Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 157 Christian's POV I stared at Marcus for a few seconds, trying to process the urgency in his voice. Zoey was beside me, clearly confused and worried, and I could see the tension tightening her features. This was exactly the kind of stress she didn't need right now- especially after what had happened in Solara when Elise had confronted her. "Let's talk in the hallway," I said, standing up and gently touching Zoey's shoulder. "It won't take long." "Christian..." she began, her voice laced with concern, but I cut her off gently.

"I'll hear him out first, and then I'll tell you everything, I promise, I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead, feeling the warmth of her skin, still tense from hours of waiting. "Stay here and rest. If there's any news about Joseph, call me right away." Zoey nodded reluctantly, torn between wanting to know what Margus had found and the relief of not having to handle more stress right now. Marcus understood perfectly. He gave me a knowing nod, aware I was trying to protect her.

We stepped out of the waiting room and walked to a quieter part of the hallway, near a window overlooking the hospital's inner garden. It was far enough that no one would overhear us, but close enough to get back quickly if there was news about Joseph's surgery. "Go on," I said, folding my arms, bracing myself for whatever Margus was about to tell me. He looked around to make sure we were alone, then took a deep breath, as if organizing a flood of information he didn't want to deliver.

"The forensic analysis of Elise's devices revealed way more than we expected," he began, his voice low but steady. "The IT team managed to recover deleted emails, WhatsApp conversations she thought she'd erased, hidden temporary files, even unsent message drafts.' He paused, watching me closely to make sure I was following. "Christian, everything's documented-dates, timestamps, metadata. Elise and Francesca were working together for at least six months. They exchanged detailed, methodical correspondence.

of correspondence?" I asked sharply. "Emails outlining specific strategies

document in Google Drive called Project Separation, where they tracked every single move." The sheer calculation of it made my stomach twist. "Elise pretended to be Zoey in her communications with Edward, Marcus went on. "She was the one leaking confidential information-development timelines, production data, even early Vintara formulations-and making it look like it

steady on mine. "Francesca wanted you back. At any cost." He held my eyes for a long moment. "They genuinely believed that if they could destroy your trust in Zoey and tank the family business, you'd turn on her. Francesca was convinced that once you thought Zoey had betrayed

madness of it all. "And what about the accident?" I asked, my voice coming out tiglier than I meant. "That's where things get really interesting," Marcus said, his expression darkening even more. "Apparently, the accident was a message thread completely impulsive decision by Elise. Francesca was absolutely furious when she found out. There's an entire where she tears Elise apart, saying the goal was never to hurt you physically, that it had gone way too far." "She really didn't

anyone, didn't ask permission. And judging from the messages, it almost destroyed their partnership. Francesca literally wrote that she would 'never forgive her if anything had happened to you,' that 'this wasn't the plan,' and that 'she only wanted you back, not dead."" I shook my head slowly, trying to make sense of the bitter, twisted irony of it

was falling apart, that she was desperate after seeing how much stronger you and Zoey had become despite everything. She knew you were going back to Zoey's apartment that night and couldn't let it happen." I stayed silent for a long moment, letting the weight of those words sink in-trying to comprehend the sick level of obsession this all revealed. "It's a lot to take in," I admitted finally, feeling like I was piecing together a massive, disturbing puzzle. "But in the end, it's

as if he'd been waiting for that exact response. "That's the thing, Christian. There is something we didn't know. And it's a lot worse." Every instinct in me