CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER FORTY THREE

Chapter Forty-Three

Alicia’s POV

I tried to calm the rage burning through me. Tried to breathe through the chaos unfolding.

But Lucas was bleeding. Malachi was standing over him like a predator. And my father was laughing like this was all some sick game.

"Stop!" I grabbed Malachi’s arm, trying to pull him back. "Just stop!"

His eyes when they met mine were wild. Unrecognizable. The man who’d held me last night was gone, replaced by something dark and violent.

A monster.

That’s what Lucas had called him. And looking at him now, fists bloody, jaw clenched in barely controlled fury, I couldn’t disagree.

This was the real Malachi Blackwood. Not the gentle touches or soft words. This. Violence wrapped in expensive suits.

Then Maurice appeared in the doorway, his face grave.

"Sir. We have a problem."

"Not now, Maurice."

"Travis is awake. He’s already at the mansion. Your grandfather wants everyone back immediately."

The words hung in the air.

Everything went still. Silent. Like the world had stopped spinning.

Travis. Awake.

My mind scrambled to process. To understand.

He’d been unconscious for weeks. Since that night I’d punched him. Since he’d collapsed and the doctors said he was in a coma.

One punch. My soft, desperate punch had kept him under all this time.

Except... that didn’t make sense.

I wasn’t strong enough to cause that kind of damage. I’d known that even then. Had wondered why he’d fallen so easily. Had questioned but never pushed because his absence had been a blessing.

My eyes shifted to Malachi.

He stood frozen, his expression shifting from rage to something else. Something that looked like guilt. Like being caught.

No. No, no, no.

"How long?" My voice came out quiet. Deadly calm despite the storm raging inside me.

"Alicia—"

"How long have you been keeping him unconscious?"

Silence. But his face told me everything.

"Since the beginning," I said slowly, pieces clicking together. "Since I hit him that night. It wasn’t my punch. It was you."

"I did it to protect you." His voice was strained. Desperate. "He was going to hurt you the next day."

Protect me. By drugging his brother. By keeping him in a medically induced coma. By manipulating my entire reality without telling me.

"You made sure..." I laughed. "You manipulated everything. Controlled everything. And you never once thought to tell me?"

This whole time, while I thought I was finally free, he was pulling strings. Playing god with my life.

"I was trying to help—"

"Help?" My voice rose. "You think controlling my life without my knowledge is helping? You think lying to me is protecting me?"

By keeping me in the dark while he orchestrated everything?

"I trusted you," I whispered, my heart skipping a beat. What hurt was that I actually trusted Malachi. "Last night, I trusted you. And this whole time you’ve been playing puppet master with my life."

"It wasn’t like that."

"Then what was it like, Malachi? Explain it to me. Explain how drugging your brother for weeks is anything other than exactly what it looks like."

My voice rose.

"Alicia." He moved forward.

I took a step back. "Don’t. Just... don’t."

"Let me explain—"

"There’s nothing to explain." Tears slid down her cheeks. "You’re exactly what I thought you were. A Blackwood. A monster. Someone who thinks they have the right to control other people’s lives."

"I love you." He said. Eyes filled with anger and hurt. "Everything I did was because I love you."

Love.

He called this love.

Keeping me ignorant. Controlling circumstances. Manipulating my husband’s medical care. All in the name of protection I never asked for.

"That’s not love," I said, tears burning my eyes. "That’s possession. And I won’t be owned. Not by you. Not by anyone."

I turned to Sophie, who was pressed against the wall, tears streaming down her face. "Come on. We’re leaving."

She nodded, grabbing my outstretched hand.

I pulled Sophie toward the door. Past Lucas, who was struggling to stand. Past Malachi, who stood frozen like a statue.

I didn’t look back. Couldn’t. Because if I did, I might crumble completely.

Outside, I hailed a taxi with shaking hands. Helped Sophie into the backseat. Climbed in beside her.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"Grand Meridian Hotel. And please hurry."

As the car pulled away, I kept my gaze fixed on the window. On the passing lights. On anything that wasn’t the tears threatening to spill.

I needed to be strong for Sophie. She’d been through enough. She didn’t need to see me fall apart too.

But then I felt her hand slip into mine. Small and trembling. Seeking comfort I wasn’t sure I could give.

"Ali?" Her voice was so quiet. So fragile. "Are you okay?"

The question broke something in me.

"No," I whispered. "But we will be. I promise."

That’s when the tears came. Hot. Unstoppable. Streaming down my face faster than I could wipe them away.

Sophie started crying too. Both of us sobbing in the backseat of a taxi driven by a stranger who wisely said nothing. Just drove and let us grieve.

We cried for everything. For our mother who’d died too young. For our father who’d chosen money over his daughters. For the childhoods we’d lost. For the innocence stolen from us.

For the men who’d hurt us and the ones who’d tried to help but only made things worse.

By the time we reached the hotel, my eyes were swollen and my throat sore. But something in me felt clearer. Lighter.

This was it. The moment everything changed.

I paid the driver with the last of my cash and guided Sophie through the lobby. Up to my room. Once inside, I locked the door and leaned against it.

"What now?" Sophie asked, looking around the expensive suite with wide eyes.

"Now we pack. And we leave."

"Leave where?"

"Everywhere. The Blackwoods. This city. All of it." I moved to the closet and started pulling out clothes. "We’re going to disappear. Start over somewhere new. Somewhere they can’t find us."

"But..." Sophie hesitated. "What about your husband? And that man... Malachi?"

My hands stilled. "Travis is nothing to me. Never was. And Malachi..." My throat tightened. "Malachi is someone I need to forget."

Even as I said it, I knew it was a lie. You don’t forget someone who’s carved themselves into your soul. Who’s touched places so deep you’ll feel them forever.

But I could try.

I packed absentmindedly. Clothes. Documents. The money I’d raised from selling my jewelry. Everything that mattered fit into two small suitcases.

"Ali?" Sophie’s voice was small. "Where will we go?"

"I don’t know yet. Somewhere far. Maybe the coast. You always wanted to see the ocean, remember?"

She nodded, a tiny smile breaking through. "Mom promised she’d take us."

"Then we’ll go for her. We’ll see the ocean and start fresh and build a life that’s actually ours."

Sophie helped me pack. We worked in silence, both too exhausted for words.

Dawn was breaking by the time we finished.

A new day that brought a new beginning.

"Ready?" I asked, gripping the suitcase handles.

Sophie took a deep breath. "Ready."

We took the elevator down. Checked out at the desk. The receptionist barely glanced at us, too early and too tired to care.

Maurice was waiting by the car outside.

"Mrs. Blackwood." He opened the door. "Mr. Malachi arranged transportation back to Silver Lake City."

Of course he did. Even now, controlling things.

"Thank you, Maurice. But we won’t need it."

His eyes widened slightly. "Ma’am, you can’t possibly—"

"Watch me." I guided Sophie toward the street. "Tell Malachi... tell him thank you. For trying. But I don’t need his help anymore."

"Please, Mrs. Blackwood. At least let me drive you—"

"No." My voice came out firmer than I felt. "This is something I need to do on my own."

Maurice looked like he wanted to argue. But something in my expression stopped him. He nodded slowly. "As you wish. Safe travels, ma’am."

We caught a bus. Not a private car. Not a taxi. A regular public bus heading back toward Silver Lake City.

Sophie pressed her face against the window, watching the city pass. "Why are we going back? I thought you wanted to run away."

"I do. But I can’t. Not yet." My jaw tightened. "Travis is awake. Which means I need to face him one last time. Get those divorce papers signed. Make it official."

"And then we can leave?"

"Then we can leave."

The drive took hours. Sophie fell asleep on my shoulder. I stayed awake, staring out at the passing landscape, my mind refusing to quiet.

Travis was awake. Probably angry. Definitely dangerous.

And I was walking right back into his reach.

But I had to. Had to end this properly. Had to get those papers signed so he couldn’t claim me anymore.

Then I’d be free. Truly free.

The mansion came into view as dawn fully broke. It reminded me of everything I’d grown to hate about my life.

We pulled up to the gates. They opened automatically.

I grabbed Sophie’s hand. "Stay close to me. Don’t talk unless spoken to. And if anyone tries to hurt you, you scream. Understood?"

She nodded, fear clear in her eyes.

We walked through the front door together.

The family was already gathered in the sitting room. All of them. Like they’d been waiting.

Pa Blackwood in his chair. My father-in-law standing by the window. Layla perched on the sofa like a queen.

And Travis.

He stood by the fireplace, leaning casually against the mantle. When he saw me, that smile spread across his face. The same cruel, satisfied smile that used to haunt my nightmares.

"Alicia." His voice was smooth. Pleasant. Wrong. "Welcome home, wife."

My blood ran cold. Something was different. Something was very wrong.

Pa Blackwood’s eyes landed on Sophie. "And who is this?"

"My sister." I kept my voice steady. "Sophie. She’ll be staying with us."

"Staying?" Layla’s voice dripped with disdain. "This isn’t a charity home, Alicia. We can’t just take in strays—"

"Layla." Pa Blackwood’s tone silenced her. He studied Sophie for a long moment. Then nodded. "She’s welcome. The first of Alicia’s family to visit since the wedding. It’s about time."

I blinked. That was... unexpected.

"Thank you, Grandfather."

"Of course." He smiled gently. "Family is important. Even when they fail us."

The pointed look he gave toward the hallway made me wonder if he meant my family or his own.

Then Travis spoke.

"Sophie, is it?" He pushed off the mantle and approached. "Any sister of Alicia’s is welcome here. We’re all family, after all."

He extended his hand to Sophie.

She shrank back behind me.

"Don’t be rude, Sophie," Layla snapped. "Greet your brother-in-law properly."

"She doesn’t have to do anything." I stepped between them. "She’s been through enough."

Travis’s smile widened. "Of course. How thoughtless of me. She must be exhausted from traveling."

What the fuck was happening?

This wasn’t the Travis I knew. The Travis who screamed and hit and controlled. This version was calm. Polite. Almost... kind.

It scared me more than his violence ever had.

"I’ll show Sophie to a guest room," I said quickly. "She needs rest."

"Wonderful idea." Travis’s eyes met mine. And there it was. That flash of something dark beneath the pleasant exterior. "We’ll talk later, Alicia. We have so much to catch up on."

A chill ran down my spine.

I grabbed Sophie’s hand and practically ran up the stairs. Away from his smile. Away from whatever game he was playing.

Because Travis Blackwood didn’t do kindness. Didn’t do forgiveness.

Which meant whatever he was planning was far worse than anything he’d done before.