“Mr. Rivers was arrested for embezzlement and bribery? And we’re all part of his harem?”“Don’t slander us!”“Mr. Rivers would never do such a thing!”“Besides, our relationship with him is completely innocent!”A cold smile spread across Stephen’s face.“Sounds convincing, but let me ask you something. If you have nothing to do with him, why did he spend a billion dollars to buy you guys homes? Why does he spend every holiday here with you instead of going home? Why does he send you money regularly? Well? Answer me!”He sneered. “Can’t answer, can you?”He had come prepared, and his demand for an answer was echoed like thunder, startling the officials behind him.Some governors even clapped and cheered. “How intimidating!”“Good, good! That tough attitude is exactly what you need!”“I thought he might go easy because they’re women, but that’s a good attitude.”They were all pleased with Stephen’s performance. Even George could not help but smile with pride. That was his fut
Stephen had asked why, yet the answers he received seemed completely unrelated. However, every response answered his question perfectly. Why did Ethan treat those women so well? It was because they were the widows of the fallen heroes. Their husbands had sacrificed their lives for Riveria, and Riveria’s prosperity was built on the sacrifice of those men. Did their families not deserve such luxurious homes? They did; they more than deserved it.“What…” Stephen suddenly felt his throat go dry.The officials behind were stunned, not to mention George and the other governors watching the livestream.Zane sighed softly. He knew Ethan would not have any mistresses, but now that the truth was out, he could not help but feel a deep respect for Ethan. The man had taken on the burden of the entire province’s well-being all by himself. “No wonder Riveria is thriving. With someone like him around, Riveria will only get better!”Liam gulped hard, finally understanding why Ethan was so ca
“This is all part of Ethan’s scheme. You don’t understand him, but we do. I swear to God that he’s not a good person.”Seeing how confident he was, the other governors began to feel uncertain. Could there really be an issue with Ethan Rivers? Were they all being deceived?Amidst everyone’s silence, George said, “Search the place!”Stephen smirked as he ordered, “Follow me inside and search!”“No!” Liam shouted, stepping in front and blocking their path.Stephen raised his brows and asked, “What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to defend Ethan?”“Of course not!” Ethan said, “This isn’t about defending Ethan. These women’s husbands sacrificed their lives for the country, yet not only have you ignored their welfare, but you’ve also accused them of being someone else’s women. And now you’re planning to barge into their homes with a group of men to ransack the place?“Is this how you live up to those heroes’ sacrifices? How will their souls rest in peace? Also, if you do this,
To be honest, George was not entirely confident either because he had not discovered that those women were the widows of the fallen heroes. However, considering they had come so far, there was no turning back. There were so many officials and other governors watching. If it ended there, they would become laughingstocks. Since the arrow was already nocked, it had to be fired!Hearing that, Stephen calmed down slightly. In any case, George was his future father-in-law. Surely, his future father-in-law would not set him up, would he?“Okay, I agree,” Stephen agreed. Believing that George must have his best interest at heart, he wrote a guarantee and led a group inside to search the apartments. Once inside, they were shocked to find that the million-dollar apartments were furnished simply. It was just the bare basics. The cost of a single table in George’s home could have furnished half of one of those apartments. Seeing it made George’s heart sink.Stephen ordered the search, but
Stephen had thought that would be his opportunity to bring down Ethan, but in the end, he was the one who had to swallow his pride.He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and muttered, “Sorry.”“This is unbearable!”The women, far from appeased, started to cry louder.“Not only did he barge and search our homes, but there’s no sincerity in his apology at all! We can’t live like this. I’m going to end it right here, right now!”In the conference room, George panicked when he saw a woman about to run into the wall. If someone died, the situation would spiral out of control.“Don’t do anything rash! Calm down!” George shouted, “Stephen! Apologize to them now!”Stephen paled. He did not expect the situation to escalate to the point where the women were threatening suicide. However, at that point, he could not waste time figuring out if they were serious. He had to follow George’s orders to keep his job.George had ordered the operation, yet now he was yelling at Stephen and dema
Following George's order to retreat, Stephen left sheepishly with his men. As Stephen walked away, he overheard whispered discussions behind him."Ethan is a good person, yet he’s been arrested?""Yeah, who else cares so much about these widows besides him?""Arresting such a good person is really disheartening."Everyone knew deep down that nobody wanted to take care of those people. If someone were to manage the situation, how much money would they have to spend each year? They would have to misappropriate funds from other areas, like meal allowances or somethingLiam stepped forward and said to Stephen, "Since Mr. Rivers isn’t keeping any women, shouldn't we release him?"Stephen was fuming inside. "Release him? Just because he’s clean here doesn't mean he’s clean."He did not want to hear the discussions behind him anymore, so he quickened his pace and left promptly, leaving the other officials looking at each other in bewilderment."He’s the one who called us here, and now
Brandon picked up his coffee mug, intending to take a sip to calm his anger. "I'm not deaf. What's the good news?"The young man, Sky North, caught his breath and said, "Ethan Rivers has been arrested."The mug fell and shattered on the ground with a crash, coffee spilling everywhere. However, Brandon seemed not to notice. He stared at Sky wide-eyed and enunciated each word, "Ethan Rivers has been arrested?"Sky nodded, saying excitedly, "Yes, I heard it downtown. The charges are embezzlement and bribery.""What?"Brandon thought he must have misheard. Embezzlement and bribery? Who? Ethan Rivers?That was an absolute joke. Did they not know who Ethan was? The man did not need to resort to such despicable means to make money. If Ethan really wanted money, all he needed to do was say the word, and they would all willingly hand it over to him, just begging for him to spare their livelihoods."It must be false information," Brandon said. "Could Ethan have released this to test u
"What's wrong?"Stephen noticed George's unusual reaction, so he curiously took the document for a quick look.Instantly, he too was dumbfounded. They were bank transaction records showing Ethan's payments to the widows and the widows' spending habits!Every month, Ethan had been transferring between 80 to 100 thousand dollars to each family, plus the annual tuition of 200 thousand dollars, without fail!In other words, Ethan gave each family nearly 1.5 million dollars yearly, which was just for one family. There were seventy to eighty families there, meaning the total amount added to at least 105 million dollars!"105 million!”"105 million dollars every year!"For a moment, George could barely breathe as he was overwhelmed by that astronomical figure.Stephen's jaw dropped, and for a moment, he was lost for words. His earlier comment on how much Ethan could afford to give now felt like a boomerang that had circled back to smack him right in the face. The embarrassment stung b