My Ex Left Me Years Ago Then I’m Married to a Billionaire novel Chapter 179

Crowned by Fate

Chapter 179

Adrian’s POV

At my mother’s request, Maxwell’s Beta quickly gathered Victor’s personal file for us.

“Victor Reeves, 24 years old,” I read aloud, scanning through the documents. “Ile was eligible to become Maxwell’s Beta four years ago but lost the competition.”

“Says here he had been drinking wolfsbane liquor the night before the Beta selection,” Ryder noted, reading over my shoulder. “Maxwell punished him for that afterward.”

The file continued: He eventually became a regular patrolman in the Stormhowl Pack. This June, he joined the North American Werewolf Congress as an ordinary staff member.

None of this appeared out of the ordinary.

Ryder frowned. “From this information, Victor doesn’t seem to have any connection to us. Why would he want to kill you?”

I shook my head, equally confused. “I don’t know.”

Maxwell looked defensive. “When I approved Victor’s transfer to the Congress, I only wanted to expand our influence there. Whatever he’s done has nothing to do with me.”

Leon’s face darkened with anger. “I despise men who take women hostage. He doesn’t deserve to call himself a warrior.”

Just then, my phone vibrated with a text from an unknown number. I opened it to find a photo of Skye.

My blood turned to ice.

She was wearing only an oversized men’s t–shirt, looking exhausted. Her arms and legs were bound with rope, not chains. Despite her condition, her silver hair was matted with blood at the temple, but her forest–green eyes remained spirited, burning with defiant anger.

“Son of a bitch,” I growled, my hands shaking with rage as I passed the phone to Leon.

His reaction mirrored mine–pure, unfiltered fury. “If he’s harmed her…”

The phone rang, displaying the same unknown number. I answered immediately, putting it on speaker.

“Hello, Adrian.” Victor’s smooth voice filled the room. “I trust you received my little gift?”

“If you touch her-” I began, but he cut me off with a laugh.

“Too late for that, I’m afraid. She’s quite the fighter. Had to restrain her properly after she tried to escape.”

Leon looked ready to shift right there in the hotel room. I placed a warning hand on his arm.

“What do you want?” I demanded.

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10:31 Fri, Oct 3 M***

Chapter 179

“November 25th. Port Artemis.”

The call disconnected.

Skye’s POV

Nadia once told me that a small frame is not a weakness, not if you know how to move with it. “Let their strength work against them,” she said, twisting her own body like water around a much larger opponent. I had never been more grateful for those lessons.

The rope burned in my palms, soaked through with wolfsbane, the fibers cutting into skin already raw and blistered. But I held on.

He rammed us against the wall again. The back of my skull bounced off cold concrete, and I felt something sharp snap in my side. Pain tore through me, hot and white. I gritted my teeth and tightened the rope. His fingers dug into my wrists, trying to pry me off, but my grip didn’t loosen. He tried to grab the rope, but I pulled upward, pressing my forearm into the back of his neck, cutting off his air.

He bucked again, slamming me against a steel beam. My spine screamed in protest. Something cracked. I might’ve cried out, or maybe the sound never left my throat. My legs, locked tight around his waist, began to tremble. But I didn’t let go.

His movements slowed, hands now flailing instead of clawing. He dropped to one knee, then the other. His head lolled forward, body shuddering. I held the pressure for another three seconds–Nadia had drilled that into me. Never assume he’s out until the limbs stop

moving.

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When his arms finally went slack, I let go. He collapsed face–first, body twitching once before going still. My fingers refused to uncurl, the rope practically fused to my palms. I staggered to my feet, nearly falling from the pain in my ribs, and stumbled toward the door.

It wasn’t locked.

The air hit me like a slap–wet and cold and sharp. I sucked it in like I’d never breathed before. Night had fallen. There were no streetlights, no glow of city behind the trees. Just the deep hum of crickets and the far–off sound of waves crashing against rock. I could smell the ocean.

I ran.

Bare feet hit uneven stone. Sharp edges sliced into the soft skin of my soles. I barely noticed. Pain had become so constant, it was a companion now. The path was narrow, a crude trail through knee–high grass and sharp brambles. Branches tore at my arms. I kept running.

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