The temptation of my brother-in-law

Chapter Ninety-Six

Malachi’s POV

I stared at Cecilia’s text. Just one word glowing on my screen.

"Hello."

That was it. Nothing else. No explanation. No context. Just hello after years of silence.

My finger hovered over the call button. This could be nothing. Could be her reaching out randomly. But Cecilia Jones didn’t do random. Every move she made was calculated.

I dialed the number. It rang once. Twice. Then went dead. Not to voicemail. Just dead. Like the line had been disconnected.

I tried again. Same result.

What the hell was she playing at?

Then my phone lit up with an incoming call. The same number.

I answered. "Cecilia."

"Malachi." Her voice was wrong. Thick. Shaky. "I’m sorry for the cryptic text. I didn’t know if you’d blocked me."