Outcast Queen: Her Return from Hell novel Chapter 303

Arthur's body stiffened violently before he slowly closed his eyes, sinking into a deathly silence.

Phoenix didn't press him. Some truths were like rotting flesh; no matter how tightly you bandaged them, the stench of decay always seeped through.

She shrugged and walked out of the room.

“Why?” Silas snapped his head up, glaring at the old man like a cornered beast. “Since you never respected me as your son, why would you sever ties with Pierce just to protect me?”

Arthur opened his cloudy eyes, an overwhelming mix of helplessness and guilt swirling within them. In that single moment, he seemed to age ten years.

“Because you are my flesh and blood.”

That simple sentence left Silas paralyzed. A second later, he let out a string of unhinged, manic laughter. “Because I'm your flesh and blood? Ha... But looking at the pathetic state I'm in now, aren't you the one who made me this way?!”

“If you had just been fair and given Percival and me an equal chance to compete, would I have ever ended up like this?”

“Silas, you were never cut out to be a leader,” Arthur sighed, his voice completely drained. “So my intention was simple. I just wanted you to live a safe, comfortable life without ever having to worry about money. That was it.”

“I refuse to accept that!” Silas roared, slamming his clenched fist hard against his chest. “I am not worse than Percival! You were just biased! You never gave me a single chance to prove myself!”

“Do you still not understand?!” Arthur's voice suddenly spiked, his gaze turning razor-sharp. He slammed his cane into the floor with a heavy, resonating thud that made the room vibrate. “If you actually had the capability, you wouldn't be in this miserable situation right now!”

“You thought you were some brilliant mastermind, but in the end, Pierce completely destroyed you without breaking a sweat!”

“You simply don't have what it takes.”

Every word was a lethal strike, driving into Silas's chest like an ice pick.

But Arthur wasn't done. He mercilessly ripped away his son's last shred of dignity. “If you truly had any real talent, you wouldn't have resorted to secretly siphoning assets. You would have taken the power back from Pierce face-to-face.”

Silas collapsed against the floor. With blood smudged across his mouth and his clothes in ruins, he looked like a pathetic stray dog whose spine had been completely shattered.

“Enough, Silas.” Arthur hobbled over to him, leaning heavily on his cane. “Let it go. As long as you drop this obsession, I will make sure you are taken care of for the rest of your life. I'll give you a chance to start over.”

“Mhm,” Phoenix nodded, turning to walk toward the adjacent terrace.

They were on the eighteenth floor of Gentry Heights, offering a spectacular vantage point. Below them, the dazzling city lights of Cloudhaven sprawled out like a galaxy, while the shimmering waters of The Cloud River reflected the cold, pristine moonlight.

“Once it's done, we'll both be free. Besides, now that you've cut ties with Arthur, your original arranged marriage is probably void anyway.”

If she had said this when they first met, Pierce might not have cared. But hearing it now felt like a boulder crushing his chest.

“Arthur raised me himself,” Pierce said, stepping up beside her and resting his hands on the freezing metal railing. His voice was so strained it was almost hoarse. “Since I was a kid, I respected him. I viewed him as my only true family. And now, that exact person has betrayed me.”

“I don't care what Silas did to me. I know full well he doesn't deserve to be considered my family.”

“But why... why did it have to be Arthur? He clearly knew the car crash was a murder the entire time, and he even...”

The rest of the words caught in his throat. The truth was far too suffocating, crushing him so intensely he could barely breathe.