Outcast Queen: Her Return from Hell novel Chapter 20

Vinnie laughed out of pure rage. "Another one! Perfect! I'll take you both—"

Before he could finish his sentence—

Crack!

A ruthless kick landed dead center on his manhood!

An inhuman, abrupt shriek tore through the air. Vinnie clutched himself, folding over like a shrimp, his face turning from red to purple, then a sickly white.

In an instant, it was as if the deafening music had been cut off. The center of the chaotic dance floor froze as countless eyes locked onto the scene. Every man in the vicinity subconsciously crossed his legs in the dead silence.

"You're dead..." Vinnie's forehead pulsed with veins, the words grinding through his teeth. "Grab..."

He couldn't even finish the order.

Phoenix had already thrown one arm around the dazed Macy. Her icy gaze swept over the aggressive thugs closing in. "Take one step, and I'll make sure he never functions as a man again."

On the second floor, a VIP booth offered a perfect view of the boiling venue below.

Caspian Thorne, a man with a face so pretty it made women jealous, flashed an amused smirk. "Oh wow. The floor is popping off. That spicy little thing in black is fierce! But... tsk, messing with Crazy Tiger? This is going to get ugly."

Hearing no response, he turned in surprise to look at the man radiating a freezing aura beside him.

Pierce Sterling had lowered his whiskey glass at some point.

His sharp, hawkish eyes—which usually looked at everything with utter boredom and impatience—were now dead-locked on the center of the conflict below. Specifically, on the woman in black who had just crippled Crazy Tiger!

Under the dim lights, the woman's profile was sharp and tense, the ruthlessness in her eyes undeniable...

It was her.

Phoenix.

"Hello? Pierce?" Caspian waved a hand in front of Pierce's face, his tone dripping with unprecedented shock and teasing. "What? Is the man who hates all women suddenly interested in someone?"

Pierce ignored him. His deep gaze remained pinned on the dark figure as she fearlessly supported her friend and backed away from the encirclement.

Down below, the eye of the storm seemed to sense something.

Phoenix's movements paused imperceptibly, and her icy gaze suddenly shot upward!

Through the strobing lights, the sea of heads, and the blaring music...

Two gazes locked. One looking up, sharp and clear as an unsheathed dagger. The other looking down, scrutinizing and probing like an eagle circling the sky.

In the chaotic light of the nightclub—

They clashed perfectly.

Him?

Phoenix furrowed her brow slightly. She hadn't expected to run into Pierce Sterling here.

"Are you idiots just going to stand there?! Destroy them!" taking advantage of Phoenix's momentary distraction, Vinnie roared hoarsely, sounding like a dying beast.

Three of his thugs charged forward with low growls!

The dance floor erupted once again into terrified screams and chaotic shoving!

Everyone was frozen like stone statues.

Clutching his agonizing groin, Vinnie's rage was entirely replaced by pure terror. This woman fought like a blood-soaked demon returning from war!

Every strike was designed to completely annihilate her opponent's combat ability. Fast, accurate, and merciless. She left absolutely no room for error.

The air seemed to thicken with a bloody tension.

Phoenix stood amidst the wreckage, breathing slightly. The black fabric clung to her ramrod-straight spine. Her gaze swept over Vinnie and his remaining, trembling men like a howling wind from the northern tundra.

There was no fear or arrogance in her eyes—only a bone-deep, apathetic indifference to slaughter.

And it was that very indifference that struck the deep eyes watching from the second-floor booth like a silent crack of thunder.

The hand Pierce used to hold his glass paused imperceptibly. The amber liquid swayed gently in the light, reflecting the sudden storm surging in the depths of his eyes.

He had seen ruthless women before—driven by money, power, or hysterical madness.

But he had never seen anything like this. She was as calm as a polar glacier, yet capable of erupting with the destructive force of molten lava in an instant.

That look... cold, crystal clear, treating the total collapse of enemies by her own hands as absolutely nothing...

He couldn't help but wonder. What exactly had happened during those four years in prison to turn a cowardly sheep into such a ferocious wolf?

An unfamiliar, intense impact gripped him.

It was as if, after dwelling in the dark abyss for so long, he had finally seen a blinding light—utterly freezing, yet utterly brilliant—tear through the darkness.