she left. Couple hours ago. Had two other women with her and a bunch of luggage."

My blood ran cold. "Left? Where did they go?"

"I don’t know. None of my business. But they looked like they were in a hurry."

She closed her door before I could ask anything else.

I stood there in the hallway, trying to process. Left. With luggage. Hours ago.

A dark thought crept into my mind. What if she wasn’t just hiding in the city? What if she was planning to leave entirely? Leave the state. Leave the country. Disappear where I couldn’t find her.

No. She wouldn’t do that. Would she?

I ran back to my car. Called Maurice while I drove.

"I need you to contact every airport in the area. Private and commercial. Tell them not to let an Alicia Blackwood board any flight. I don’t care where she’s trying to go. Stop her."

"Boss, I can’t just shut down airports."

"You can and you will. Use whatever connections you have. Pay whoever needs to be paid. But do not let her leave."

"What if she’s not using her real name?"

"Then look for Sophie. Sophie Blackwood. Seventeen years old. Silver hair. She’s traveling with Alicia."

"Okay. I’ll make some calls. But Malachi, if she’s already in the air—"

"Then track where she went. I need to know where she is. Now."

I hung up. Drove aimlessly through the city while Maurice worked. My mind was racing, trying to piece together what had happened.

This morning everything had been fine. She’d been at work. We’d texted. She’d said she’d come to my place. Then suddenly she was packing her bags and running?

What changed? What happened between our last conversation and her deciding to disappear?

My phone rang. Maurice.

"I’ve got people stationed at three major airports and two private airfields. If she tries to leave, we’ll know about it."

"Good."

"But boss, we need to talk about why she’s running. Because this level of panic, this kind of flight response, it’s not normal. What happened between you two?"

"I don’t know! That’s what I’m trying to figure out."

I slammed my hand against the steering wheel. None of this made sense. We were supposed to be together. We were supposed to be starting our life. She was supposed to be at my house right now, planning our future.

Instead, she was running from me like I was the enemy.

"Keep checking the airports," I told Maurice. "Call me the second you find anything."

I drove to my private mansion. The one where I’d planned to propose. Walked inside to see the cold dinner still on the table, candles burned down to nothing, wine gone warm.

Everything I’d planned. Everything I’d hoped for. Gone.

I grabbed one of the plates and threw it against the wall. Watched it shatter. The sound was satisfying for about three seconds before the emptiness came back.

She was gone. Really gone. And I didn’t understand why.

My phone buzzed. Text from an unknown number.

Looking for someone?

I stared at the screen. Who the hell was this?

I didn’t respond. Didn’t want to engage with whoever was playing games.

But another text came through anyway.

She’s gone, Malachi. Ran as far as she could. Wonder what could have scared her so badly?

My hands clenched around the phone. Someone knew where Alicia was. Someone had information I needed.

I called the number. Disconnected.

I tried calling Alicia again. Straight to voicemail. Sophie’s number. Same thing.

They’d turned off their phones. Or changed numbers. Or were deliberately ignoring me.

I called Cassie one more time. It rang twice before someone picked up.

"She doesn’t want to talk to you." Cassie’s voice was cold.

"I just need to know she’s safe. That’s all. Just tell me she’s okay."

"She’s safe. She’s far away from you. That’s all you need to know."

"Cassie, please. What happened? What did I do? This morning everything was fine and now she’s disappeared. Just tell me what changed."

"You really don’t know?"

"No. I don’t. And it’s driving me insane. Please. Just give me something."

Cassie was quiet for a long moment. "She found out who you really are. That’s all I’m going to say. And Malachi? Don’t try to find her. Don’t track her phone. Don’t send your people after her. Just let her go."

"I can’t do that."

"You don’t have a choice. She’s done. With you, with Travis, with all of the Blackwoods. She’s starting over somewhere you can’t reach her."

"Where?"

"Somewhere safe. That’s all that matters."

The line went dead.

I stood in my empty mansion with cold food on the table and a ring in my pocket and absolutely no idea what had just happened to my life.

She found out who you really are.

What did that mean? Alicia knew who I was. Knew about Dark City. Knew I wasn’t some gentle businessman who played by the rules.

So what had she found out that was so terrible she had to run to another country?

My phone rang again. Maurice.

"Found something. Private jet took off about two hours ago. Passenger manifest is locked but I’ve got someone working on it. If it’s her, I’ll know within the hour."

"And if it is her?"

"Then we track where it landed and go from there."

I wanted to tell him to hurry. Wanted to scream at him to work faster. But Maurice was already doing everything he could.

I sat down at the table. Stared at the cold pasta I’d made with so much hope just hours ago.

Everything had fallen apart in the space of an afternoon. One moment I’d had a future with Alicia. The next, she was gone.

And I didn’t even know why.

The not knowing was the worst part. Worse than her leaving. Worse than the empty house. The uncertainty of what had gone wrong, what I’d done, what had scared her so badly she’d fled the country.

My phone buzzed. Text from Maurice.

Confirmed. Private jet. Three passengers including Alicia and Sophie. Landed in Milan two hours ago.

Milan. Italy. She’d really left. Really run as far as she could.

I typed back.

Book me the next flight.

Boss, maybe you should give her space. If she ran that far—

Book the flight, Maurice.

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Then:

There’s a flight leaving in four hours. I’ll send you the details.

I went upstairs. Packed a bag. Passport, clothes, money. The ring went into my pocket where it had been all night.

I didn’t know what I’d find in Italy. Didn’t know if Alicia would even talk to me. Didn’t know if I could fix whatever had broken.

But I had to try. Had to understand. Had to make her see that whatever she’d heard or learned or discovered, it didn’t change what we had.

Or what I thought we had.

The flight details came through. Four hours until boarding. I spent them pacing. Trying Alicia’s number every twenty minutes even though I knew she wouldn’t answer.

The unknown number texted again.

Still looking? She’s further than you think. In more ways than one. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

I threw my phone across the room. Watched it hit the wall and crack.

Whoever was doing this, whoever had scared Alicia away, they were enjoying it. Taunting me. Making sure I knew she was gone and I couldn’t reach her.

I retrieved my phone. The screen was cracked but it still worked.

One more text from the unknown number.

Give up, Malachi. She’s not coming back.