The temptation of my brother-in-law

Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Six

Alicia’s POV

The days blurred together. Wake up, work, sleep, repeat. I cleaned rooms that were already spotless. Prepared meals that were barely touched. Kept myself busy enough that I didn’t have time to think about anything else.

Sophie was never around. She’d come back to the apartment late at night, sleep until noon, then disappear again. I wanted to talk to her, to ask where she was going and who she was with, but every time I tried, she’d slip away before I could start the conversation.

Cassie noticed. "She’s avoiding you."

"I know."

"Maybe you should make her talk to you."

"She’s seventeen. I can’t force her to do anything."

But it worried me. We were supposed to be hiding, staying low, and Sophie was out treating this like some kind of vacation.

I pushed the thought away and focused on work. Alessandro had been kind. Patient. He checked on me every morning, asked if I needed anything, made sure I was settling in. It should have felt normal, but it didn’t. There was something about the way he looked at me sometimes. Like he was waiting for something. Like he expected me to remember something I’d forgotten.

It had been almost a week when everything changed.

I was in the kitchen, preparing vegetables for dinner, when I heard voices. Multiple voices. Coming from the front of the house.