Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 498

Chapter 498

Marcus’ POV

I woke with a jolt, my neck aching from the awkward position. For a moment, I was disoriented, unsure where I was or what time it was. Then everything came rushing back at once.

The hospital. Aurora. The kidnapping.

I reached out instinctively, searching for Madeline beside me. My fingers touched only cold sheets.

I opened my eyes fully and turned my head. The space next to me on the bed was empty, the pillow still indented where her head had been.

“Madeline?” I called, my voice still rough with sleep. No answer.

Maybe she was in the bathroom. Yeah. That had to be it. I sat up, every muscle protesting, and looked toward the bathroom door.

“Love? Are you in there?”

Silence.

I walked over, still half groggy, and opened the door. The bathroom was empty too. Dark.

A cold sensation began to spread through my chest.

“Madeline?” I called again, louder now, checking the small closet, even behind the shower curtain like

she might be hiding there.

Nothing.

I went back into the room, my eyes scanning every corner. She wasn’t anywhere.

Maybe she’d stepped into the hallway. Maybe she needed air. Maybe-

My gaze dropped to the floor beside the armchair.

My blazer.

It was on the floor. I was sure I’d left it hanging on the chair.

A terrible feeling hit me all at once.

I crouched down and grabbed the blazer, shoving my hand into the inside pocket where I always kept my

car keys.

Nothing.

“Fuck, Madeline,” I muttered, anger and fear mixing into something explosive in my chest.

She’d gone. She’d waited until I was asleep and then gone off to do something reckless on her own.

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Something that almost certainly had to do with that message she’d claimed was spam. The message I knew damn well wasn’t spam.

Why hadn’t she told me? Why hadn’t she trusted me?

But even as the thought crossed my mind, I knew the answer.

She was protecting our daughter. In her own way. In the only way she believed would work.

And that meant she was in danger.

I grabbed my phone and ran out of the room, dialing her number as I sprinted down the hallway. It went straight to voicemail. I tried again. Voicemail.

“Shit!” I shouted, making a nurse jump as she passed me.

I ran for the elevators, jabbing the button repeatedly like that might make it come faster. Every second that passed was another second Madeline put between us. Another second she was alone, vulnerable, walking straight into whatever trap Dominic had set.

The elevator finally arrived. I jumped inside and slammed the button for the ground floor, bouncing my foot impatiently as it descended.

Please still be here. Please don’t have left yet.

Madeline’s POV

I locked the door of the hospital lobby bathroom and braced my hands on the sink, staring at my

reflection in the mirror.

I looked like a corpse. Red, swollen eyes. Pale skin. Messy hair. But it didn’t matter. My appearance was

the last thing on my list of concerns.

I’d managed to grab a few clothes from the room’s closet before leaving-a pair of sweatpants and a shirt someone in the family must have brought. I slipped out of the hospital gown and pulled the clothes

on quickly.

I glanced at my phone on the edge of the sink. The message was still open on the screen.

There were still a few hours left. But I needed to get out of here before Marcus woke up. Before anyone

tried to stop me.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Trying to gather my courage.

I had already faced so much because of Dominic. The forced stay at the clinic. The threats. The stalking. My father’s murder. I had faced Vivian too-her lies, her manipulation.

But this… this was different.

This involved my daughter. My newborn daughter, not even a day old. The child I had carried for nine months, brought into the world with pain and blood and love. The blue-eyed baby girl who had looked at

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me for the first time and stolen my heart completely.

When it came to Aurora, everything escalated. The fear was sharper. The desperation deeper. And the

determination… the determination was absolute.

I would do anything. Absolutely anything to get her back.

I wanted to tell Marcus. God, I wanted to. I wanted his support, his strength, his presence beside me. Together, we had always been stronger.

But the message said to come alone. And what if Dominic was watching? What if he had someone keeping tabs on me? If I showed up with Marcus or anyone else and he-

No. I couldn’t risk it. Not with Aurora’s life at stake.

I had to be careful. I had to follow the rules. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how every fiber of my

being screamed to ask for help, I had to do this alone.

I slipped my phone into my pocket and left the bathroom, checking the hallway before stepping fully out. A few people were walking back and forth, but no one paid me any attention. Just another visitor leaving the hospital.

The parking lot was dimly lit, filled with shadows that seemed to shift with every gust of wind. I gripped Marcus’s car keys tightly, the cold metal pressing into my sweaty palm.

I spotted his car a few rows ahead. A black sedan-discreet, perfect for what I needed.

Every step toward it felt like it took forever. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. My stitches screamed with each movement, but I kept walking.

Almost there. Just a few more steps.

I reached the car and extended my hand, key aimed at the driver’s door lock.

And then someone grabbed my arm hard.

I froze completely, the air rushing out of my lungs in a startled gasp. The hand was large, the fingers strong, the grip firm but not violent.

I turned slowly, my heart lodged in my throat, ready to scream, to fight, to do whatever I had to.

My eyes widened when I saw who it was.

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