With a subtle lift of Vincent''s hand, ten well-trained bodyguards surged forward, seizing Samuel and dragging him before Austin,


    "Samuel!" Margot lunged to intervene, only to be shoved aside by a guard.


    "Kneel," Vincentmanded, delivering a sharp kick to the back of Samuel''s knees.


    "Fuck you!" Samuel thrashed, but the two guards restraining him left no room for resistance. The brutat force sent him crashing to his knees, right in


    front of Austin.


    Samuel froze for a moment. He couldn''t believe that he was kneeling in front of the very person he had always mocked and abused.


    His face twisted with fury, his skin flushing crimson with humiliation. Every muscle strained against the guards, but alt he could muster were venomous threats and a re sharp enough to kill.


    "How dare you, Austin!" Samuel roared.


    "He''s too loud," Austin remarked coolly.


    "Shut up." Vincent didn''t hesitate. He pped Samuel''s face hard.


    Austin hated Samuel. And today, after everything, it was finally time for payback.


    "You-" Samuel''s shock morphed into unbridled rage. But Vincent pped him again before he could even growl.


    This strike split Samuel''s lip, blood trickling down his chin. His eyes burned with unadulterated hatred.


    Margot shrieked, "Security! Where the hell is security?"


    Austin smiled, "Save your breath. Those useless guards of yours? They are already handled."


    The Fraser family''s guards had already been subdued by Austin''s men, who were all former mercenaries, each capable of taking on ten men. They had made quick work of these guards.


    Edmund''s cane struck the floor. "Austin, have you lost your mind? Release your


    brother!"


    "My brother? I don''t remember having a brother." Austin scoffed. Suddenly, he lifted his foot. His polished leather shoe pressed against Samuel''s face, grinding his cheek into the marble. "Oh, you mean this? Does a pathetic worm like him deserve that title?"


    Samuel trembled with barely contained fury, his voice a guttural roar. "Austin, you fucking kill me then! One of us dies today!" This humiliation cut deeper than death itself.


    Austin ground his polished shoe harder against Samuel''s cheek. "Kill you? Do you really think you''re worth me risking a murder charge, idiot?"


    "Just fucking do it!" Samuel spat.


    Austin sneered. He lifted his foot, deliberately wiping the sole against the floor as if scrubbing off filth. Then he looked at Vincent. "Vincent, shut him up."


    "Yes, sir," Vincent replied respectfully.


    "Are you insane, Austin?" Jeremy shouted,pletely stunned by this scene. He lunged forward, only to be blocked by a tall guard. His impotent rage erupted in


    roars.


    "Face me instead, Austin. Leave Samuel alone. Don''t hurt him!" Margot cried out, tears streaming down her face.


    Samuel had always been arrogant. It was the first time that he had been


    humiliated like this. Looking at him, Margot couldn''t imagine how much pain he was feeling right now. Every cry tore at her heart, yet she stood helpless.


    1049-Mon, 9 Jun 194


    Edmund''s cane punctuated each word. "You ungrateful wretch! We have raised you here for over ten years. This is how you repay us samuell blood. How dare you disgrace Samuel like this?"


    "Raised me?" Austin sneered. "Old man, you mean the scraps tossed to a dog? Even the dog lived better than me! And you have the nerve to say you raised me for eighteen years?"


    Edmund''s jaw clenched. They had treated Austin rather harshly over the years. But still, they had brought him back and epted him. Wasn''t that enough?


    Edmund growled, "Austin, you denied all the years of kindness we''ve given you. What exactly do you want?"


    Austin said coldly, "You tore me from my mother and drove her to her grave. Now you ask what i want?"


    Edmund froze. He thought, ''Austin is ming us for his mother''s death?''


    Jeremy exploded. "That bitch begged for it! She deserved to die for spawning you. If it weren''t for her, you wouldn''t even exist. My only regret is bringing your cursed ass back!"


    Jeremy had never wanted to bring Austin back. It was Edmund who had made the final decision.


    Now, drowning in regret, Jeremy''s outburst only mirrored Edmund''s thought. If Edmund had known this would happen, he wouldn''t have cared about bloodlines at all.


    A weary sigh escaped Edmund.


    But Jeremy''s words struck the match.


    Austin''s eyes zed, his body trembling with barely leashed fury. He clenched his


    fists tightly. "Vincent, drag him here."


    "Yes, sir!" Vincent immediately ordered.


    Two bodyguards hauled Jeremy in front of Austin.


    Jeremy red at Austin. "You dare? I''m your father!"


    "Kneel.” Austin stared at him. The word slithered out like a dagger.


    Jeremy thought in disbelief, ''What? Kneel? This bastard wants me to kneel? I''m his father!''


    Austin lifted the pendant, which had always been hidden beneath his cor. Inside, it was a photograph of a young woman. It was his mother.


    He opened the locket and looked at the beautiful face inside. Softly, almost tenderly, he whispered, "Look, Mom. I''ll settle it today."


    Jeremy froze in shock.


    "Vincent," Austin ordered, clutching the locket. "Make him kneel."


    "Yes, sir." Vincent stepped forward and delivered two brutal kicks to the back of Jeremy''s knees.


    Jeremy dropped instantly, kneeling right before Austin. "You bastard!" Jeremy''s face turned livid beyond Samuel''s earlier rage.


    Austin pped Jeremy hard.


    Jeremy''s head snapped sideways. His eyes went wide with shock and disbelief. He red at Austin and thought, ''This bastard made me kneel and even hit me? I''m his father!''


    "Jeremy!" Margot covered her mouth. She thought, ''This couldn''t be real. The boy who had once scurried to please us struck his brother and forced his father to kneel and even pped him!''


    10:49 Mon, 9 Jun G


    Margot watched this scene in shock. Even Samuel, for all his arrogance, would never cross this line,


    Margot lurched forward, only to be barred by a mountain of muscle.


    Edmund wheezed, pounding his chest. "Are you insane, Austin? That''s


    your


    father!"


    He


    was beside himself with rage, nearly choking on his own fury.


    Austin ignored them, his gaze cial as he loomed the beginning of her suffering."


    over


    Jeremy. "That p was for my mother. You lied about being married and seduced her. That was


    With that, he pped Jeremy hard across the other cheek.


    Jeremy knelt before Austin, his cheeks stinging with finger-shaped bruises, eyes bulging in disbelief. "You bastard! You-"


    A scoff cut him off. "This one''s still for my mother." Austin''s voice was icy. "You found out she was pregnant, but you handed her a check and let her get rid of the baby. For that contempt toward life, you deserved it."


    Jeremy spat, hissing through gritted teeth, "I should''ve dragged that bitch to have an abortion myself. Then you''d never-"


    Austin''s entire body shook as he pped Jeremy. "Who''s the bitch? You ruined


    her!"


    Austin was furious, enraged beyond reason, as heshed ou


    wildly, pping Jeremy over and over.


    Jeremy''s face was swollen, and his mind was in a mess. He didn''t know how


    many times he had been pped.


    "Enough, Austin! Stop this right now." Edmund''s voice cracked.


    Margot cried, "Aus, I know you''re hurting, but this was years ago. We raised you, and you hit Jeremy. Haven''t you made your point? Please release him and Samuel."


    Samuel finally dislodged the gag that had been in his mouth, roaring, "Don''t beg him, Mom. Let''s see how far this bastard dares to go. If he doesn''t kill me today,


    I''ll definitely make him pay for it one day!"


    "Silence him," Austin said tly. Empty threats were just noise.


    "Yes, sir." Vincent obeyed instantly.


    Samuel red at Vincent. He thought, ''Why''s this jerk so loyal to Austin?''


    Seeing Austin''s expression hadn''t softened, Margot tried again, saying patiently, "Aus, ignore Samuel''s nonsense. He''s impulsive. Just calm down. Let them go, alright?"


    Austin turned his hollow gaze on her. "Years of suffering, and you think a few ps settle it?"


    Margot fell silent.


    Edmund''s cane struck the floor. "What more do you want?"


    A chilling smile spread across Austin''s face. "I''m of age now. Time for this family


    to change hands."


    Edmund was utterly stunned. "You... What exactly are you saying?"


    "Every word." Austin''s voice was calm but sharp. Surely you''re not senile enough


    to miss that, are you?"