Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 511 Madeline's POV "Yes," Vivian said, and her voice was strangely calm. Resigned. "You're right. I am a fucking bitch. I did a lot of things I'm not proud of." She shrugged, like she was commenting on the weather. "But I'm not a murderer, Madeline." Something inside me snapped. "Yes you are!" I screamed, lunging toward her. "You killed my Marcus! I saw you shoot him!" The tears came back hard, spilling down my face as my voice completely broke. "You shot him and he fell and there was so much blood and he... he..." I couldn't finish. I collapsed, sobs wracking my body.

Vivian watched me for a moment. Then she said calmly, "Shoulder shot. Precise." I lifted my head sharply, staring at her through blurred vision. "What?" "Upper trapezius muscle," she continued, almost clinically. "Painful enough to cause heavy bleeding and make him pass out. Enough for Dominic who was watching through the cameras to believe I'd done what was required. But far from any vital organ. Far from major arteries. Far from anything that could actually kill him." My mind struggled to process her words. "He's going to be fine," Vivian said.

And for the first time since I'd met her, I saw something like kindness in her eyes. "Especially if he got help quickly. Which I knew he would-once he activated that car tracker before going into the warehouse." The world stopped. "Marcus..." I whispered. My voice barely came out. "Marcus is alive?" But then reality-fear, disbelief-came rushing back. "No. No," I shook my head hard. "I saw it. I saw you shoot him. I saw him fall. There was blood everywhere. I-I don't believe you!" Vivian sighed, like she was dealing with a stubborn child.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and unlocked it, her fingers moving quickly over the screen. 1/4 "What are you doing?" I asked, my voice trembling. She didn't answer. Just kept tapping, opening something-an app, maybe. Skipping forward. Back. Her eyes locked on the screen. "Here," she finally said, turning the phone toward me. On the screen, I saw security footage. The warehouse. Then a car pulling up. People getting out. Uniforms. "The meddling cousin," Vivian said, almost fondly. "See?" The image showed Christian running into the warehouse. Paramedics right behind him.

knees right there in the garden, the phone still in front of me showing that impossible, miraculous image. Marcus was on a stretcher, alive. "Marcus," I whispered, my voice shattering

my moment. "And I had nothing to do with the poisonings either," she said, her voice returning to that practical tone. "I didn't know. Dominic tested the plan on me first. He poisoned me too." I stared at her, still trying to process everything. "When I recovered... it had already happened," she went on, bitterness threading her voice.

"is proving all of Dominic's schemes. But this should help." 2/4 I took the folder with shaking hands and opened it.

flipping pages, my eyes widening with each one. Years of evidence. Years of meticulous planning. "In short," Vivian said, "everything you need to clear the Kensington name and put the right people behind bars." She paused. "It's worthless in my hands, of course. You need someone influential to move an

walk away? Get out of everything you've done?" I stepped closer, facing her. "I understand your motivations, Vivian. I understand your pain. Your rage. But you're still buried in this up to your neck. You made choices. Choices that hurt people." Vivian looked away, suddenly seeming... small. Vulnerable. "We'll talk about me later," she said quickly, like she didn't