Trapped in a Secret Marriage with a Dangerous Billionaire - Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Beat Him To A Pulp

At Xander and Asher’s table, Asher’s gaze moved across the room, habitually observing his surroundings as he took in the elegant setup and glittering crowd. But a certain figure caught his eye—Victor, sipping his champagne, his focus unwavering as he stared across the tables.

Following his line of sight, Asher was surprised to realize that Victor’s gaze was locked on none other than Aurora.

With a quick nudge to Xander, Asher leaned over. “Looks like you’ve got some competition,” he murmured, his tone light but meaningful.

Xander’s brows knitted. “Competition? From who?”

Asher inclined his head subtly toward Victor. “That troublemaker, Victor. He hasn’t taken his eyes off your wife for a while.”

Xander’s gaze followed, darkening as it landed on Victor, who sat a few rows back with his champagne glass raised.

“I didn’t know the Swift family kept company with people like him,” Asher muttered under his breath.

“It’s not the entire family,” Xander corrected, still watching Victor. “It’s just Stella. She’s had her hand in his schemes for a while now.” Then, with a low tone, he filled Asher in on what Victor had done to Aurora during Olivia and Owen’s engagement, ending with Stella’s involvement in an “accident” that nearly took Victor out after his failure.

Asher shook his head, disbelief flickering in his eyes. “Is she really not worried that Aurora might recognize him and go after him?”

Xander shook his head. “I doubt she remembers him clearly from that night. She was drugged and disoriented.”

He pulled out his phone, typing quickly before sending it to Aurora “Do you remember the man from that night at your sister’s engagement? Could you identify him now?”

Aurora, distracted by the performance on stage, noticed her phone light up. Reading Xander’s message, she furrowed her brows before replying, “No. Is he here?” She began scanning the room, and Xander shot her a reply. “Yes, but don’t look around. Stay put, and don’t come to our table until I give the all-clear.”

Aurora glanced down, her hand tightening slightly as she obeyed his instructions. But curiosity gnawed at her. “Can I at least see what he looks like?” she texted back.

With a resigned sigh, Xander turned to Asher. “I need you to get a photo of Victor and send it to my wife.”

Asher raised a brow, clearly less than enthusiastic. “You really want me to take a picture of that guy?”

“However you get it done, just make it happen,” Xander replied firmly, passing the task to his friend, simply because he didn’t want to do it himself.

Shaking his head with a grin, Asher found a recent photo of Victor online and sent it to Aurora with a single caption: “Victor PLAYBOY.”

When Aurora opened the image, her eyes widened in shock, instantly recognizing Victor from their unexpected elevator encounter at the hospital. Her mind raced, piecing things together as she realized she’d unwittingly come face-to-face with the man who had attacked her.

Her fists clenched as the full weight of the situation settled over her. She had been right there, side by side with her assaulter, unaware, and her stepmother had knowingly invited him here. “Damn… what a fool I was to think my warning scared her,” she muttered, anger flaring in her eyes.

Meanwhile, back at the table, Asher took another look at Victor, who was still fixed on Aurora, oblivious to the consequences brewing. Asher leaned back, his voice low. “Are you going to let him keep staring at your wife, or are you going to do something about it?”

A calculating look settled on Xander’s face as he considered his options. “I want you to take care of him,” he finally said. “Get him out of here. Beat him to a pulp. Find out what Stella’s plan for him is. Then, show him the evidence of her involvement in his accident. Make it clear he works for us now. I want to know every detail she shares with him—if he values his life.”

Asher arched a brow and reached for a macaroon on his plate. “Evidence, huh? You have proof of Stella’s involvement in his accident?” He stuffed the yellow cookie into his mouth without taking his gaze off his best friend.

Xander nodded, pulling out his phone. “I’ll have Liam send it to you.”

Xander had originally planned to go after Victor himself after learning about the incident with Aurora, but his team’s report had shown that someone else had beaten him to it. Following their investigation, Xander discovered the accident had been orchestrated by none other than Stella, desperate to cover her tracks after Victor failed his task.

Twenty minutes later, Victor’s phone buzzed, pulling his gaze off Aurora at last. His brow furrowed as he scanned the message along with the photos of the ruins.

“Your vacation home has been reduced to ashes, along with your ‘pride and joy’—the yellow convertible.”

The words struck him like a blow. That home, hidden in the dense woods of Wing City, had been his sanctuary—an ultra-modern escape adorned with lavish comforts with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the private forest view was nothing but ash. And with it, his beloved yellow sports car, the one that turned heads all over the city, had also been reduced to a pile of charred metal.

Fury boiled inside him, washing away any desire to remain at the party. Without missing a beat, he scribbled a note on a napkin, folded it, and flagged down a waiter. “Deliver this to Mrs. Stella Swift. No one else,” he ordered discreetly, slipping a generous tip into the waiter’s hand before swiftly vanishing from the venue.

Noticing Victor’s abrupt exit, Asher smirked and leaned back toward Xander. “My men are on it. Sit back and relax. We’ll get good news soon.”

Xander nodded, his gaze unwavering as he pulled out his phone to message Aurora. “Sweetheart, you can come to our table anytime. I have handled that fool.”

A few moments later, Stella was handed the note. She unfolded it, her expression tightening as she read Victor’s scrawled message: “An emergency called me away. I will complete the mission another time.”

Her fingers clenched around the note, crumpling it before slipping it into her purse, a cold glint in her eyes. “Idiot,” she muttered under her breath. What happened to a simple text message?

Before her frustration could settle, the hall doors opened to admit a new arrival. The guest’s powerful presence immediately captured the attention of everyone in the room, necks craning and whispers rippling through the crowd.

Stella’s demeanour shifted instantly, her eyes lighting up with a thrill as she rose quickly to greet him, her face arranged into a warm, eager smile.

Not far off, Xander and Asher observed the scene, their brows furrowing as they recognized the man Stella was so enthusiastically greeting.

“How does Stella Swift know the Major?” Asher muttered, curiosity and suspicion lacing his tone.