Outcast Queen: Her Return from Hell novel Chapter 267

Screech—

The tires scraped harshly against the pavement as the Maybach slammed to a halt by the side of the road.

Pierce turned his head, his face a picture of speechlessness and defeat.

After all that, he had been flattering himself. He thought putting on a cold face would draw out her concern and coaxing, but she didn't care at all. She even had the mood to mock him.

Enough was enough!

"Aren't you going to explain what you and Caleb were talking about?" Pierce unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned closer, staring directly into her eyes. A trace of frustration hid in those deep depths, along with a barely perceptible hint of helplessness.

Phoenix tilted her head, finding this man's overreaction to something so minor inexplicably funny.

When did the decisive, ruthless Ninth get so gossipy?

"Pierce, I was just making small talk with my own cousin. That's perfectly normal, right?" She sighed helplessly, looking at him as if he were an idiot. "But if you're really that curious, I don't mind telling you."

"Oh?"

Pierce froze, a tightly wound string in his mind suddenly snapping loose.

Cousin? Right, Caleb was Phoenix's cousin. They were related by blood. There was absolutely no chance of anything romantic.

Then what exactly... had he been brooding over this whole ride?!

The moment he realized this, his ears instantly flushed red.

He awkwardly averted his gaze, not daring to look straight into Phoenix's clear eyes.

Just then, a cool hand covered his.

Pierce's whole body stiffened, and he turned to look.

Phoenix wasn't looking at him; she was still staring at her phone. But her fingertips tapped lightly against the back of his hand, as if soothing a ruffled cat. Her tone was casual, but it carried a subtle hint of indulgence.

"Stop getting jealous over nothing. Besides you, I doubt anyone would want an 'evil' woman like me anyway."

Pierce's Adam's apple bobbed, his lips curving up wildly. "Glad you know your place."

The atmosphere in the car instantly warmed up, a flirtatious tension flowing through the air.

She threw her hands out in an explosion gesture, whispering the sound effect: "Boom—the Prescott family is completely annihilated."

Seeing her excited expression, Pierce caught a fleeting trace of sorrow in her eyes, making his heart ache inexplicably.

No matter what, the Phoenix of the past had once humbly longed for family love, desperately wanting to be part of the Prescotts. But now, that longing had vanished like a bubble, replaced by a monstrous hatred devoid of any affection.

"Besides Ethan and Caleb, your next move is to drag Wesley's family into the mud too, right?"

"Yes."

Phoenix nodded, her gaze sharp as a knife. "However, there's still one crucial pawn missing from this chessboard."

"Who?"

"Eleanor Prescott."

Pierce was slightly stunned. That name was incredibly unfamiliar to him; he didn't even know someone by that name existed in the Prescott family.

Phoenix lowered her eyes and turned her phone screen toward him. On the screen was a profile, and the name "Eleanor Prescott" stood out starkly.