Claimed by My Ex's Half-Brother-Chapter 211 You worthless idiot!

Victoria’s POV

I, Victoria Lancaster, hadn’t expected the comfort and gentle words I’d imagined. Instead, Shuler Hensley’s father’s thunderous voice erupted through the phone speaker.

"You worthless idiot! Get back here right now!"

"Dad, didn’t you hear me? I was attacked! This woman had the nerve to hit me. Dad, you have to stand up for me!" Shuler whined, his bruised face contorting into a pathetic grimace.

His friends nodded eagerly beside him. With his father’s backing, they thought this situation would resolve in their favor. These two women would surely regret crossing them.

My wolf, Nora, growled with satisfaction inside me. *These fools have no idea who they’re dealing with.*

"You stupid fool!" his father bellowed through the speaker. "Do you have any idea who you’ve offended? Do you even know who she is? Apologize immediately! I don’t care how you do it, but you better make sure Miss Lancaster forgives you, or I’ll disown you!"

Shuler’s face went slack with shock. "Dad, what are you talking about? She’s just some woman—a pretty one, sure, but vicious! Dad, she nearly beat me to death! Help me!"

His father’s voice grew even more furious. "You imbecile! You dared to harass Victoria Lancaster? She’s the CEO of Lancaster Industries! Do you think you can afford to offend her? Lancaster’s people have already called me. If you disrespect Miss Lancaster again, I’ll personally make you regret it!"

The color drained from Shuler’s face as he stared at me with newfound horror. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

The club was too noisy for others to hear what his father had said, but everyone could see Shuler’s dramatic change in demeanor. He looked as though he’d seen a ghost.

"Shuler, what did your dad say? Is he coming to back you up?" one of his friends asked anxiously.

"Shuler, say something!" another urged.

Shuler’s gaze fixed on me, his lips trembling as he forced out the words: "I’m sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said those things or harassed you."

His friends stared at him in shock. Shuler Hensley apologizing to a woman? Had he lost his mind?

I narrowed my eyes, the scent of his fear tickling my nostrils. "This isn’t your first time doing something like this, is it? How many women have suffered at your hands? You think a simple apology makes everything okay?"

"What do you want?" Shuler asked, his earlier bravado completely evaporated.

"Turn yourself in," I said coldly. "Every woman you’ve harassed or forced yourself on—apologize to each one and face whatever legal consequences come your way."

Shuler’s face contorted with panic. The stench of his anxiety filled the air—he’d clearly forced himself on numerous women. If he faced legal consequences, his father might be implicated too, since he’d obviously covered up for his son multiple times.

"That’s impossible!" Shuler protested, his voice cracking.

"If that’s impossible, then we have nothing more to discuss." I wouldn’t give this woman-abusing scumbag any mercy. My wolf agreed, baring her teeth inside me.

Shuler’s eyes hardened. "I don’t believe you can do anything to me!"

Within minutes, Kane arrived with security personnel and escorted Shuler and his posse out of the club.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Shuler shouted, struggling against the firm grip of the security guards. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Other club-goers turned to watch the commotion, murmuring among themselves about what Shuler could have possibly done to deserve this.

"I heard it was a woman. She beat him black and blue," one whispered.

Another chimed in, "Which woman has the guts to stand up to Shuler Hensley? Doesn’t she know who his father is? Even the club owner fears him. But honestly, Shuler deserves this—he tries to get his hands on every beautiful woman he sees."

"Hope he doesn’t come back to harm anyone else. This is justice served!"

From the shadows, Howard Reiner had witnessed the entire scene. His lips curved into an appreciative smile. This woman wouldn’t let anyone walk all over her. Anyone who tried would have to think twice.

More importantly, Victoria moved with the confidence of an Alpha female, beautiful and powerful like she’d stepped straight out of a movie. Howard moved closer to the area near the restrooms and ordered two drinks, sipping slowly as he waited.

Grace was still chatting with me about Shuler. "These men who use their parents’ status to do horrible things are absolutely disgusting," she said, rolling her eyes dramatically.

After cursing Shuler eight ways to Sunday, Grace squeezed my arm. "Vic, I need to use the restroom. I’ll be back to continue our Shuler-bashing session in a minute."

As she headed toward the restrooms, she spotted a familiar face.

"Wait—aren’t you... Reiner? Howard Reiner? Is that you?" Grace called out, trying to remember the man we’d had lunch with earlier today.

Howard feigned surprise. "Grace Mitchell? You’re here too? What a coincidence."

Grace nodded. "Yeah, weird running into you again! Are you here alone?"

Howard gave a slight nod. "I am."

"Well, since you treated us to lunch earlier, let me return the favor with drinks," Grace offered. "Victoria’s just over there. Wait for me a sec."

When Grace returned from the restroom, she dragged Howard over to our table. "Vic, look who I found! Isn’t this fate? I ran into Howard here too—such a coincidence! So I brought him over. Let’s have drinks together!"

I hadn’t expected to see this man again, especially not twice in one day. Could this really be coincidence?

I greeted him politely while discreetly texting Kane: "I need you to check someone out for me."

"Of course. Who?" Kane replied immediately.

"His name is Howard Reiner. Mixed heritage. I don’t have a photo right now, but dig up everything you can."

While Kane started his investigation, I continued sipping my drink. My phone vibrated with a message from Damien:

"You’ve been with Grace for hours. Aren’t you coming home yet?"

Another message followed: "I’m practically turning into stone waiting for you."

I smiled at his impatience, imagining his frustrated expression. "It’s not that late. No rush."

"VERY URGENT!" Damien replied. I could almost feel his restlessness through the screen, like he was ready to come find me himself.

"I’ll be home before midnight," I promised.

I felt it was time to leave, but if I did, Grace would accuse me of abandoning her for a man. As I was pondering my options while checking my phone, Grace tugged at my arm.

"Vic, stop playing with your phone! Let’s go dance. Come on!" She pulled me toward the dance floor, my wolf rumbling with amusement at her enthusiasm.