Lahat ng Kabanata ng Divorced by my Billionaire Ex, Now He Wants Me Back! : Kabanata 181 - Kabanata 190

Chapter 181. Stella. The first thing I learned about captivity was that silence could be as dangerous as noise. Too much of it and your mind started filling in the worst possible scenarios. Too little and you were constantly jumping at shadows. Caleb understood that balance well. Every part of this place felt engineered to keep me suspended between dread and exhaustion. The room he kept me in had no windows except a narrow slit near the ceiling that let in a blade of light during the day, too high for me to reach even if I tried. The walls were concrete, cold enough to make the air feel like it had weight. My wrists had deep red marks from being bound tightly earlier, and even after he let me move freely inside the room, I could still feel the burn of the rope whenever I flexed my fingers.It had been hours since he last came. Or maybe it had been a day. Time didn’t behave normally in here. There was no night, only the flickering bulb above my head that hummed like it was considerin

Alex.The moment Rico gave me the tip, a chill ran down my spine. An abandoned slaughterhouse on the outskirts of the city—just the kind of place Caleb would choose. It wasn’t just a building; it was a statement. Dark, cold, oppressive. A place where fear could live and fester, where he could control every shadow and every sound. I could almost see him moving through the halls, a ghost with a twisted grin, orchestrating every step my family took.I ran my hands over the tactical gear laid out on the table, methodically checking weapons, comms, and night-vision scopes. The weight of every gun, every flashbang, every piece of Kevlar reminded me how far I had come, how much I had built, and how fragile it all was in a single moment. I thought about Stella. Her face flashed in my mind, eyes wide, trying to mask the fear she couldn’t fully hide. She wasn’t used to this world—never had been—but she adapted. She always adapted. And I had to make sure she didn’t have to adapt to losing our ki

185Alex.The smell of metal and old blood hit me the moment I stepped into the slaughterhouse, but I couldn’t afford to flinch. My focus had to be absolute. Every second counted, every misstep could cost them their lives. I motioned to the team behind me, eyes scanning the dimly lit interior, and we moved with the precision of a trained unit. Silence was our weapon. Two guards near the main corridor were our first obstacle, and we neutralized them swiftly, silently, the bodies collapsing without a sound. No room for error, no chance for Caleb’s men to raise an alarm.I pressed forward, senses straining, every shadow a potential threat. The walls were streaked with grime, the floors littered with old machinery and rusted hooks that swung slightly from the draft. My gut tightened. This place was designed to intimidate, to disorient anyone who didn’t know it. But I knew the layout from Marcus’s intel—just enough to avoid walking into traps blindly.Then I saw it. A small detail that imm

187Alex.The headlights of Caleb’s van reflected off the water as I hit the gas, tires gripping gravel, heart hammering. The pier stretched ahead, its wood slick and uneven. There was no room for error. I slammed the wheel to the left, forcing the van sideways, the engine roaring, metal groaning under the force. Caleb swore, a harsh bark that cut through the night, and I knew immediately I’d slowed him down.Behind me, Sophie ducked instinctively, pressed against the side of my SUV. “Alex—” she shouted, but I had no time to explain, no time to hesitate. Every second mattered.The van fishtailed, and the rear tires screeched as Caleb fought to regain control. My pulse roared in my ears. I could see the twins huddled in Stella’s arms, their little faces buried against her chest, eyes wide with terror. Stella’s gaze met mine, a flash of recognition, trust, and fear all at once. I signaled her subtly, a tilt of my head, telling her to hold on, to stay calm, even as the van lurched danger

189Alex.The week after Caleb’s arrest felt unreal, like a fragile bubble suspended over the chaos that had consumed our lives. Even as I packed a few things for the twins, Stella hovering near me with her usual careful watch, I had to remind myself that the danger had finally, at least temporarily, passed.“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Stella asked, her hands folded tightly over her stomach. She had that wary look I knew too well—the one that had kept her scanning hallways and questioning every knock at the door for months. “I mean… with my kids? To your parents’ house?”I turned toward her, my expression soft but firm. “They haven’t seen their grandparents in six years,” I said, letting my words carry the weight of reason. “It’s time. And I promise, nothing is going to happen that will hurt them. Not here, not with me.”She hesitated, eyes flicking to the twins who were curiously tugging at the straps of their little backpacks. Their excitement, unfiltered and innocent, made