Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 697

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’t know what game you think you’re playing, Renee,” I said, looking at the note without touching it. But I’m not falling for it.”

She let out a sharp laugh.

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“Game?” she repeated, like the word insulted her. “Don’t talk to me about games, Nick. You kidnapped my daughter. You’re violating a court order.”

She stepped closer.

“Is that it?” she went on, her voice rising. “Trying to avoid paying child support? The lifestyle adjustment? Do you know you can go to jail for this? I can file it right now.”

Anger shot through me.

“Everything with you is about money, isn’t it?” I snapped before I could stop myself.

The silence that followed was short and heavy.

That’s when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Nick…” Gwen whispered, soft but firm. A brake.

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I hadn’t heard her walk up, but her eyes were sharp, taking everything in.

Renee looked at Gwen like her presence confirmed a theory.

“Oh.” Renee exhaled, dripping with disdain. “So she’s here. Of course.”

Gwen didn’t react to the tone. She didn’t bite.

She looked at the note in Renee’s hand, then at me.

Her fingers squeezed my shoulder once.

Then she spoke, direct. No extra emotion.

“When was the last time you saw Bella?”

Renee blinked, like the question didn’t matter.

“What does that have to do with anything?” she tried.

“It has everything to do with it,” Gwen said evenly. “The last time.”

I saw Renee hesitate. She wanted this to be about blame. Crime. Support. Jail. Gwen was dragging it

back to facts.

Renee swallowed.

“I dropped Bella off at school this morning,” she said quickly, already gearing up for another accusation.” But then the principal called asking why she never showed up.”

My entire body went on alert.

“She didn’t go?” I repeated.

Renee ignored me.

“I got home, went into her room, and found this.” She shook the note again. “I’m going back to Dad.’ So don’t pretend you don’t know. You picked her up from school.”

My mind started calculating.

If the school called saying Bella never showed up, then she never went inside.

If she never went inside, she wasn’t in class.

If she wasn’t in class…

I felt the ground shift under me.

“Wait,” I said, my voice lower than I meant it to be. “Are you actually telling me you don’t know where Bella is?”

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Renee lifted her chin.

“I know exactly where she is,” she said without blinking. “She’s with you.”

She pointed inside the house.

“You picked her up from school, didn’t you? What, are you trying to hide her? This is ridiculous.”

I looked at Gwen.

She didn’t answer with words. She just held my gaze, steady. This doesn’t add up.

I braced my hand against the doorframe, searching for something solid that wasn’t there.

Bella had written she was going back to Dad.

Bella had run.

But Bella hadn’t arrived.

The blood drained from my body in a cold, silent rush.

I saw it all in a flash. Her slipping away before school started. Too small for the world outside. Trying to be brave. Walking down a sidewalk with her heart racing.

I took one breath.

And my body moved before my mind did.

“Nick?” Gwen said my name, and it sounded like an anchor.

Renee stepped in front of me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she demanded. “You’re going to fix this. N

I didn’t stop.

I walked to the elevator and slammed the button.

“Nick!” Renee shouted behind me, her voice echoing down the hallway. “What are you doing?”

I heard the elevator starting to come up, every second stretching too long.

“I’m going to the police,” I said without turning around. “Now.”

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