Outcast Queen: Her Return from Hell novel Chapter 25

"Ninth?!"

The moment Leo clearly saw the tall, solitary figure standing at the top of the stairs like a sovereign of the night, the hostility on his face froze completely.

Then, it melted away as fast as snow in boiling water. In a single second, he slapped on an almost groveling, sycophantic smile, his back instinctively bowing slightly. "N-Ninth?! I wouldn't dare! Your presence in this rundown place brings us great honor! Why... why didn't you let us know you were coming?"

Pierce Sterling's gaze felt tangible. It cut across the frozen, chaotic room and landed squarely on Phoenix and the unconscious Macy in her arms.

A complex, indecipherable ripple flashed through those bottomless, icy depths. Immediately after, his cold voice rang out. "I came to pick up my fiancée."

His tone was flat, stating an undeniable fact.

A flash of realization crossed Phoenix's eyes. Her slender fingers quietly released the phone screen, canceling the call she hadn't completely dialed.

Hoh... So, the great Mr. Sterling wanted to play a game too?

"F-Fiancée?!"

Leo's heart contracted violently as if seized by an icy hand. A numb shock exploded across his scalp.

He stared in absolute terror at Phoenix and the woman she was supporting.

This... this woman who had just floored several of his men and was now standing there perfectly calm? Was Ninth's... fiancée?!

Cold sweat broke like a flooded dam, instantly soaking the inner lining of his expensive silk shirt, clinging clammy and freezing to his back.

It was true! He, Leo Vance, was the undisputed underworld boss of this district.

But the man standing before him—Pierce Sterling—was the true sovereign of Cloudhaven's entire underworld!

He was an existence so high up that Leo couldn't even glimpse him while standing on his tiptoes!

"You arrived with such perfect timing, Mr. Sterling." The playful smile on Phoenix's lips deepened. Supporting Macy, she took two steady steps forward, meeting Pierce's gaze from afar without flinching. "Your 'aversion to women' allows you to come pick someone up personally? It seems the rumors out there are terribly misleading."

"Phoenix! Have you lost your mind?!" Julian's soul practically left his body, utterly terrified.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Julian?"

"You?!" Julian was consumed by a mix of shock, rage, fear, and utter confusion. It felt as though countless ice picks were stabbing into his chest.

An unprecedented chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his brain. He was swallowed by an overwhelming sense of unfamiliarity and dread.

This woman standing before him—whose eyes were as cold and sharp as blades, radiating an intensely oppressive aura, and displaying naked ruthlessness in every move...

How could this possibly be the cautious, practically invisible Phoenix who used to cower whenever she saw him at the Prescott estate?!

What exactly had she been through in prison?!

Fear quickly overpowered his anger. His survival instincts forced him to suppress his surging fury and monstrous hatred for Phoenix. He turned toward Pierce, his voice twisting into a sharp, desperate pitch. "Mr. Sterling! Please understand, sir! This lunatic... she's been driven insane by four years in prison! She has no idea what she's saying or doing! Please, don't mind her crazy talk! Offending Leo wasn't enough, now she dares to spout nonsense and disrespect you to your face! Everyone knows you despise women..."

"Is that so?" Phoenix's cold voice ruthlessly cut off Julian's sniveling complaints.

She didn't even spare him a glance. Instead, she raised her eyes again, her gaze locking precisely onto the man who seemed to blend into the shadows on the second-floor stairs. A hint of near-provocative light danced in her eyes. "Mr. Sterling, do you... truly despise women that much?"