Married to the Billionaire Who Betrayed Me novel Chapter 89

Chapter 89 The Matriarch Freezes My Assets

I lowered the receiver. I placed it back on the polished mahogany base. Harriet Montgomery hung up the phone. The matriarch of the Johnston family issued her command and severed the connection, expecting compliance. She expected me to wait on the curb

for her car. She expected me to surrender my evening and submit to her interrogation.

I picked the receiver back up. I pressed the button for the lobby security desk of the Ashcroft building.

“A black town car will arrive at the front entrance at six o’clock,” I instructed the guard. “It belongs to the Johnston estate. Turn

away. I am leaving through the rear exit.”

I ended the call. I gathered my portfolio. I left the silent boardroom, walked past the empty executive desks, and took the service

elevator to the ground floor.

Marcus and Leo guided me to my vehicle in the back alley. I did not travel to the Johnston estate. I returned to my secure

penthouse. I locked the deadbolts. I spent the evening sitting on the floor with Elias, reading him a worn cardboard book about farm

animals.

I refused the summons. I threw Harriet Montgomery’s authority back in her face.

The consequences arrived the next morning.

I sat behind my glass desk at the Aegis headquarters. The sun glared off the surrounding skyscrapers. My office door remained open.

Djego Morales walked in. My head of acquisitions carried his digital tablet. He looked frantic. The calm, collected demeanor he

displayed during the Ashcroft buyout was gone.

“We have a massive logistical failure, Diego reported. He stopped in front of my desk. “The Port Authority seized four of our

incoming shipping containers. They contain the primary chemical compounds for our new foundation line.”

I frowned. ‘Did Customs flag the manifests?”

“Customs approved them yesterday, Diego said. “A local port inspector issued an emergency hold this morning. He cited a random

environmental hazard check. They refuse to release the containers for a minimum of ten business days.”

My jaw tightened. A ten-day delay crippled the manufacturing schedule.

Before I could formulate a response, Chloe rushed into the office. She held a stack of physical mail.

“Miss Hayes, Chloe began, her voice tight. “The city zoning commission just delivered an immediate cease-and-desist order for our

primary Port Sterling warehouse. They claim our loading docks violate a municipal noise ordinance passed three hours ago.”

I leaned back in my leather chair. The picture snapped into sharp focus.

This was not a coincidence. This was not bad luck. Tristan fought his battles in the open. He used hostile takeovers and public

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Chapter 89 The Matriarch Freezes My Assets

relations firms. He treated business like a boxing match.

Harriet Montgomery treated business like a garrote.

She wanted to show me that my wealth meant nothing against her entrenched power.

“Pay the expedited inspection fees at the port, I ordered Diego. “Hire a local environmental firm to certify the containers by noon.

Chloe, contact our legal team. File an emergency injunction against the zoning commission.”

“The legal fees will drain our operational cash, Diego warned.

“Spend the cash,” I said. “Do not let the supply chain stop. Fix it.”

My staff scrambled out of the office to execute the orders.

I sat alone. The quiet returned, but it offered zero peace. The air in the room felt heavy, charged with an approaching storm. I

survived Celeste’s childish sabotage. I outmaneuvered Tristan’s corporate strategy. But Harriet Montgomery was an entirely different

species of predator.

An hour passed. The chaos outside my glass walls continued. My team fought the administrative fires.

The heavy glass door of my office swung open.

Marcus did not announce the visitor. He stepped backward into the room. His posture was rigid. He kept his hands near his sides.

his eyes tracking a threat he could not shoot.

An older woman walked through the doorway.

She wore a tailored charcoal suit. The fabric lacked a single wrinkle. Her silver hair sat in a flawless, severe cut. She possessed the sharp, patrician features of the Johnston bloodline. She shared Tristan’s steel-gray eyes, but hers lacked any trace of conflict or

warmth.

Harriet Montgomery bypassed my security. She walked into the center of my domain.

She stopped three feet from my desk. She surveyed the modern office. She noted the stark white walls, the minimalist furniture, and

the absence of decorative art. She evaluated my environment, searching for weaknesses.

“You refused my car, Harriet stated.

I remained seated. I did not stand to greet her.

“I set my own schedule, Mrs. Montgomery,” I replied. “I do not attend dinners disguised as interrogations.”

“You prefer to conduct your interrogations in corporate boardrooms, Harriet observed. A faint, humorless smile touched the corner

of her mouth. “You humiliated Richard Ashcroft. You terminated my grandson’s distribution contracts. You cost our subsidiaries

millions in revenue this morning.”

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