Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 430

Chapter 430

Marcus’ POV

I arrived at the hospital with my heart still racing from my conversation with Mia and the box of fudge balls I’d bought earlier for breakfast. The chocolate was only part of my apology plan. The speech I’d rehearsed the entire way there was the most important part. I needed Madeline to understand that, despite my limits and my fear of opening up completely, I was committed to her and to our family.

The hospital lobby was busy, as always, but something in the atmosphere immediately caught my attention. A small group of staff members stood near the elevators, speaking in hushed voices with worried expressions. A maintenance technician was kneeling in front of one of the elevator doors, working on an open panel.

I headed toward reception to ask about the appointment when a voice came over the intercom near the elevators. Someone was speaking in Valentian, gentle and calm, clearly trying to soothe whoever was on the

other end.

“Non ti preoccupare, va tutto bene. Respira con me, sì? Uno, due, tre…” the voice said patiently.

On the other side of the intercom, I heard broken, uneven breathing, almost gasping. It was clearly someone in panic, but I couldn’t make out the words coming back.

“I don’t understand… I can’t…” a female voice murmured weakly, and my blood ran cold.

“Madeline?” I whispered her name, still trying to process what I was hearing.

The man speaking into the elevator intercom heard me and turned in my direction.

“Do you know the patient who’s stuck in the elevator?” he asked, caught between relief and concern. “She’s having a severe anxiety attack and doesn’t understand Valentian very well.”

I tightened my grip on the box of brigadeiros and stepped closer to the intercom, gently moving the maintenance technician aside.

line?” I called, forcing my voice to stay as calm as possible. “It’s me. Marcus. Can you hear me?”

as…” Her voice came through, filled with both relief and desperation. “I… the elevator stopped and it’s In here… I can’t…”

Her breathing was far too fast. I could hear she was on the edge of a full-blown panic attack.

“It’s okay,” I said firmly. “You’re not alone, alright? I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I can’t breathe properly,” she murmured, and I heard a sound that might have been her leaning against the elevator wall. “It’s too tight in here… I don’t like it… I don’t like small spaces…”

I turned to the technician working on the panel and switched back to Valentian.

“How long will it take to fix this?”

“A few minutes,” he replied without looking up. “Electrical system issue, but I’ve already found the problem.”

“A few minutes?” I repeated, glancing back at the intercom, where Madeline’s uneven breathing still came through. “How many minutes?”

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“It’s hard to say exactly, sir.”

“Madeline,” I said into the intercom again, “can you sit down on the elevator floor? Sometimes it helps to feel more grounded.”

“I’m already on the floor,” she answered, her voice shaking. “Marcus, I have… I don’t like closed spaces… especially in the dark…”

Something in the way she said it made me realize this wasn’t just ordinary claustrophobia. There was a story behind that fear. A specific experience I didn’t know about.

“Can’t you open the elevator from the top?” I asked the technician. “Like, get her out from above?”

The technician stopped what he was doing and looked at me like I’d just suggested something insane.

“Technically, it’s possible to open the top,” he explained, “but it would be extremely risky to try to get her out that way. Especially a pregnant woman. The elevator is stuck between the second and third floors. It would be very dangerous.”

“Marcus?” Madeline’s voice came through the intercom, small and fragile. “Are you still there?”

“I’m here,” I answered immediately. “I’m not going anywhere. Keep talking to me, okay? Tell me what you can see inside.”

“It’s really dark… but there’s a little red light blinking on the panel,” she said, and I could hear her forcing herself to focus on my voice. “And… and it smells like a hospital, you know?”

“I know,” I said, keeping my tone casual. “That disinfectant smell that sticks to everything.”

“Yeah,” she breathed. “Talking to you helps. Your voice calms me down. It calms the baby too.”

The technician kept working, but I could tell by his expression that it was taking longer than he’d expected. I stepped closer to him again.

“Are you sure there’s no way to get her out from the top?”

e I said, it’s technically possible,” he sighed. “But I really wouldn’t recommend it. The safest option is to

talking to her through the intercom until we can reset the system.”

Madeline, how are you feeling right now?” I asked, turning back to the intercom.

“Better, but…” she hesitated. “Marcus, I need to tell you something. About why I’m so afraid of closed spaces.”

I knew we were stepping into something sensitive, but I also knew she needed to talk to stay calm.

“You can tell me,” I said softly. “I’m listening.”

“When I was little…” her voice dropped even lower. “My dad had anger issues. Sometimes I’d hide in my bedroom closet until it passed. I’d stay there in the dark for hours, listening to him and my mom fighting outside, praying I wouldn’t get hit.”

A deep, burning anger rose in my chest, but I kept my voice steady.

“That will never happen to you again,” I said firmly. “Never.”

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“I know,” she murmured. “It’s just… sometimes the panic comes back. Especially in small, dark places.”

Suddenly, I heard a metallic noise from inside the elevator, followed by the sound of something dropping.

“Marcus?” Her voice jumped an octave, panic flooding back in full force. “What was that noise? Something fell in here…”

“Madeline, stay calm. It was probably just-

“No!” she cut me off, and I could hear her hyperventilating again. “It’s getting tighter… I swear it’s getting tighter. Marcus, I can’t… I need to get out of here NOW!”

I looked back at the technician, who was growing increasingly frustrated with the panel.

“We can’t get her out,” I murmured, thinking fast. “But… can we put someone in?”

The technician stopped and stared at me, confused.

“What do you mean?”

“If we can’t take her out from the top, can you put someone inside with her?”

He frowned, clearly trying to follow my logic.

“Well, technically that could be done, but why—”

I didn’t let him finish.

“Then put me in there with her.”

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