Outcast Queen: Her Return from Hell novel Chapter 381

"Dad, don't blame me for being ruthless. This is exactly what you taught me growing up—that wealthy families operate on the law of the jungle, and to achieve your goals, you have to use any means necessary," Mavis Miller whispered into Thaddeus Miller's ear, her tone as venomous as a snake. "I'm just perfectly executing your teachings right now."

Thaddeus swallowed the bitter taste of betrayal, his voice sounding ten years older. "I taught you to use those methods on outsiders, not to slaughter your own siblings!"

"Is there a difference?" Mavis scoffed, a manic gleam in her eyes. "My goal is to be the head of the Miller family! Anyone who stands in my way is my mortal enemy!"

"Especially that useless piece of trash, Meredith! She was already kicked out of the family, so why did she have to come back?! Why did Grandpa insist on giving her the heir's position?!"

Mavis roared hysterically, her eyes bloodshot. "I refuse to accept this! I've worked like a dog for this family for years. Do you know how much profit I've brought in? Why should Meredith be able to steal what I've risked my life for with a single word?!"

Her suppressed fury completely exploded, twisting all her ambition and shame into toxic resentment against Meredith.

"So, you kidnapped Merry just to vent your anger," Phoenix Prescott noted coldly, watching the family drama unfold. "Mavis, your true colors are a hundred times more repulsive than your dead brother's."

"I figured you'd guess it," Mavis snorted, completely unfazed as she lifted her chin. "That's right, I have Meredith. But I will never tell you where she is!"

With a sudden jerk, she dragged Thaddeus up from the floor, pressing the blade hard against his throat. "Now, everyone back off! Or I'll kill him right here!"

A sharp pain pierced his neck as warm blood trickled down the blade, but Thaddeus was too numb to feel it. He allowed himself to be held hostage by his own daughter like a lifeless marionette, utterly devastated.

"You don't think you're being ridiculous?" Pierce Sterling looked at her as if she had lost her mind, an amused brow arched. "Using your own father as a hostage to threaten us?"

Mavis narrowed her eyes, a sly glint flashing in them. "Of course you two don't care if Thaddeus lives or dies. But he is Meredith's biological father! If he dies here today, Meredith will be absolutely crushed!"

She turned her provocative gaze to Phoenix, a cocky smile on her lips. "Phoenix, didn't you care about your best friend the most? You definitely wouldn't want to see her brokenhearted, right?"

It wasn't until she reached the cold night air outside the gates, seeing Phoenix and Pierce still standing their ground without pursuing, that the rigid tension in her spine finally eased slightly.

"Mavis, it's not too late to turn back..." the captive Thaddeus suddenly spoke, his raspy voice laced with a pathetic plea. "If you drop the knife and admit your mistakes now, I can still forgive you. Even for what you did to your brother... I can push past the family's objections and drop the charges."

"Dad, are you really trying to play the family card at a time like this?" Mavis laughed as if she'd heard the funniest joke in the world. "In the past, I might have been grateful. But now... I have a much better option."

Thaddeus's face drained of color.

A better option?

The implication behind those words made him shudder. Mavis actually had a powerful backer! And it was definitely an entity whose strength rivaled, or even surpassed, the Miller family!