Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1450

Martin never expected to hear the ruthless pragmatism in his son's reply. "Dad, you're getting older. You won't sit as the Head of the Mercer Family forever.

Given the toxic blood between you and Lillian, I highly doubt she'll show you an ounce of respect even if she does come home.

Out of the entire family, I am the only one Lillian hasn't completely cut off.

You shield Sabrina. And what are Sabrina and Bella to Lillian?

Calling them sworn enemies is an understatement, isn't it?

I've been agonizing over this for days—if Lillian returns, how are we supposed to survive under the same roof?

And I finally found the answer. You step down.

Dad, you're old. You couldn't possibly cling to that position forever anyway, could you?"

Martin was utterly blindsided.

This was a blatant, calculated power grab!

They had clashed over power before, primarily concerning company shares.

But last time, the shares tied to Lillian had ultimately landed in Sabrina and Bella's hands, allowing Martin to maintain his iron grip on his position.

They had barely survived that crisis.

Now, Brandon was putting his cards on the table, demanding a coup out in the open.

He had clearly planned this down to the letter.

Martin's face twisted in fury, though he wasn't entirely shocked. Brandon making a play for the throne was inevitable.

But Martin wasn't ready to surrender.

He had steered the Mercer Group into a steep decline, and he refused to step down until he had personally resurrected his empire and returned to the pinnacle of power.

Martin glared at him. "You ungrateful bastard! Fifty is the prime age to lead, and you're demanding I abdicate my throne to you right now?"

Brandon fired back, "But you can't even win your own daughter's loyalty, and you've long lost the respect of your sons.

Dad, I'll promise Lillian that as long as she returns, you'll step down from the chairman's seat.

And when she moves back into the old estate, you and Sabrina will pack up and leave.

Because there is absolutely no universe where Lillian and my mother will share a roof with you two."

Having laid out his ultimatum, Brandon refused to waste another breath.

Dignity or survival—he left the choice entirely to Martin and Sabrina.

Lillian was still standing by the chair, gently keeping Eleanor steady, but Eleanor was still whining loudly, demanding to see the performance she was so accustomed to.

Martin was frantically calculating the cost. Could he truly afford to lose his title as Head of the Mercer Family and Chairman of the Mercer Group? Could he survive being banished from the ancestral estate and forced to live elsewhere?

While he was paralyzed by the monumental loss, Sabrina suddenly blurted out.

"If we move out of the Mercer estate, can we move into Halfridge Villas instead?"

Perhaps she had been coveting Halfridge Villas for a long time. Or perhaps, from the very first moment she stepped onto the lavish property, she had been obsessing over whether she could spend the rest of her life in such unimaginable luxury. Without a second thought, she shamelessly asked the question.