Outcast Queen: Her Return from Hell novel Chapter 395

"Hah! That's only because Phoenix was paving the way for her!" Mavis snapped her head toward Phoenix, laughing coldly. "You really hid it well, Phoenix! Even while sitting in a prison cell, you were pulling the strings. Macy Monroe from Ignis Global is your best friend, isn't she?"

"With Ignis Global backing her up, dragging a useless brat like Meredith to the top is child's play!"

Phoenix rubbed her temples, looking exasperated. "You really are pathetically childish, Mavis. The moment you see someone outperforming you, you invent conspiracy theories to cover up your own incompetence. It's hilarious."

"Are you insulting me?!" Mavis's pupils constricted. She slammed her hand on the table and shot up from her chair. "Phoenix, I'm laying it out right here! If you reject my terms today, Meredith is a dead woman!"

Phoenix tilted her head, resting her chin on her hand, looking as relaxed as if they were chatting over coffee. "In that case, let me offer my terms. We can partner up. Millions of dollars for ten percent of the Miller Group's shares. And... The Osborne Family must unconditionally hand over all core technology and top-tier talent to us."

Mavis froze on the spot.

She had laid out her ultimate threat, and Phoenix was still bargaining with her?

And what kind of highway robbery were these terms? This wasn't a partnership; this was draining The Osborne Family dry, outright stealing their capital, talent, and tech!

"Oh, by the way, I'm so sorry, Mavis. You've been standing there all this time, and I haven't even offered you a glass of water," Phoenix said, her smile widening into blatant mockery. "As the host, that's a terrible oversight on my part."

She raised a hand and snapped her fingers cleanly. "Merry, come in and pour our guest a drink."

Mavis's pupils violently trembled. Catching the dark, cunning gleam in Phoenix's eyes, a terrifying sense of dread skyrocketed within her.

Creak—

The heavy conference room doors were pushed open from the outside.

Mavis violently shuddered. She stared at the doorway, her eyes bulging as if she had just seen a ghost. Walking in against the light was Meredith—the very person who was supposed to be securely locked in a basement!

"Phoenix—!" Mavis gasped heavily, her chest heaving like a cornered lioness. "I hid her perfectly! How the hell did you find her?! And... how did you do it without leaking a single word?!"

"Because I'm not you. I don't pop the champagne the second the game starts, assuming I've already won," Phoenix shook her head, her voice laced with pity and scorn. "You aren't actually stupid. You lost because you're too arrogant. You love celebrating at halftime."

Phoenix's light words hit Mavis like invisible slaps to the face.

Her cheeks burned. She had laid out an inescapable trap. Even if Phoenix had somehow found the hidden basement, the spies she planted in the house would have noticed the movement and ordered the guards to kill Meredith immediately.

But now, Meredith was standing here without a scratch. That meant Phoenix had not only silently breached the basement but also simultaneously uprooted every single spy she had planted!

What kind of monster was this woman?!

Cold sweat drenched her back, and Mavis slumped entirely into her chair. At this moment, she finally understood the suffocating despair the Prescott family must have felt when facing Phoenix.