Outcast Queen: Her Return from Hell novel Chapter 307

“Ha, what endgame? I just don't care anymore. From now on, whether the Sterling Group lives or dies has nothing to do with me.”

As he spoke, Silas closely scrutinized every micro-expression on Pierce's face.

He could clearly see deep disappointment and sheer exhaustion in Pierce's eyes, exactly like someone who had entirely given up and wanted to sever all ties with the Sterling family.

It made perfect sense!

He was the man who murdered Pierce's mother.

Now that Arthur had sacrificed his own dignity to guilt-trip Pierce into sparing his life, Pierce was undoubtedly crushed by the betrayal.

For years, Pierce had poured his blood and sweat into the Sterling family and the company. To get stabbed in the back by Arthur like that would devastate anyone.

It looked like Pierce genuinely wanted to sell his shares, rather than setting a trap.

“Are you absolutely certain you want to sell them to me?” Silas verified.

“You were pretty decisive when you stole my title. What's the matter? Now that the perfect opportunity is staring you right in the face, you're hesitating like a coward. No wonder...”

“Shut up!” Silas snapped, cutting Pierce off before grinding his teeth. “I'll take the shares. But I need time to raise the money.”

Pierce slid his hands into his pockets, a faint smirk playing on his lips. “Naturally. But you better hurry. You're not the only one eyeing my shares. There are plenty of interested buyers.”

Silas's face shifted. “You're shopping them to other people too?”

Pierce shrugged, completely unbothered. “I have zero attachment left to the Sterling family. Right now, I just want the cash.”

“The only reason I'm offering them to you first is to give Arthur one final shred of dignity.”

Hearing that put Silas entirely at ease. “Three days. Give me three days, and I'll have the funds.”

“Fine, you have three days. Once the clock runs out, the deal is dead.” Pierce smirked and turned to leave.

Right before walking out, he tossed a final warning over his shoulder, telling Silas not to leak a single word to Arthur, otherwise... the deal was off.

Watching Pierce walk away, Silas felt a massive surge of triumph bubble up in his chest.

“Ha! Pierce, you really are a complete idiot. You're actually dumping all your shares. But this is perfect. I'll never have to look over my shoulder, worrying about you stealing my power back.”

Silas obviously wasn't going to tell Arthur about the share buyout. If the old man caught wind of this, he would undoubtedly interfere.

Pierce looked at Phoenix, his eyes full of pure admiration and awe.

A trap that no one else could see was incredibly obvious to her.

“Unfortunately, Arthur is too blinded by his own bias to see the catastrophic crisis heading right for them.” He scoffed coldly, his gaze radiating pure detachment and finality.

“He wants to have his cake and eat it too. In the end, he'll lose absolutely everything.”

Phoenix felt a wave of complex emotions. Arthur used to be a formidable titan. Building the Sterling Group into a modern juggernaut proved he had incredible vision.

It was a shame he had completely ignored Pierce's trauma. Insisting on saving Silas at the cost of his relationship with Pierce had instantly sealed the Sterling Group's total ruin.

“Still, tens of billions of dollars is an astronomical figure. Can Silas really raise that kind of capital in three days?” Phoenix looked at him curiously.

Pierce narrowed his eyes, a predatory smirk curving his lips. “Silas has been siphoning off massive amounts of assets for years. Even though we caught Lisbon facilitating the transfers, the actual destination of the funds was untraceable.”

Realizing the implication, Phoenix gasped in surprise. “You think Silas has a secret backer pulling the strings?”

Pierce nodded. “That's exactly why I offered him the shares. It's bait to flush out whoever is standing behind him. If Silas wants to bypass Arthur and buy me out, he's going to be forced to contact his backer.”