Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 608 Nicholas' POV | dropped Bella off at school that Monday morning like | always did. She practically jumped out of the car, already buzzing with excitement to tell her friends that Gwen was officially Daddy's girlfriend now "Remember, | told her before she ran off, "this is family business. You don't need to tell everyone, okay?" "Okay," she agreed. But the huge grin on her face told me her entire class would know before recess. | drove back to the estate with the window down, letting the cool momning air hit my face. The property was busier than ever. More guests.

More reservations. Things were finally starting to work the way I'd dreamed for years. Gwen had made that happen. She and her expertise. Her ideas. Her relentless determination. | smiled, thinking about her. About the weekend. The tower. About how everything between us had shifted so quickly. But the smile disappeared the second I turned into the driveway ---- and saw Martina standing near the main house, talking to the mailman My stomach tightened instantly. | parked faster than | should have, barely waiting for the engine to die before stepping out.

By the time | reached her, the mailman was already walking away, giving a polite wave as he headed back to his scooter. If something had required a signature, it wasn't good news. My first thought was Renee. Some new legal move about Bella. More demands. More threats. "What is it?" | asked as | approached Martina, my voice sharper than | meant it to be. She looked at me with a worried expression, holding a large envelope in her hands. "This came for you," she said, handing it over. "Registered mail. Needed a signature." | took the envelope, my fingers trembling slightly.

recognized the bank's logo in the corner immediately. Damn it. ---- | tore it open right there, scanning the first few lines. Notice of credit assignment. The debt had been sold. "What?" | muttered, reading it again to make sure | understood correctly. "What's happening?" Martina asked, trying to look over my shoulder. Before | could come up with an excuse, some lie to keep her from worrying, she had already taken the letter from my hand and was reading it herself. "What do you mean?" she

recovery companies." But the truth was, | didn't fully understand what was happening either. Didn't | have a deadline? Weren't there at least a few more weeks, like the bank manager had said? Time to put together a better proposal? To try and negotiate? ---- What did this mean now? That someone could show up here at any moment and enforce the

actually mean, Nick?" Martina pressed, her voice climbing with worry. "Can these people come here and take the estate from us? Could we lose everything we built?" | saw the fear in her eyes. The same fear I'd seen too many times over the past few years. Ever since my father died and left this mess behind. | couldn't let her carry that again. "No, no, of course not," | lied, forcing confidence into my voice. " We're handling it, remember? We've saved some money. And our bookings for next month look really strong with

it'll be fine." "Are you sure?" she asked, wanting to believe me but clearly unsure. "Of course," | said, forcing a smile as | wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her back inside. "It's going to be okay, Mom. Trust me." She nodded, looking slightly calmer, and went back to whatever ---- she had been doing | stayed outside for a long moment, staring down at the letter in my

her aside into a more private comer of the office. "need to show you something," | said, handing her the letter. She read in silence, her expression growing more serious with every line of formal legal language. "Shit," she said simply when she finished. "Yeah," | agreed. "What exactly does this mean?" she asked, handing the paper back to me. Iran a hand