CHAPTER 462: GRANDMA MEGA’S DOWNFALL

Sinclair?!

It really was him!!

Grandma Mega’s gaunt face tensed visibly, the veins at her temples bulging against her withered skin, twisting her expression into something almost monstrous.

"Antonio was torn apart by him—left without a whole corpse—just for laying a hand on that woman!"

She jabbed a bony finger toward Madam Mega, who sat crumpled on the floor, her voice dripping with venom.

"And now this woman has been cast out of the Mega family because of him.

Yet he still pushes further, refusing to let go, refusing to spare our family?!

The sheer audacity!!"

Facing consequences for wrongdoing was only fair.

And she called this compensation?

"Audacity?"

Stephen’s voice was cool, the mockery at the corner of his lips deepening.

"Tsk tsk, honestly, I feel the same way."

Reclining in his wheelchair, he narrowed his eyes with faint amusement.

"But what exactly can you do about it? Sinclair’s not like me back then—trapped under the Mega family’s thumb, at your mercy."

Grandma Mega choked on his words, her breaths growing heavier. Indeed.

Even when the Mega family was at the height of its power, she wouldn’t have dared to cross Sinclair lightly—let alone now.

"How does it feel," Stephen’s lips curled in a sardonic smile as he watched the matriarch choke on her words, "to be on the receiving end of the same bullying tactics you’ve wielded all your life?

Only this time, the power isn’t on your side."

Stephen leaned forward slightly, enunciating the next words with deliberate softness, each syllable hanging in the air like a blade.

"Face it, Grandma—you brought this upon yourself."

The last phrase was uttered so quietly it might have been carried away by a breeze, yet it struck her ears with the force of a slap.

"Shut your filthy mouth, you bastard!"

The matriarch’s palm slammed onto the rosewood table with a crack—her prized bodhi prayer beads splintering beneath the impact, though she paid them no heed.

Her chest heaved with ragged breaths as realization dawned. "You knew everything from the start, didn’t you?

This whole time, you’ve been colluding with that Luther scoundrel!"

Fragments of memory surfaced—Stephen’s ominous visit before Antonio’s downfall, his chilling prophecy about "twelve consecutive hexagrams foretelling doom."

It had all been part of their scheme.

Her nails dug into the woodgrain.

No foreign power, not even the Luther Family with all their mainland influence, could have dismantled the Mega empire so thoroughly in mere weeks.

Unless... Her gaze sharpened.

"It was you. You handed them the blueprint to destroy us."

"Colluding?"

Stephen’s pallid face brightened with genuine amusement, his chuckle rasping like dry leaves.

"Oh no, dear grandmother.

This is what they call poetic justice."

"Mr. Luther and I simply have different motives but share the same goal."

That was the truth.

His reasons for targeting the Mega family with Sinclair were different, yet their ultimate objective aligned perfectly—to ensure the Mega family’s complete annihilation.

So it was true.

Suspecting something was one thing; hearing it confirmed was another.

Grandma Mega’s entire body burned with fury as she listened to Stephen’s words, her rage reaching its peak at the sight of his unshaken composure.

Her finger trembled as she pointed at him, her chest heaving violently, her breaths growing increasingly ragged.

"You vile bastard... I should have had you run over back then—sent you straight to hell to reunite with that mother of yours!"

Of course, her restraint hadn’t stemmed from mercy.

She had wanted to watch Stephen suffer, broken and tormented.

Just as she had crushed his mother beneath her heel, she had intended to do the same to her son.

"Given your advanced age and limited time left, I could overlook whatever insults you hurl at me.

However—"

The faint smile on Stephen’s lips faded, his usually gentle expression darkening.

"—you should never have spoken of my mother.

You don’t even deserve to utter her name."

His eyes narrowed as he fixed Grandma Mega with an icy glare.

"Tan."

"Yes, Mr. Stephen."

The young man standing behind Stephen immediately understood his boss’s unspoken command and strode toward Grandma Mega.

Martin had witnessed Tan take down two burly security guards with ease.

Now, seeing him approach the frail old woman, his eyes widened in disbelief.

Surely Stephen wasn’t actually ordering this man to strike his own step mother?

One punch would be enough to— Both Mr. Mega and his wife stood frozen, their minds blank with shock.

"Stephen! What do you think you’re doing?"

Grandma Mega turned her aged face toward her step son, her expression twisted with barely contained fury.

"You wouldn’t dare lay a hand on me—*SMACK!*"

Her words were cut short by a sharp, resounding slap.

*Slap!*

The crisp sound of the slap cut off Grandma Mega mid-sentence.

Tan’s expression remained indifferent.

As someone who had witnessed firsthand the things this wretched woman had done to his employer, he felt no hesitation in delivering the strike.

The spacious lounge fell into absolute silence after the sudden slap, the air so thick with tension it seemed to freeze.

Mr. Mega and his wife gaped at the scene before them, utterly stunned.

Stephen had always maintained a composed and gentle demeanor in front of others—even when conflicts arose, he rarely showed aggression.

Because of this, they had assumed he was merely trying to intimidate Grandma Mega.

Never had they imagined he would actually order someone to strike her!

Martin’s heart pounded violently.

His gaze flickered from the slapped Grandma Mega to the cowering Mega, before finally settling on Stephen.

At this point, the outcome of this confrontation was crystal clear.

Narrow, calculating eyes glinting, he began reassessing his own plans.

But of all those present, none was more shocked than Grandma Mega herself.

For decades, she had reigned as the matriarch of the Mega family, basking in prestige and authority for most of her life.

Whether within the Mega family or in the eyes of other prominent families, she had always been a figure of reverence.

No one had ever dared to show her disrespect, let alone lay a hand on her.

Yet this illegitimate wretch, Stephen, had the audacity to order someone to strike her—in public, no less!

Grandma Mega clutched her stinging cheek, her gaze fixed on Stephen with venomous intensity.

Her aged eyes bulged unnaturally wide, filled with such malice that the sight was almost terrifying.

"You vile beast," she rasped, her voice grating like the snarl of a wounded predator.

"I should have made sure that whore and her bastard died together on the operating table when she was giving birth to you..."

Stephen didn’t so much as flinch.

Instead, he met her poisonous glare with an icy calm, the ghost of a smirk playing on his lips.

"Seems one slap wasn’t enough to teach you proper manners," he interrupted smoothly, his tone deceptively mild.

"Tan, this is your fault."

"My mistake," Tan acknowledged without hesitation.

In one swift motion, he delivered another sharp slap—this time to the other side of grandma Mega’s face.

His precision was impeccable.

The strike left a vivid red mark on her livid face, yet the force was carefully measured—enough to humiliate, but not enough to send her frail frame toppling from her seat.

Watching as grandma Mega trembled with rage, her pallid face a mask of barely contained fury, Stephen allowed his smirk to deepen ever so slightly.

When dealing with enemies, the simplest and most brutal methods are often the most satisfying.

"You little bastard!"

Grandma Mega felt all the blood in her body rush to her head, her reason completely gone.

"I’ll kill you!!"

Without another thought, she shot up from her seat and lunged toward Stephen.

Did she think he was invisible?

Tan arched an eyebrow and swiftly extended an arm to block Grandma Mega’s path.

But before his hand could even make contact, she suddenly froze in place, clutching her chest.

"I didn’t even touch you," Tan said, taking a step back as he eyed her labored breathing with suspicion.

"Don’t even think about faking it."

"Gasp... gasp..."

Madam Mega’s eyes bulged unnaturally wide, her chest heaving violently as if she couldn’t catch her breath.

Perhaps it was because the lounge was too quiet, or perhaps her gasps were simply too loud—but everyone heard it clearly.

"Mom! Mom!"

Mr. Mega was the first to snap out of it, his steps unsteady as he rushed toward the elderly Madam Mega.

"Are you alright?"

At this critical moment, they absolutely couldn’t afford another mishap.

The sky had already fallen on the Mega family—there was no way he could shoulder it alone.

*Alright?*

At a time like this, and all he could muster was such a useless question.

Madam Mega watched the scene unfold between Mr. Mega and the elderly matriarch, her lips curling into a sneer.

*Does that old woman look even remotely "alright"?*

Grandma Mega opened her mouth to respond, but before she could speak, a violent coughing fit seized her.

"Cough—*cough, cough*—"

Her pallid face flushed a deep, unnatural red. "

*Cough—*"

Then, with a wet, choking sound, she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Her legs gave way, and she crumpled to the ground.

"*Mother!!*

" Mr. Mega lunged forward to catch her, but with one arm useless, he couldn’t steady her weight.

The two of them collapsed together in a tangled heap—utterly undignified.

"Martin!"

Mr..Mega’s frantic gaze swept the room before locking onto his cousin.

"What the hell are you just standing there for?!"

"Get over here and help me!"