Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 701

Gwen's POV

When I stepped out to the outer wing of the estate, the air felt colder than it had minutes before. The sun was sinking behind the vineyards, washing everything in a glow I would normally call beautiful. Tonight it felt like mockery. Nick stood in the courtyard a few yards ahead, speaking to two police officers. I recognized his posture from a distance. Body steady. Head slightly inclined. The stance of a man answering questions while trying not to shake. He barely gestured. He handed over details like he was building a map.

I paused in the doorway and watched for a second. I could cross the courtyard. Interrupt. Say what I was thinking. "I know where Bella might be." I could. But the sentence, in my head, came with an invisible warning. Might. It was just a theory. A guess built on a detail. Offering hope without certainty felt wrong. Worse than wrong. Cruel And there was something else. That conversation with the police could take time. They would repeat timelines, repeat names, repeat routes, repeat the obvious until someone felt like they were "doing something." I understood protocol.

I respected protocol. But I couldn't wait. So I closed the door behind me quietly, careful not to draw attention. I moved quickly to the spot where the bikes were always kept ready for rides and grabbed one. My hands found the handlebars with a familiarity I wasn't sure was real or just urgency. I adjusted the seat without thinking, swung on, and pushed off. My body protested slightly, but I ignored it and started pedaling. The vineyards opened in front of me in long, ordered lines, as if nature itself had decided to cooperate. Rows. Direction. Structure. "Two gelatos.

vendor's words looped in my head in rhythm with the turning wheels. And then Nick's voice from earlier joined in. "Gelato at the medieval tower." I pedaled faster. The path up to the tower climbed steadily.

the bike wherever it landed, not caring about elegance As I ran up the spiral stairs, I was already shouting "Bella!" My voice hit the stone walls and came back louder, like the tower itself wanted to frighten me. "Bella!" I climbed faster, chest tight. The top felt endless. When I finally reached it, the wind hit me first. The space was small. A circle of stone. No doors. No rooms. No. shadows. One glance was enough. Bella wasn't there. The world stopped for a second. When it started again, it came back like a

angry, scared, and frustrated. This had been my best guess. And I was wrong. My legs gave out like they'd only just

from breaking apart. Like I was still someone who got to choose where and when she lost control. I

One plan

if she wasn't at the tower, where would she be? The question circled again. And with it, a word Nick had used without realizing the weight of it. 'Run.' "Run away from our problems." Like it was a joke. Like it was temporary salvation. And

child. Achild who ran. Who bought two gelatos. Who wanted to give one to her father. Who didn't find him? What does a child do

that could erase what I was feeling. Iran down the stairs, knees shaking. I nearly tripped halfway, and the fear of falling reminded me, too late, that I wasn't alone inside my