Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 387 Madeline's POV The car glided smoothly through the streets of Belmonte as the city transformed around us. The lights of the Shy scrapers formed an urban constellation, blinking in a rhythm of their own, as if the metropolis had a beating heart. Night traffic was calmer than during the day, but there was still enough movement to create the city's familiar symphony with distant horns, engines humming, and the constant background noise of a city that never truly sleeps.

Gwen sat relaxed beside me, scrolling idly through her phone, as if we were heading out to a casual dinner instead of running from a situation that could decide whether my son lived or died. Her calm was almost contagious, but adrenaline still rushed through my veins. Every muscle in my body was tight, braced for Dominic to appear at any second. I looked out the window again, watching the buildings slide past like illuminated ghosts. I was leaving everything behind. My life. My family. My apartment, my clothes, my books, my memories.

Everything that defined who I was would stay in this city, and I was heading toward a completely unknown future with people I had met only days ago. The feeling was both liberating and terrifying. "Gwen," I broke the silence, my voice coming out weaker than I meant it to. "I need to call my cousin." She looked up from her phone, curiosity and concern mixing on her face. "Olivia," I explained quickly. "I left my phone behind at the clinic. If she doesn't hear from me, she's going to panic. She'll try to find me and call my parents.

contact could give away our location. You ran just a few hours ago. Dominic and his family have probably already figured it out and are mobilizing everything they have to find you." My stomach twisted. Gwen's logic was flawless, but the guilt of leaving Olivia in

out about Dominic. The only one who encouraged me to run. I can't just disappear from her life without an explanation." "Olivia is an adult," Gwen replied, her voice steady with that pragmatic tone I was starting to recognize as her trademark. "She knows how to take care of herself. Right now, the priority is the baby." The words hit me like a

her behind." 1/3 "That feeling makes sense," Gwen said, her voice softening. "But you're not abandoning Olivia. You're protecting yourself. And when all of this is over, you'll be able to reconnect." The word 'when' echoed in my mind. Not if, but when. There was a confidence in

marriage to Dominic. Then the constant manipulation, decisions made by other people, the feeling of being a pawn in a game I didn't even fully understand. And now, even the chance to take care of Olivia, to protect the person who had always protected me, had been taken from me. But maybe that was part of growing up. Maybe becoming a mother meant learning to make hard choices. Choices that hurt, but were necessary to protect the ones who depended

say in any of this. I was his only shield, his only chance at survival. If that meant leaving some people behind, even temporarily, then maybe it was a sacrifice I had to make. The thought left me with a strange mix of strength and sadness. About forty minutes later, the car began to slow. I looked around and realized we were approaching Crownfield Airport. But