Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 402

Chapter 402

Marcus’ POV

After the conversation in the office, I knew I needed to talk to Madeline. She deserved to know the truth about

Our

tuation, no matter how hard it was. The weight of that conversation followed me as I walked through the mansion’s corridors, every step reminding me of how drastically our plans had changed in just a matter of hours.

Just that morning, we had been getting ready to leave for Valentia, to start a new life together far away from all this chaos. Now I was about to tell my wife that she would likely be forced to leave with people who were using her as a pawn in a dirty game I could barely fully understand.

I found her in the bedroom that had been hers before the wedding, sitting in the armchair by the window with Olivia beside her. They were speaking in low voices, but there was a tension in the air that was noticeable even from the hallway. Madeline had that rigid posture I was starting to recognize as her way of mentally bracing herself for bad news.

I could tell she had been crying. Her eyes were slightly red, even though she was clearly trying to keep herself together.

When I walked in, Olivia immediately stood up.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” she said simply, squeezing Madeline’s shoulder in a quiet gesture of support before leaving.

Madeline didn’t even wait for Olivia to fully step out of the room before speaking, as if the words were burning in her throat and needed to come out right away.

“I’m going to have to go with them, aren’t I?” she asked. Her voice was calmer than I expected, but there was a resignation in it that broke my heart.

“How do you know?” I asked, even though I already suspected the answer and admired her ability to read

between the lines.

A small, sad smile curved her lips, an expression that blended affection and melancholy.

“You’re very transparent sometimes,” she said. “Especially when you’re trying to protect me. You get this look like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

I walked over and took her hand, noticing how cold her fingers were despite the warm day. I sat down beside her.

“It’s only temporary,” I said, trying to put more confidence into my voice than I actually felt. “Christian and I are already turning Dominic’s life upside down. We’re mobilizing private investigators, calling in contacts. We’re going to find something that proves all this documentation is fake.”

Madeline stayed quiet for a few seconds, staring at our intertwined hands as if she were trying to memorize the

moment.

“He won’t give up easily,” she murmured at last. “He has too much to lose.”

There was something in the way she said it, a certainty that went beyond what she had told me before, that made me realize there were layers to this situation I still didn’t fully know.

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every secret she was still holding in her eyes.

She hesitated, clearly struggling with an internal conflict over how could trust me with information that could be dangerous.

“uch she should reveal, over how much she

“Illegal casinos,” she finally said, the words coming out almost as a whisper, as if she were afraid someone might be listening.

“What do you mean?” I asked, leaning closer.

“He wants the parks to set up his casinos,” she continued, as if an emotional dam had broken. “The front he used before is falling apart. He needs something new. Something respectable. Something no one would suspect. Something like our parks. And on top of that, the parks would help with money laundering.”

A surge of anger and relief rushed through my veins. Anger at what Dominic was trying to do to her, at the way he was using our family as pieces in his criminal schemes. But also relief, because now we finally had something solid. Something real we could investigate and use against him.

“Good,” I said, feeling a smile form on my face for the first time since those cars had arrived. “Now we have something real to dig into. Illegal casinos. Money laundering. That’s exactly the kind of thing our investigators know how to prove.”

“My parents know,” Madeline added, her voice heavy with a hurt that went far beyond disappointment. “And they agree with all of it. They profit from it too. More modern attractions. More aggressive marketing campaigns. The Sullivan name back at the top of the entertainment industry.”

The betrayal by her own parents was tearing her apart, piece by piece. It wasn’t just about losing the parks or being used as leverage. It was about discovering that the people she trusted most in the world were willing to sacrifice her for money and status.

“I’ll make every single one of them pay for what they’re doing to you,” I promised. Every word carried the weight of a vow I fully intended to keep, no matter how long it took or what resources it required.

She looked at me with an expression that blended gratitude and a deep sadness that seemed permanently etched into her eyes.

“So this is it,” she said, the resignation in her voice breaking something inside me. “I guess I’m not going to Valentia anymore. I won’t see your parents’ estate. I won’t see Florentiaa. I won’t get to start our new life.”

“It’ll be a week at most,” I assured her, even though I wasn’t absolutely sure it was true. “One week, and you’ll be back here. Or better yet, you’ll be in Florentia with me, far away from all this mess.”

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Madeline stayed quiet for a long moment, processing everything we’d talked about, weighing her limited options. When she spoke again, her voice was steadier, filled with a determination that made me proud.

“Promise me you won’t stop fighting for me,” she asked, looking at me with an intensity that made it clear how badly she needed to hear those words, how much she depended on that promise to hold herself together.

“Only if you promise you won’t stop fighting too,” I replied, squeezing her hand in mine.

A real smile lit up her face, like sunlight breaking through dark clouds.

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“I promise.”

“I won’t stop fighting. No,” I said, pulling her closer, “and not for our child.”

D

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