Back From Prison, Built For Revenge - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

The Stone Villa's grand hall was ablaze with light, the opulent crystal chandelier illuminating every nuanced expression in sharp relief.
Chloe stood at the doorway, her gaze sweeping over faces both familiar and strangely distant. Her expression was frosty, her steps measured, but inside, her heart was a maelstrom of conflicting emotions.
Carlos's urgency and concern when he had rushed to her side were still fresh in Chloe's mind. Yet now, facing the Stone family, she had to hide all her emotions, masking herself in unbreakable ice.
"Chloe, you've finally come home," Phoebe spoke first, her tone laced with hesitation and unease. She clutched her handkerchief tightly, her gaze shifting uncertainly to Chloe before darting a quick glance at Hayden.
Chloe didn't respond. She stood motionless, her icy gaze fixed on Hayden. He sat rigidly on the sofa, brows furrowed, his face as dark as a gathering storm.
Though he sensed her scrutiny, Hayden refused to meet her eyes, only tightening his fists until his knuckles turned pale.
"Hayden?" Phoebe urged anxiously, "Please, quickly explain yourself to Chloe. Surely this is all just a misunderstanding, isn't it?"
The hall fell deathly silent as all eyes locked on Hayden. Yet he remained wordless, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the floor as though staring into a bottomless abyss.
Chloe sneered, her smile cutting through the tension like a razor blade.
"A misunderstanding?" Chloe spoke slowly, her voice low and icy. "If this is what you call a misunderstanding, then it's truly the most preposterous one I've ever encountered in my life."
Phoebe's face instantly drained of color. She looked desperately at Yolanda, seeking support.
Yolanda immediately stepped forward, gently patting Phoebe's back as she said softly, "Mom, don't worry. Hayden must have his reasons. We should trust him."
After saying that, Yolanda turned to Chloe, her eyes flashing with venom before she quickly masked it with feigned innocence.
"Chloe," Yolanda said, "I know you've suffered so much all these years, but Hayden isn't a cruel person. He must have acted for your own good."
"For my own good?" Chloe almost burst out laughing, her voice laced with sarcasm. "So what? I should be thanking him for that?"
As soon as Chloe finished speaking, the tension in the grand hall ratcheted up another notch.
Yolanda bit her lip, putting on a wounded, innocent expression. Looking at Chloe with feigned distress, she said, "Chloe, how could you twist Hayden's good intentions like this?"
"Enough of that." Hayden, who had been silent all this time, suddenly raised his head, his voice low and hoarse, seething with rage. "Cut the act."
Hayden's furious roar stunned everyone, even Chloe. She stared into his bloodshot eyes, seeing not just profound hatred, but an indescribable, unyielding bitterness burning within.
Hayden stood up abruptly, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned pale. "Yes, I admit it. I framed you. But this is all your own doing.
"If you hadn't come back and thrown everything into chaos, how else could we have ended up like this?"
His voice dripped with accusation and resentment, each word like a dagger to Chloe's heart. She trembled slightly, but quickly steadied herself.
"So that's your excuse?" Chloe scoffed, a cold laugh escaping her lips. "Just because my very existence threatened your precious position, you had to destroy me?"
"Threatening my position?" Hayden sneered. "Chloe, don't flatter yourself. Everything I've done was just to get you out of this family for good, and stop being a burden to us all."
Hearing those words, Chloe felt as if she'd just been punched in the gut.
The brother she once trusted and relied on more than anyone had become a cold and unrecognizable stranger.
His words cut deep, and in that moment, she realized with painful clarity that some things were broken beyond repair.
Seated at the head of the table, Peter suddenly shot to his feet. Consumed by rage, he swung his arm and delivered a stinging slap across Hayden's face with a resounding crack.
"You scoundrel." Peter's voice thundered. "How could you do something so despicable? You've brought shame upon the Stone family name."
The slap landed with such force that Hayden staggered back. Clutching his stinging cheek, he turned away, his eyes blazing like fire—yet he uttered not a word.
"Dad, please don't hit Hayden." Yolanda, who had been silently watching from the sidelines, finally couldn't hold back.
She rushed over and clung to Peter's arm, fake tears streaming down her face as she pleaded, "He only did this because he loves Chloe too much. He just didn't want her to marry into the Foster family. Please, don't blame him."
"Love me?" Chloe scoffed. "If that's what you call love, then I've really seen it all now."
"Shut up." Peter spun around, fixing Chloe with a glare as sharp as a blade. "You have no right to butt in here."
The grand hall was engulfed in tomblike silence once more. Every soul held their breath, afraid to make even the slightest sound.
The oppressive silence didn't last long. Chloe was done holding back.
"Me? Butting in?" Chloe advanced step by step toward the center of the hall, each footfall radiating intimidation. "Or is it that, in your eyes, I've never even had the right to butt in?
"Because to you, I'm just a scapegoat, a tool, a disposable pawn you can sacrifice anytime. am I right?"
Chloe's words exploded like thunder, plunging the grand hall into utter chaos.
Peter's face turned livid. He seemed poised to retort, but in the end, not a single word came out. Phoebe lowered her head, dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief, too ashamed to meet Chloe's gaze.
"Enough." Hayden finally broke the stalemate, his hand still pressed to his stinging cheek.
In a hoarse, exhausted voice, he said, "Chloe, what do you want? Revenge? To expose the truth? Fine, have at it. But don't forget. You're still a member of the Stone family. If this family falls, you'll go down with us."
Hearing those words, Chloe felt nothing but irony. As she looked around at the faces of these so-called family members, all she felt was a crushing sense of hopelessness.
"A member of the Stone family, huh?" Chloe shook her head with a self-mocking laugh. "Maybe. But from today onward, I won't take any pride in this family, nor will I sacrifice another thing for it."