CHAPTER 457: YOUR PLANS FAILED

Madam Mega thrashed wildly, desperate to break free.

"How dare you lay hands on me?

Have you lost your minds?"

The two bodyguards held her with an iron grip, rendering her struggles futile.

Her phone slipped from her clenched fingers and clattered to the ground.

"Let me go!!"

Ignoring her protests, the bodyguards only tightened their hold, as if they had no qualms about hurting her.

Dragged along like a prisoner, Madam Mega was hauled toward the lounge of the Mega family estate.

Servants gathered along the way, whispering and staring.

The once-respected lady of the house had been utterly humiliated.

The butler didn’t rush to follow. Instead, he picked up the fallen phone and handed it to another guard.

"Take this.

Find out who she’s been contacting in the last two days and check for any suspicious transactions."

"Yes, sir!"

Inside the lounge, the air was thick with tension.

Madam Mega, the family matriarch, sat rigidly on the sofa, her aged face dark as a storm.

The atmosphere was so heavy it felt like the very air had frozen. Mr. Mega perched on a single-seater nearby, head bowed, lost in thought.

The gloom around him was palpable, pressing down like an invisible weight. Madam Mega’s voice carried through the door.

Both of them looked up toward the entrance.

"Let me go!!"

"Do you all want to lose your jobs?

How dare you treat me like this?"

"Just you wait—I won’t let you get away with this!"

... A knock sounded at the door.

"Madam, Sir, we’ve brought Mrs. Mega." "Come in."

The icy voice of the Mega matriarch echoed from inside the room.

Madam Mega’s body trembled almost imperceptibly the moment she sensed the old lady’s presence.

As the door swung open, she found herself staring straight into the cold, penetrating gazes of her mother-in-law and husband.

Her throat tightened as if gripped by an invisible hand, stealing her voice away.

"What are you standing there for?"

The Mega matriarch’s thin lips parted slowly, her words deliberate and frosty.

The two bodyguards hesitated no longer.

With a firm shove, they pushed Madam Mega inside before closing the door behind her.

The room fell into complete silence.

"Mom, Shulun," Madam Mega steadied herself, her gaze shifting between Grandma Mega and Mr. Mega .

She struggled to keep her emotions in check, her voice cautious as she spoke.

"What’s going on here?"

"What’s going on?"

Grandma Mega’s piercing glare locked onto Madam Mega, sending a chill down her spine.

"Was it you who sent someone to the hospital to harm that woman?"

*How did this old hag find out so quickly?*

Madam Mega’s eyes flickered, her body stiffening as she froze in place.

"I—" Her reaction said it all. Grandma Mega pressed her lips together, her expression darkening.

"I explicitly forbade any reckless actions. And yet, you dared to defy me behind my back, completely disregarding my orders?"

Her voice was eerily calm, yet it carried a bone-chilling weight.

Madam Mega bit her lip, casting a desperate glance at her husband, silently pleading for him to step in and defend her.

Mr. Mega’s brows were tightly knitted, his gaze fixed on her with nothing but reproach.

In that instant, Madam Mega felt her heart turn to ashes.

"Fine, it was me," she admitted after a long, heavy silence, her lips curling into a bitter smile.

Her eyes shifted from Mr. Mega to grandma Mega, the fear in them hardening into icy mockery.

"I sent people after that woman.

And why shouldn’t I?

It’s because of her that Antonio was murdered.

Tell me—was I wrong?"

Grandma’s eyes narrowed slowly.

"Antonio was Mega’s son too—my grandson.

Do you think you’re the only one who wants revenge?"

Her voice was frigid, devoid of warmth.

"We’ve held back only because we’re waiting for the right moment.

What you’ve done now has only thrown my plans into chaos."

"Lies!

All of it, lies!" Madam Mega’s voice rose sharply, her eyes red with fury as she glared at the old woman.

"Everything you say is just an excuse—because all you care about is profit, and because you’re too afraid of the Luther Family!"

Her finger shot out, trembling as she pointed accusingly.

"In your eyes, my Antonio was nothing but a pawn—a tool to keep that bastard Stephen in check! Did you ever truly mourn him? No!

The only thing that troubles you is losing a piece in your game!"

"How dare you speak to me like this?"

Grandma Mega’s breathing grew heavier, her face twisted beyond mere displeasure.

Mr. Mega snapped out of his shock, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

"Mrs. Mega, how dare you speak to Mother like that?!"

"She’s *your* mother, not mine!"

Madam Mega whipped her head around, her fury now directed squarely at Mr. Mega.

"Your own son is dead, yet you listen to this old hag and do nothing,—spineless, pathetic mama’s boy!"

Spineless?

Mama’s boy?

Six simple words, but they struck Mr. Mega like a match to dry tinder. "Woman, shut your damn mouth!"

Mr. Mega shot up from his seat, stormed toward her in a few strides, and seized her collar before delivering a brutal slap across her face.

Madam Mega, already weakened from days of barely eating after Antonio’s death, wasn’t entirely faking her frailty.

The force of Mr.Mega’s blow sent her crashing to the floor.

*SMACK!* The sharp crack of the slap echoed through the room.

Madam Mega sat rigidly in her seat, her gaze as cold as ice.

"Bzzz—"

A high-pitched ringing filled her ears.

Clutching her throbbing, swollen cheek, Madam Mega turned to face Mr. Mega—and laughed, despite the pain.

"What’s the matter?

Did I strike a nerve?

Can’t handle the truth?"

As she spoke, fresh blood gushed from her nose.

"See?

That just proves my point—you’re nothing but a spineless puppet dancing to that old hag’s tune!"

"You dare keep talking?

You’ve truly lost your mind!"

Mega Mr Megas jaw clenched in fury as he took another step toward her, fists trembling.

"Lost my mind?

Of course I have!"

Madam Mega tilted her head up, her bloodied lips curling into a bitter smile.

"My Antonio is dead, and all you care about is scheming—not justice, not vengeance.

What kind of mother wouldn’t go mad?"

Her eyes locked onto his, unflinching.

"Go on, hit me again. I dare you." A hollow chuckle escaped her. "It doesn’t matter now.

The people I sent are already moving.

That woman will die—long before your precious ’careful planning’ amounts to anything."

"You—!"

Rage exploded through Mr. Mega.

His foot lashed out, aiming straight for her ribs.

"That’s enough, Son," The elderly Madam Mega’s voice was slow and deliberate, her piercing cold eyes fixed on Mrs. Mega.

"You’re not foolish enough to think your plan actually succeeded, are you?

" Mrs. Mega’s pupils contracted slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?"

Madam Mega scoffed.

"Those fools you sent were taken care of long ago by the people around Camilla."

Failed?

Impossible! Mrs. Mega knew Madam Mega had no reason to lie to her, and her heart sank completely.

"The identity of the man by Camilla’s side has been uncovered—it’s Sinclair," Madam Mega narrowed her eyes, as if the blow wasn’t enough, and continued slowly.

"If he were so easy to deal with, would Antonio have died such a miserable death?"

Mrs. Mega fell silent, her swollen face twisted with resentment and disbelief.

"Fools like you, who act recklessly without absolute certainty, will only drag the entire Mega family down with you."

Madam Mega’s words carried a deeper implication.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.