Back From Prison, Built For Revenge - Chapter 58: Chapter 58

Those words were undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire. Rage instantly flared in Hayden's eyes as he took a menacing step forward, closing the distance between them until it was compressed to almost nothing.
Chloe could even feel the suffocating pressure of his breath. His voice was low, carrying an unmistakable warning. "You'd better remember your place, and don't try to disrupt the Stone family's peace again."
Chloe lifted her gaze to meet his, her bottomless eyes gleaming with an unyielding chill.
"Peace?" she let out a derisive chuckle, the smile on her lips dripping with sarcasm. "Hayden, do you really think the Stone family has any peace left to speak of?"
No sooner had the words left her lips than she saw his body stiffen, as if she'd struck a raw nerve.
Hayden's face darkened instantly, a flicker of complex emotion flashing through his eyes before it was swiftly masked by icy detachment. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed off.
Chloe watched his figure recede into the distance until it disappeared at the end of the deck, her smile gradually fading.
The night wind whipped her hair, whistling past her ears, yet she felt as if something was weighing heavily on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
When Chloe returned to her room, Demi was already waiting inside. As Chloe walked in, Demi hurried over, concern written all over her face. "Ms. Quinn, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Chloe said tonelessly, carelessly tossing her jacket onto the sofa before moving to the window and sitting down.
Outside, the night stretched deep and dark, punctuated only by the occasional flash of spray as waves crashed against the hull.
Demi watched Chloe's seemingly unperturbed demeanor, but she just couldn't shake it off.
Remembering everything she'd overheard on the deck, Demi was seething with anger and finally blurted out, "Ms. Quinn, I really don't get it. Why do they always treat you this way? It's clearly not your fault, yet they keep pinning everything on you."
Chloe lowered her head, fiddling with the glass on the windowsill. The water inside swayed gently with her movements, mirroring the suppressed restlessness deep within her.
After a long pause, she finally said, her voice soft and distant, "As long as you get used to it."
Demi grew even more indignant. "Especially Mr. Stone—he shows such blatant favoritism toward Yolanda. It was clearly she who wronged you, yet he never believes a single word you say."
"Enough," Chloe suddenly looked up, cutting her off. There was a trace of weariness in her deep eyes. "I've heard this too many times. No need to say more."
Demi parted her lips, wanting to say more, but in the end closed them and quietly retreated to the side.
A brief silence fell over the room, broken only by the muffled thud of waves against the hull outside the window, like the inescapable entanglement of fate.
After a long moment, Chloe finally spoke, her voice soft.
"You know, sometimes I really envy people who can just let their anger out. At least they have someone willing to comfort them. But me?" She paused, a bitter smile touching her lips. "Even getting angry seems pointless."
Demi's heart ached, but at a loss for how to comfort Chloe, she could only whisper, "Ms. Quinn, no matter how others treat you, I'll always stand by your side."
Chloe gave no reply, simply turning her head back toward the window. At that moment, she felt like a lone yacht adrift on the open sea—no matter how violent the storm, she could only drift on in solitude.
The next morning, a phone call shattered the brief calm.
A low, commanding voice came from the other end of the line. "This is Mrs. Foster. We need to talk."
Chloe's fingers tightened slightly around the phone. "What about?"
"Of course, it's about you and Yael." Nora's tone brooked no refusal. "Meet me at the club at two this afternoon."
After the call ended, only the persistent buzz of the disconnected line echoed in the room. Chloe stared blankly at her phone, taking a long moment to collect herself.
"Ms. Quinn," Demi asked tentatively, "who was that on the phone?"
"Mrs. Foster," Chloe said as she placed her phone on the table. She stood up and walked toward the wardrobe. "I need to go out."
"But—" Demi started, then bit her tongue. In the end, she said nothing more, quietly helping Chloe prepare for her outing.
2 PM, at the club parking lot. As soon as Chloe stepped out of the car, she spotted Carlos leaning against his car door not far away.
One hand shoved in his pocket, the other idly twirling an earring, his whole demeanor both languid and dangerous.
"So you came." Carlos looked up as Chloe approached, an inscrutable smile playing on his lips, making his true intentions impossible to read.
"Move. I don't have time for this," Chloe snapped, halting at a guarded distance of three paces.
Carlos made no move to step aside. Instead, he stepped closer, thrusting the earring toward her. "Forget something?"
Chloe glanced down—it was the very earring she'd thrown away before. Exquisitely crafted, yet it emanated an eerie sense of foreboding.
"I don't want it," Chloe said coldly, turning on her heel to leave.
Before she could react, Carlos blocked her path. He grabbed her wrist and, with a firm motion, clipped the earring onto her ear. Leaning in with a smirk, he said, "Don't be so quick to turn it down. This is more valuable than you think."
"Carlos, what the hell are you trying to do?" Chloe struggled to wrench her hand free, but his grip was unbreakable—she was utterly powerless against his strength.
Carlos leaned in close, his voice a low whisper in her ear. "How's your grandmother doing these days? Do you need me to arrange for some doctors to check on her?"
Those words instantly froze Chloe in place. She jerked her head up, her deep eyes blazing with fury and terror. "Don't you dare touch Grandma."
Carlos curled his lips into a wicked, mocking smile.
"Don't worry. I was only asking out of concern. But as for this earring?" He paused, a teasing glint in his eyes. "It's more than just an accessory. It can help you influence someone's views. Take Yael, for example."
With that, Carlos released her hand and stepped back, looking down at the pale-faced Chloe with undisguised superiority. "Keep it on. It'll prove useful."
With that, Carlos turned and walked away, leaving Chloe standing rigidly in place—the earring on her earlobe searing like a brand.