Their minds reeled, slowly to process the shock, but their hearts already pounded with dread.
Mrs. Mega was the first to react.
"No, this can’t be happening.
There must be some mistake," she exclaimed, abruptly rising from her seat and grabbing the butler by his collar. Her once rosy complexion had drained to a deathly pallor.
"Go and verify this immediately. Right now!"
"Madam, I personally visited the scene as soon as I received the news.
I’ve cross-checked with witnesses and authorities multiple times," the butler replied, swallowing hard, his face etched with sorrow as he looked at Madam Mega.
"The explosion was caused by a gas leak—devastating in scale.
The entire villa was reduced to rubble in an instant, and the surrounding area suffered severe damage.
There was no chance for anyone inside to escape," he continued, his voice trembling.
"They’ve already recovered... many fragmented remains.
It’s just that..." *Whether his boss was among them.*
Of course, he didn’t dare voice those last words.
"I don’t believe you.
Mrs. Mega shrieked, her voice piercing with hysteria.
She wrenched herself free from the butler’s grasp and bolted toward the door.
"I have to see for myself.
I need to see it with my own eyes!"
Her steps were unsteady, her movements frantic.
The poised elegance of a noblewoman was nowhere to be seen—only raw, desperate anguish propelled her forward.
The butler watched Mrs. Mega’s retreating figure with visible distress.
"The media is swarming the scene.
Grandma, Sir, this is..." Mr. Mega stood frozen, his face ashen, neither speaking nor moving, clearly still reeling from the shocking news.
"What are you standing around for?
Send someone to stop her at once!"
The butler bowed and turned to leave.
Suddenly, Grandma Mega was seized by a violent coughing fit.
*Cough, cough, cough...*
The hacking grew worse, her face flushing crimson as she clutched her chest.
*Hack—* In the next instant, bright red blood spilled from her lips with each ragged cough.
Her body swayed unsteadily before she collapsed in a dead faint.
Mr. Mega jolted in alarm, rushing to her side in a panic and lifting her limp form.
The butler rushed forward as well.
Seeing the pallor of death spread across grandma Mega’s face and her complete lack of response, Mr. Mega’s expression darkened further.
"Call an ambulance! Now!"
"Right away, right away—"
Flustered, the butler dialed the emergency number for the Mega family’s private hospital.
That night, the Mega ancestral home was thrown into utter chaos.
Of course, none of them knew yet.
This was only the beginning.
Under the same night sky, different eyes saw different scenes.
The car came to a slow stop.
Sinclair stepped out of the car first, then gently lifted Camilla out, wrapping an arm around her slender waist as they walked toward the grand estate ahead.
Camilla gazed at the exquisitely arranged surroundings, perfectly aligned with her aesthetic tastes, and turned to the man beside her in surprise.
She didn’t believe for a second that this was mere coincidence.
A smirk curled at Sinclair’s lips, his dark eyes brimming with undisguised adoration.
"I love it," Camilla murmured, her eyes shimmering with tenderness as she looked at him.
"Thank you, darling."
At her words, Sinclair suddenly halted, his obsidian gaze locking onto hers with intensity.
"And how does my baby plan to thank me?"
Camilla instantly deciphered the smoldering intent in those deep, dark eyes and bit her lower lip lightly.
Remembering that she was indeed the one who had stoked the flames earlier, she softened.
"Good girl," Sinclair murmured, satisfaction lacing his voice as his eyes darkened with desire.
The estate had been purchased on short notice.
Yet every detail inside had been meticulously arranged under Sinclair’s direction.
Stepping through the doorway, Camilla felt no trace of unfamiliarity—not even in the bedroom.
"Sweetheart, this place—"
As she flipped on the hallway lights and turned to speak, strong arms lifted her off the ground.
She instinctively wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck to steady herself.
"Darling," Sinclair’s dark eyes gleamed with a hypnotic intensity in the amber glow.
A blush warmed Camilla’s cheeks as she cradled his face, pressing her lips to his with tender urgency.
The world spun around her, pulling her deeper into the whirlpool of his embrace until she clung to him like driftwood in a storm.
She gasped his name between breaths, her voice honeyed and breathless.
Sinclair’s kiss paused, but his lips didn’t pull away.
Instead, they trailed from the corner of her mouth down to her neck.
"What is my good girl trying to say?"
Camilla bit her lip, then leaned in close to his ear, whispering something so softly it was barely audible.
Sinclair’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and when he spoke again, his voice was rough with desire.
Outside, the night deepened, the wind howling louder against the windows.
In the capital of Country E, the city of Luville was rocked by a massive explosion.
The moment the news broke, media outlets scrambled to dispatch reporters to the scene.
"Breaking news—a catastrophic explosion triggered by a gas leak has occurred in the suburbs of Luville.
No survivors have been found."
"According to insider sources, this now-destroyed estate, reduced to rubble by the blast and subsequent fire, belonged to the Mega family.
Among the victims is believed to be Antonio Mega the general manager of Mega Corporation."
... As the camera panned, the devastation came into full view—charred remains covered by white sheets, the once-grand villa now nothing but broken walls and debris.
The sheer horror of the scene spoke volumes about the explosion’s terrifying force.
The news sent shockwaves through everyone’s hearts.
The moment the report broke, it caused an uproar—especially among high society.
"The Mega family’s rising heir died in that explosion?
That’s way too sudden!"
"Major media outlets have all dropped hints about this.
They must have gotten some solid information."
"Or maybe they’re just chasing headlines with baseless rumors."
This involves the Mega family’s successor.
If it were false, the Mega’s wouldn’t have stayed silent for this long."
But if it’s real, the Mega family is in for chaos.
The old matriarch had pinned all her hopes on that grandson."
"Something about this explosion feels off—it doesn’t seem like an accident.
More like... someone planned it, just like that car crash years ago involving the rejected Mega"
"You mean... Stephen?"
As the situation unfolded, more and more eyes turned toward the Mega family—and Stephen.
Mega Family Hospital.
The shock proved too much for grandma.
She collapsed, overwhelmed by rage and grief.
Though emergency treatment pulled her back from the brink, she remained unconscious.
Mrs. Mega sat slumped on the sofa beside the hospital bed, her eyes bloodshot but dry—too drained even for tears.
After a whole night, her tears had long dried up, yet the anguish in her heart hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
Mr. Mega stood by the window, cigarette in hand, gazing down below.
His usually refined and dignified face was now twisted into a terrifying scowl.
The hospital room was utterly silent, yet thick with a suffocating tension.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the stillness, and the door swung open from the outside.
The butler rushed in, his face etched with urgency.