It is not something freelancers talk about often, but a client disappearing in the middle of a project is a real situation that does happen. The way platforms handle it depends on whether the money was already placed in escrow or if the client had not funded the milestone yet. Some platforms have support teams that step in and release funds that were already secured, while others leave the freelancer with very little to fall back on. Has this ever happened to you, and how did the platform respond?