Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 702

"Gwen?" Her voice was small, coming from deep inside the cellar, like she was afraid even the echo might scold her. "Are you sick? You screamed." I froze for a second. It was like my brain had forgotten how the world worked. Bella was standing there, half-hidden behind a row of barrels, her backpack still on her shoulders, her face smudged with the kind of dirt you get from trying to be brave all day. Her eyes were too big, too alert for a child. "Bella!" The word tore out of me, raw with relief. Iran to her. The stone floor was cold and damp, but I didn't feel any of it.

All I felt was the weight of panic cracking open when I reached her and wrapped my arms around that small body so tightly I scared myself. "Oh my God..." I whispered into her hair, like I needed to confirm she was real. "Oh my God, sweetheart..." She went stiff for half a second, then her arms locked around me with a strength that didn't match her size. I swallowed back a sob. "Everyone's been so worried about you," I managed, pulling back just enough to see her face. I wanted to check her hands, her knees, her skin. Everything. "Your dad...

he-" "Are you okay?" she cut in, serious, almost accusing. "You screamed." I blinked fast. I laughed, but it came out wet and broken. I brushed away a tear with my thumb like it was something simple. "I'm okay, sweetheart," I said. "It's just that... Thunder or Princess. Glitter got really worried." Bella frowned. "What?" I took her little hand and placed it against my belly. "Put your hand right here." She obeyed with complete seriousness, like she'd just been invited into a secret. We stood there for a few seconds. Nothing. And I thought maybe it had just been my imagination.

she asked, laughing. "That," I said, surprising myself with the certainty in my voice, "is your sister loving you. She's trying to get out of there to come find you." Bella laughed again, louder this time, and leaned closer,

like I could make up for the hours she'd been gone just by squeezing hard enough With my other hand, I pulled my phone from my pocket and typed fast, my fingers shaking. [She's with me. Barrel cellar.] I sent it to Nick. I took a breath. I had to be the adult now. I eased Bella back just enough to look into her eyes. "Why did you run away, sweetheart?" She pressed her lips together, and her gaze dropped for a second, like she was deciding how much she was allowed

accusing. "And why didn't you call your dad?" She shrugged, but it wasn't light. It was heavy. Learned. "Mom said Daddy is too busy to talk to me," she answered. "And that I can't call all the time." My chest tightened "Bella..." I started, because I had no idea where to put that sentence without breaking something. But she kept going, like she'd already braced herself for my reaction. "But I know Mom lies to me." I blinked. "Lies?" "Uh-huh." Bella nodded with certainty. "She said she was going

second she was just a child again. "Daddy sometimes had to go out, but he always stayed with me after." Her voice thinned. "I wanted to... go back to him." And then, like it mattered just as much, she added, "And to you." My eyes burned. I cupped her face in my hand. "Sweetheart..." I said softly. "You know you can't do that, right?" She looked at me seriously. "Can't do what?" "Go out by yourself." I chose my words carefully, like I was arranging glass. "It's dangerous. There are a lot of strangers

might want to... hurt you." She didn't look convinced She frowned. "But there are strangers at Mom's house too." I froze. "What?" It wasn't the question of someone digging for information. It was the question of someone who hadn't been prepared for that sentence to exist. Bella stepped closer to me, like the walls might be listening "Mom tells me to stay locked in my room until they leave," she said, like she was talking about rain. "A bunch of strange men." The air in the cellar turned colder. I opened my