Married to the Billionaire Who Betrayed Me novel Chapter 227

Chapter 227 We Lost All Our Money

Tristan input his biometric data. He typed the master passcodes for our offshore emergency accounts. Millions of dollars rested in those accounts. Blood

money. Survival money. The funds we stockpiled for a catastrophe.

The screen flashed a bright, warning red.

Access Denied. Assets Frozen. Federal Injunction RICO-774.

Tristan set his jaw. He tried a secondary account located in Cyprus.

Access Denied.

He tried a third account in the Cayman Islands.

Access Denied.

I stared at the red letters. The color bled into my vision. Sterling missed nothing. He mapped our entire financial network. He orchestrated a flawless,

devastating siege.

The RICO act allowed the government to freeze assets tied to a criminal enterprise. Sterling declared the Johnston Group a cartel. He severed our lifelines

with a single signature.

Tristan dropped the tablet onto the rocks. The glass shattered. The sharp sound cut through the roar of the ocean.

“They froze everything,” Tristan said. His chest heaved. The warlord faced an enemy he could not punch or shoot. ‘Every account. Every trust fund. Every property. The credit cards are dead. The routing numbers are void.

We stood on the jagged rocks. The cold wind pierced my jacket. I felt bare. I possessed no corporate title. I possessed no empire. I possessed no money. I possessed the clothes on my back and the man beside me.

Tristan closed the distance between us. He framed my face with his large hands, His thumbs stroked my cheekbones. The physical contact sent a jolt of heat through my frozen veins. I leaned into his touch. I closed my eyes. I drew strength from his pulse.

‘We lost the company,’ I whispered. The tears threatened to fall. I refused to shed them.

“We lost a building, Tristan corrected. His voice rumbled in his chest. “We lost a bank account. We did not lose the war.”

“Sterling owns the law.”

“The law is a piece of paper,’ Tristan swore. He pressed his forehead against mine. I own the dark. I survived the mud before I wore a suit. I know how to disappear. We will find Diego. We will secure Elias. We will bleed this prosecutor dry.”

I opened my eyes. I met his storm-gray gaze. The fear receded. The mother bear woke up. The Chairman died, but a new, lethal version of Minerva Hayes took her place. I would burn the federal government to ash to protect my son.

“Julian set the trap,” I said. “He wanted to watch me fall.”

“Julian is a dead man,” Tristan stated. ‘I will break into that prison and snap his neck.”

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Chapter 227 We Lost All Our Money

No countered. I stepped-back I needed clarity. “Sterling is the head of the snake. Julian is a severed tail. We focus on the prosecutor. We find his

weakness.

“A man in a cheap suit with federal power, Tristan mused. He scanned the horizon. “He takes bribes, Thomas Whitmore bought him. If Thomas bought him,

Sterling possesses a ledger of his own.”

“We find the ledger, I agreed. “We find the proof. We clear the name

Tristan reached into his pocket. He pulled out a thick wad of paper currency. Hundred dollar bills wrapped in a rubber band. He carried cash for

emergencies. It was a fraction of our wealth. It was our entire fortune in this moment.

“This buys a car,” Tristan said. “This buys burner phones. We move off the grid.”

The sound of helicopter blades chopped the air above the cliffs. The federal agents expanded their search radius. The beam of a searchlight swept across the

dark water. The light approached our cove.

“Move, Tristan ordered.

He grabbed my hand. We scrambled over the slick rocks. We moved away from the water. We entered the dense treeline bordering the property. The branches scratched my face. The mud ruined my shoes. I did not care. I focused on the heat of Tristan’s hand. I focused on survival.

We navigated the dense forest. The terrain punished my body. I ignored the pain. My mind raced. I dissected the press conference. I analyzed Sterling’s words. I searched for a flaw in his armor. The man possessed dangerous confidence. He believed the freezing of our assets crippled our reach. He believed a billionaire without a bank account lacked fangs. He made a grave miscalculation. He forced a mother into a corner. He threatened my son.

!

We reached a rusted chain-link fence. Tristan hoisted me over the metal barrier. I landed in the dirt on the opposite side. He vaulted over the fence. He

landed beside me in a crouch,

The roar of the helicopter passed overhead. The searchlight illuminated the trees. They hunted a phantom. We vanished into the thick underbrush. We walked for hours. Darkness consumed the forest. Tristan navigated using the stars and his internal compass. The man possessed an uncanny ability to read

the terrain. He was my shield.

We reached a deserted two-lane highway. The asphalt looked gray under the moonlight. A rusted sign indicated a small town miles down the road.

“We need a clean ride, Tristan decided. He observed the empty road.

A pair of headlights pierced the dark. An old, battered pickup truck approached. Tristan stepped into the center of the road. He raised his hands. The truck

screeched to a halt. A weathered man leaned out the window.

Tristan walked to the driver’s side door. He pulled the wad of cash from his pocket. He peeled off twenty hundred-dollar bills. He held the money in front of

the man’s face.

“I want to buy your truck, Tristan stated. ‘No questions. No paperwork.”

The driver stared at the cash. He swallowed hard. The greed outweighed the caution. “Take it, the man said. He grabbed the bills and stepped onto the

pavement. “She pulls to the left.”

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Married to the Billionaire Who Betrayed Me