Married to the Billionaire Who Betrayed Me novel Chapter 93

Chapter 93 Ten Million to Disappear Forever

I stood at the foot of the table. The opposite end. The farthest point from the matriarch.

“Sit, Harriet commanded. She gestured to the empty chair.

I pulled the chair back and took my seat.

‘I read the file your intelligence firm put together, Frederick,” the older woman said. She kept her eyes on her bowl. “It makes for

grim reading.”

“It is a tragedy, Beatrice, Frederick replied. He dabbed his mouth with a linen napkin. “A complete lack of foundation.”

Beatrice Langford set her spoon down. She turned her head and looked at me. Her eyes swept over my crimson suit. She looked at

the fabric like it was a disease.

“Your parents worked on the docks, correct?” Beatrice asked.

“My father was a foreman,” I answered. I kept my voice flat.

“A foreman, Beatrice repeated. She tested the word on her tongue. She made it sound like an insult. “Manual labor. Long hours. Dirt under the fingernails. And your mother?”

“She worked in a local bakery.”

Beatrice sighed. She looked at Harriet with a look of fake pity. “Blue-collar stock. It explains the lack of refinement. It explains the loud clothing. She looked back at me. “You grew up in a rented apartment. You attended public schools. You lived paycheck to paycheck. It must feel overwhelming for you to sit in a room like this.”

‘I feel fine,” I said.

“You should feel honored, the thick-set man chimed in. He leaned forward. ‘My name is Oliver Pembroke. My grandfather built the steel mills that built this country. Harriet’s father financed the railroads. We have history. We have pedigree. We bleed legacy. You are a girl from the slums eating our food.”

I looked at Oliver.

“Do not let the surroundings intimidate you, Minerva,” Frederick said. A cruel smile twisted his mouth. “We understand your

limitations.”

“She hides her limitations behind a cheap corporate title, Oliver added. He picked up his wine glass. He took a long drink. “I saw your little stunt with the Ashcroft company. You spent your cash reserve on a dying retail chain. You think buying a few storefronts makes you a player in this city.”

“I bought a choke point,” I stated.

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Chapter 93 Ten Million to Disappear Forever

“You bought a sinking ship. Oliver shot back. “Aegis is a trend. You mix colored dust in a warehouse. You sell cheap makeup to secretaries and waitresses. It is a gimmick. You lack the capital to sustain a long-term operation. You are playing a game, and you

are out of your depth.”

“New money is fragile, Harriet said. She kept her eyes on her plate. “It washes away with the first rain. It lacks roots. You cannot buy class, Miss Hayes. You cannot buy a bloodline. You can wear an expensive suit, but underneath the fabric, you are still a

dockworker’s daughter.”

I absorbed the hits. The words stung, but I refused to show pain. I looked down the length of the long table.

I looked at Tristan.

He sat in his chair like a statue. He stared at his half-empty water glass. His jaw was tight. His knuckles were white against the

table. He did not say a word.

He remained silent.

Celeste set her spoon down. She leaned closer to Tristan. She placed her hand over his forearm. She wanted to mark her territory. She wanted to join the slaughter.

*Tristan has a habit of picking up strays, Celeste said. Her voice rang clear in the large room.

She smiled at me.

“He felt sorry for you, Celeste continued. “He told me about the nights you cried about your student loans. He told me how desperate you were to escape your miserable little life in the industrial district. He kept you around for entertainment.”

Tristan pulled his arm away from her touch. He did not look at her.

Celeste ignored the rejection. She kept her eyes on me.

“You were a struggling consultant,” she said. “You were drowning in debt. Tristan gave you a taste of a better life. He let you sleep in a nice bed. He bought you nice meals. You used his pity to climb out of the gutter.”

She leaned back in her chair. She crossed her arms.

“You parade around the capital acting like a self-made woman, Celeste scoffed. “But we all know the truth. You are a gold digger. You opened your legs for a billionaire, and you used his scraps to fund your little makeup brand. You should thank him. Without his charity, you would still be serving coffee in a diner.”

My hands curled into tight fists under the table. My fingernails bit into my palms.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to flip the table.

But I held my tongue.

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Chapter 93 Ten Million to Disappear Forever

“You are quiet, Miss Hayes, Beatrice observed. She took a sip of her wine. ‘Did Celeste strike a nerve? The truth is often hard to

swallow.

“I am listening,” I replied.

“Good, Harriet said. She raised her head. She locked her cold, gray eyes on my face. ‘Because you need to understand your position.

You hold no power in this house. You hold no power in this city. You are a temporary nuisance.”

The waiters returned. They cleared the soup bowls. They set down plates of roasted meat and vegetables. The smell of rich food

filled the room. My stomach churned. I had no appetite.

“We investigated your life, Frederick said. He picked up his knife and fork. He cut into his meat. “We found the charity clinic. We

found the gaps in your timeline. We know about the boy.”

“The boy is innocent,” Oliver said. He spoke with his mouth full. “It is a shame he carries your blood. But he also carries Johnston

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