Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 440

Chapter 440

Madeline’s POV

“What are you doing here?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.

Vivian rose gracefully, brushing invisible dust from her immaculate clothes.

“Looking for a briefcase,” she replied with unsettling calm. “You haven’t seen it, have you?”

The thing was, I had. The moment I stepped into the room, my eyes had caught a flash of brown leather tucked between two bookshelves in the opposite corner. The briefcase was right there, partially hidden but clearly visible if you knew where to look. I should have grabbed it, run out, and won the game for Kensington. It was the logical, strategic thing to do.

But I didn’t.

Instead, I crossed my arms and pressed on.

“You know exactly what I mean. What are you doing here in Valentia?”

Vivian took a few steps closer, and what surprised me was her posture. She wasn’t aggressive or defensive like I expected. There was an almost peaceful calm to her movements, as if this conversation were completely normal.

“I separated from Dominic,” she said simply, like she was commenting on the weather.

I laughed out loud, unable to stop myself.

“I don’t believe you,” I said. “You two are perfect for each other. Two liars, criminals, completely without scruples. A match made in hell.”

Vivian shrugged with elegant indifference and went back to searching through the furniture, her hands checking every drawer and compartment with professional precision.

“I don’t really care what you believe or don’t believe,” she said, her voice still infuriatingly calm. “We split up. He has other plans that don’t include me.”

I laughed again, this time sharper, meaner.

“So that’s it,” I taunted. “He finally dumped you.”

Vivian paused and turned to look at me, mild amusement flickering across her face.

“He met Francesca Montgomery,” she said casually, like she was sharing an unimportant detail.

“The former owner of Montgomery?” I asked, genuinely startled.

“The very same,” she confirmed, already back to her methodical search.

I processed that for a moment, trying to connect the dots.

“And you expect me to believe you broke up when you’re the new CEO of Montgomery?” I pressed. “That’s a pretty convenient coincidence.”

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Bonus

“I stole Montgomery out from under them when I found out they were sleeping together,” Vivian said, a quiet satisfaction in her voice that made my skin crawl.

I felt a twisted mix of disgust and morbid curiosity coil in my chest.

“Is that your limit?” I asked, incredulous. “You were willing to be his mistress, but you won’t accept him having other mistresses?”

“No,” she said firmly, finally stopping her search and turning to face me fully. “I won’t. Not when I don’t know the plan.”

She walked over to an armchair and leaned casually against the back, as if we were having a perfectly normal, polite conversation.

“So I pretended to act as an intermediary for the paperwork between them,” she went on, a satisfied smile slowly forming. “But I put everything in my own name.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know something about people who are too confident, Madeline?” she asked, her smile widening. “They never waste time on things they don’t think deserve it. Like reading contracts.”

The smile she gave me was pure victory, and for a moment, a chill of recognition ran through me. This was the Vivian I knew. Calculated, manipulative, and ruthlessly intelligent.

“You’re still rotten,” I said, unable to hide my disgust.

“I just want a fresh start, and I needed to secure myself financially,” she shot back with cold pragmatism. “So no, Madeline. The world doesn’t revolve around your belly button, and I’m not here because of you. I’m here to win a competition.”

Something about the way she said that, the casual arrogance in her voice, lit a fire inside me. Maybe it was the pregnancy and the hormones. Maybe it was months of bottled tension. Or maybe I was just done being underestimated.

“Too bad that’s not going to happen,” I said. Then, in one quick, fluid motion, I headed for the corner of the room where I’d spotted the suitcase.

Vivian realized my intention a second too late. When she turned to stop me, I had already grabbed the leather handle and was sprinting for the door.

“Marcus! Mia!” I shouted as I tore down the hallway, the suitcase swinging wildly in my hand.

I heard footsteps behind me. Vivian, trying to catch up. But I had the advantage of surprise and momentum. I flew down the stairs, my heart pounding, fueled by both the run and the rush of victory.

Marcus and Mia appeared from opposite directions, their expressions shifting quickly from confusion to understanding when they saw the suitcase in my hand.

“You found it!” Marcus yelled, running toward me.

“We found it!” Mia screamed for the entire complex to hear. “Kensington found the suitcase!”

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BO

We reached the main hall together, where the other teams were still searching or returning empty-handed. The organizer grabbed the microphone at once.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first winning team!” his voice echoed through the room. “Team Kensington has found the treasure case!”

Applause filled the space, mixed with a few looks of disappointment from the other teams. I set the suitcase on the central table, still breathless from the run and the tension.

“Let’s see our prize,” I said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

I opened the case with a satisfying click. Inside, perfectly nestled in padded compartments, were three stunning bottles. One Kensington, one Ross, and one Montgomery.

I picked up the Kensington bottle first, admiring the elegant label. Then the Ross, which looked like it was from a special vintage. Finally, my fingers closed around the Montgomery bottle.

For a moment, the entire room went silent, everyone expecting me to simply put the bottles back or hand them over to the organizer as part of the victory ceremony.

Instead, I lifted the Montgomery bottle high so everyone could clearly see the label.

“This,” I said, my voice carrying a cold determination I hadn’t known I possessed, “doesn’t belong here anymore. It isn’t a treasure.”

And with all the strength I could muster, I hurled the bottle against the floor. The glass shattered with a loud, final crack, red wine spilling across the tiles like blood. The silence that followed was absolute. Not even a breath

could be heard.

My eyes locked with Vivian’s across the room. If she wanted war, then I had just declared it.

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