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Chapter 9
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Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire Chapter 702
"Gwen?" Her voice was small, coming from deep inside the cellar, like she was afraid even the echo might scold her. "Are you sick? You screamed." I froze for a second. It was like my brain had forgotten how the world worked. Bella was standing there, half-hidden behind a row of barrels, her backpack still on her shoulders, her face smudged with the kind of dirt you get from trying to be brave all day. Her eyes were too big, too alert for a child. "Bella!" The word tore out of me, raw with relief. I ran to her. The stone floor was cold and damp, but I didn't feel any of it. All I felt was the weight of panic cracking open when I reached her and wrapped my arms around that small body so tightly I scared myself. "Oh my God…" I whispered into her hair, like I needed to confirm she was real. "Oh my God, sweetheart…" She went stiff for half a second, then her arms locked around me with a strength that didn't match her size. I swallowed back a sob. "Everyone's been so wo
Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire Chapter 701
Gwen's POV When I stepped out to the outer wing of the estate, the air felt colder than it had minutes before. The sun was sinking behind the vineyards, washing everything in a glow I would normally call beautiful. Tonight it felt like mockery. Nick stood in the courtyard a few yards ahead, speaking to two police officers. I recognized his posture from a distance. Body steady. Head slightly inclined. The stance of a man answering questions while trying not to shake. He barely gestured. He handed over details like he was building a map. I paused in the doorway and watched for a second. I could cross the courtyard. Interrupt. Say what I was thinking. "I know where Bella might be." I could. But the sentence, in my head, came with an invisible warning. Might. It was just a theory. A guess built on a detail. Offering hope without certainty felt wrong. Worse than wrong. Cruel. And there was something else. That conversation with the police could take time. They woul
Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire Chapter 700
Gwen's POV The drive to Montelira had never felt longer. I had already spoken to the school, to Cross, to the building staff, to everyone I could reach. Now it was a different phase. Leave the invisible office in my head and step into the real world. Paula was waiting at the entrance to town, standing beside her car like she'd run out without even finishing putting her coat on. The second I parked, she opened my door before I turned off the engine. "Gwen, my God…" she said, her voice raw with real urgency. I wanted to cry. I didn't. "Did you see anything?" I asked. She shook her head. "I went to the gelato shop, the square, the pizza place, the road by the estate… I asked half the town. Nothing." I inhaled through my nose, gripping the steering wheel a second longer than necessary. "I brought a still image," I said. I showed her my phone. The frozen frame from the school camera. The adult figure in profile, out of focus. Not some obvious villain. Just… a man. Ba
Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire Chapter 699
Gwen's POV When the elevator doors closed, I ran back inside the apartment, grabbed my purse, and pulled out my phone with the same reflex I use when a contract is on fire. I needed to solve, not feel. The school answered on the first ring. "Good afternoon, administration." "This is Gwen Kensington," I said, no preamble. "I need to speak to the principal. Now." A brief pause. The kind where the world decides if you're important enough. I knew I was. "One moment." I heard the click. The waiting. Forced myself to breathe. In the background, children's voices. Footsteps. A distant bell. Normal life. "Ms. Kensington?" the principal came on the line, voice controlled. "I need today's security footage," I said immediately. "From the gate and the entrance area. I need the exact time Isabella Valemont usually arrives and the exact time you realized she hadn't entered." "Ma'am, that—" she started, slipping into bureaucracy. I cut in without raising my voice. "This
Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire Chapter 698
Renee's POV The elevator doors were almost closed when I slipped inside with Nick. He looked like a man who had already made a decision. Jaw locked. Eyes fixed on nothing. Breathing short, like he was trying not to explode in the wrong place. He didn't even look at me. The note was still burning in my hand, crumpled from how tightly I'd been gripping it. 'I'm going back to Dad.' That piece of paper wasn't proof of anything. And yet it was the only solid thing in a situation that was slipping out of my control. The elevator descended, and the silence inside that metal box felt like a verdict. I broke first. "When you go file that… report," I said, choosing the word like I was offering something reasonable, "don't put my name on it." Nick let out a short, humorless laugh. "Excuse me?" "You heard me." I kept my tone low, practical. "Say she was with you. Say you… whatever." He finally turned his head. The look in his eyes was the kind men like Nick use when the
Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire Chapter 697
Nick's POV "As far as I know, she was supposed to be with you." I didn't raise my voice. Not because I was calm. Yelling at Renee is like throwing gasoline on a fire. Better not, when I can help it. "Don't play games with me," Renee shot back, her face flushed with anger. "I know you took her." I blinked, confused. "What are you talking about?" Renee yanked open her purse. For a second, I thought she was about to pull out her phone and start recording me, setting up some performance I didn't understand yet. Instead, she pulled out a folded piece of paper. She waved it in my face like it was a warrant. "'I'm going back to Dad.'" She read it aloud, exaggerating every word, spitting out each syllable. "This. This was in her room. Do you think I'm an idiot?" The handwriting was childish. I recognized the way Bella made her "p" with the leg too long. I even recognized the extra little dot she liked to add when she decorated her sentences. I took a slow breath. "I don
Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire Chapter 196
Turns out, I didn't die. "Hello? Is someone in there?" a woman's voice called from the other side of the door. It was definitely a flight attendant. "Oh, crap!" I hissed, right before Nathaniel's hand covered my mouth as he tried, and failed, not to laugh. "Please return to your seats and fast
Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire Chapter 192
The afternoon sun streamed softly through the living room window as I adjusted the bouquet Isabelle had brought earlier that morning—a sweet attempt to make the house feel even cozier for Matt. Annie was sprawled across the couch beside me, flipping idly through a Euradian fashion magazine she'd bou
Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire Chapter 206
I arrived at Le Bernardin at seven twenty-five. Five minutes early. Punctuality mattered in business settings. This wasn't a date but a meeting. It was a strictly professional meeting to discuss corporate strategy with Franconian investors. I chose a navy dress that covered everything it needed to
Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire Chapter 199
I woke up two hours before my alarm went off. Two whole hours staring at the ceiling of my South Kensington apartment, mentally rehearsing every possible scenario for today's meeting. Most of them ended with me being transferred to the records department in the basement. By five a.m., I gave up
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