“Huh!?” A bad feeling rose in Stephen’s heart. He shouted at his men, “Open the damn door!” “We don’t have the keys.” “Then, ram it down!” he shouted. Unfortunately, ramming down a heavy-duty door with an electronic lock with mere muscles was nearly impossible. They had to contact a locksmith and spend twenty minutes to break in. Stephen rushed in and saw the mayor sitting on the couch in the living room with a smirk.“You bastard!” The mayor was at home from the start, and the call was merely a prank. Stephen was infuriated. He strode forward and raised his hand for a slap. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out, “We meet again.” Stephen froze. He widened his eyes to have a better look at the mayor and to his surprise, this ‘mayor’ looked strange. The ‘mayor’ seemed thinner and his facial features looked more defined. More importantly, he recognized the voice. “You’re not the mayor! You’re the one who abducted Richard!” It was the man who had pointed the gun at
Back in the meeting room of the federal government’s office, Simon was having a meeting with his men to discuss a solution for the matter, hoping to stabilize Celestial City’s economy. They could not afford to lose whatever progress they had made so far. “There are two issues now. The first one is Lucas hurting himself after the slander, and the other one is deceiving the tourists.” Someone said, “For the first issue, apology and compensation are a must. We also have to reward them. We will take care of Lucas’s medical fees. Then, that will put a stop to the outrage in the village.” Simon nodded and added, “I think that’s not enough. We have to relocate them to a better place. They don’t have a place to settle down, so they need somewhere to call home.” One more issue remained. “As for the tourists being cheated, it’s not exactly a big deal, but it’s a problem that we must take care of as well. If we can just apologize, things will calm down a lot faster.” Another person
Others were unaware, but Simon knew the entire truth. Stephen was not the mentee of the Grand Marshal. He was just an impersonator! Ethan was the one who brought peace to Riveria three years ago and was currently locked up in Drakthorn Ridge! Riveria had no one who could rival or suppress the South Regent, hence his recent movements. If the South Regent was not dealt with, he would continue to harm the entire province. As the King Beyond the Border, he had the power to run over Riveria easily. Simon feigned a calm look and said, “Stephen will deal with the South Regent. Meanwhile, we have to find out what the mayor has done to Celestial City.” Soon, Stephen came back with results. As the restrictions on housing purchases were lifted, the mayor raised prices and sold them at a peak, raking in a fortune. The development areas were left idle without any real construction going on and were all sold out in the pre-sales. He fled with all the money, leaving behind empty,
The South Regent remained calm as ice. He had been rivaling Ethan for a long time, and albeit never winning once, he had learned many experiences from the exchanges. “If you don’t want to play anymore, send your men here. If any man crosses the border, I will fire a missile at the surrounding areas. If we are done for, you people will suffer as well.” Simon bellowed fiercely, “Don’t drag the innocent into this!” The South Regent calmly said, “It’s just a self-protection measure.” “It’s despicable!” “I don’t care if it’s despicable or not as long as it’s effective.” The South Regent remained unfazed. Having lost too much, his patience and endurance had reached exceptional levels. “Actually, it’s your son’s incompetence that caused all of this. If it’s Ethan, we wouldn’t dare to even make a move.” Speaking of Ethan, the South Regent reminisced and thought of what Ethan used to do. He said, “Let me tell you a story. Two years ago, we had another faction here who could ri
Simon never anticipated the South Regent to return the money. He simply called the man to pour out his grievance. To his surprise, he was shaken by the story he heard. After the call, he called Stephen right away. “Don’t go to Ethan anymore. He’s a despicable and deceptive man.” Stephen had no idea what happened, but since his father had spoken, he simply nodded. “I understand. He will spend the rest of his life in the mountains with no visitors.” Simon felt relieved. “I need you to prepare some money and find a good location for the villagers. Throw in something extra as compensation. You must let them know you did not intentionally target the villagers, and that it’s all the mayor’s fault.” Stephen nodded. “And, keep an eye on Lucas. Don’t let anything happen to him. Get the best doctor to treat him and take care of the bills.” Stephen nodded again. He understood the stakes. If Lucas died, then he would be the culprit, and even if he shifted the blame to the mayor,
Devastated, Stephen widened his eyes in shock and staggered backward. George asked anxiously, “Is there nothing else you can do?” The doctor shook his head in silence. “Nothing? We can pay you more!” George refused to give up just yet. “We will take care of the medical bills!” The doctor continued to shake his head. “It’s not about money. We have already done our best. But if you insist, there is actually hope. “There’s a famous neurosurgeon in Riveria. People call him Dr. Federick Rodman. He has performed more than a thousand brain surgeries on various scales, and his patients are as old as 90 years old. If he’s here, he might be able to save this man.” George and Stephen’s eyes lit up. Hope! “Where is he?!” The doctor said helplessly, “Metropolis, but it has been years since he’s performed any surgery.” George and Stephen noted down every detail. “We got it. We’ll get him here to treat Lucas,” Stephen said. “Please take care of him while we are away!” He then
“Can’t you see we are talking?! Get out!” Stephen chased the patient out and then stopped Dr. Rodman from typing on his phone. “Dr. Rodman, we don’t have much time left. Please come with me.” Dr. Rodman realized things were much more complicated. He moved Stephen’s hand away and then continued to search for the name online. As he went through the search results and the related articles, Dr. Rodman’s expression darkened. Stephen and George had forcibly taken the villagers' homes, robbing them of their properties. When the village chief, Lucas, demanded an explanation, he was slandered and labeled a gangster. In the end, Lucas rammed himself into the wall to prove his innocence. “You!” Dr. Rodman stared at Stephen. The culprit himself was asking for help and even lied instead of telling the truth, hoping that the doctor would not find out. Stephen looked down in silence. He did not know what to say. George was also present. He stepped up and said, “Dr. Rodman, please calm
Stephen was slightly stunned. “He only listens to two people in his whole life. The first one is the Grand Marshal and the other is Mr. Ethan Rivers.” “What?!” Stephen was baffled. Why would Dr. Rodman listen to Ethan? “I don’t know about the details, but he used to serve under Mr. Rivers.” Stephen went back and started looking into Dr. Rodman’s background. “He used to treat the Grand Marshal. When the Grand Marshal passed away, he followed Ethan and continued his practice. He was once abducted by the South Regent, but Ethan saved him. Ethan is his savior?!” Stephen was speechless. It seemed like Ethan was the only one who could persuade Dr. Rodman to help. He was the doctor’s savior after all. Only Ethan could request the doctor to save Lucas and Celestial City. Stephen wanted to make a move to Ethan’s place but quickly thought of something else. Just a few hours ago, he promised his father to never meet Ethan again. He also said that Ethan would spend the rest o
After everything was settled, the people from HQ went to Ethan again. They apologized to him and begged for his forgiveness.“We’ve dealt with everyone involved in this matter. Are you satisfied with the outcome, Mr. Rivers?”With that, they lowered their heads to the ground nervously. Their only hope now hinged on Ethan’s response.They did not dare to ask for much. All they hoped for was that Ethan would not leave the country.Ethan glanced at them calmly and said, “Send someone to help move my stuff down the mountain.”Hearing that, everyone was first stunned, and then ecstatic.“Of course!” they replied in unison.They understood what Ethan meant. He was staying! Although it was not his complete forgiveness, he was willing to give them another chance.They were all overjoyed. As long as Ethan did not leave, there was plenty of time to slowly make amends.They took out their phones and made arrangements to help Ethan move.After the call ended, they said, “We respectfully
The day of Rachel and George’s trial came.The livestream began at 10 a.m., and hundreds of thousands of viewers joined instantly.Rachel and George slowly walked into the courtroom in handcuffs.Bang! The judge’s gavel fell, and the room went silent.It was not a lawsuit. It was a trial to expose the sins of Rachel and George.The judge read out their crimes one by one, until Rachel and George’s faces paled to the point that they looked like corpses.The viewers in the livestream finally saw the full picture.“So that’s it! The Quinns and the Lowes conspired!”“They deserve to die! How could they frame Ethan like that? Are they even human?”“The death penalty! They deserve the death penalty!”They were all furious.Many people had lost their families as a result of supporting Stephen and scolding Ethan. After watching the livestream, they realized just how deeply they had been wrong.They were accomplices to the Quinns and the Lowes' crimes in framing Ethan!Their current
They suppressed their disgust and returned home, only to see their parents and wives’ panicked expressions.“What did you do out there?”“So many people came today, asking for you by name.”How were they supposed to answer those questions? They could not just say that they had insulted Ethan online.If they did, their parents would beat them to death before anyone else could.“It’s nothing,” they replied stiffly. They had no choice but to hide the truth. After all, they could not say that they had insulted Ethan, or that they had lost their jobs.However, the next second, their parents received text messages. After their parents glanced at their phones, their expressions instantly changed.It was a message from the bank, stating that their child had been listed as a defaulter and urging them to repay the loan immediately.“What have you done?” Their parents’ voices trembled.Seeing that there was no way to hide it anymore, they had no choice but to confess the truth.They los
Seeing that message, they immediately felt as if their world had ended.Because they had insulted Ethan, they lost their jobs, were blacklisted, and could not find work again.“How could this be?”No one expected this outcome. They thought, ‘So what if I insulted him? Are they going to punish me for it? Besides, so many people are insulting him. They can’t possibly punish every single person who did it. At most, I’ll post a public apology and promise that I’ll never do it again.’However, now they were all fired. Everyone who had insulted Ethan had been dismissed from their jobs.It seemed like there were several tens of thousands of people involved! It was hard to imagine just how many people had lost their jobs in real life.“Why are they going this far? Aren’t they afraid of causing unrest?”Of course, HQ had considered that. However, they knew what was more serious.If Ethan went abroad and cooperated with foreign countries, the consequences would not be limited to a few pe
George thought that Rachel had already escaped abroad, so he was not afraid when he arrived.Now, when he saw Rachel there as well, he completely panicked.This was not what he had expected!“Where else would she be?” someone from HQ asked.George looked nervous and stammered, unable to say a word.With Rachel caught and him being brought here, it was clear that HQ already knew the truth. Coupled with his fear of Ethan and his helplessness in the face of reality, he no longer had the strength to make up any excuses.He had resigned himself to fate.“You really have some nerve." The people from HQ sneered. “You fooled us all completely.”“You’ve been hiding Ethan’s contributions all this time, haven’t you?”“You two are nothing but disasters to this country! You deserve to die a thousand times over.”George kept his head down while Rachel sobbed. “I was wrongfully accused!”“Shut up! Are you still trying to fool us at a time like this? You were wrongfully accused? By who? Sim
They brought this on themselves, forcing themselves into a corner with no way out. “Ah!”Simon could not take it anymore. He suddenly ran towards the window, trying to end his life. Fortunately, the officials quickly stopped him. “Don’t be reckless! Think about Stephen. You’re all he has now!”That sentence made Simon stop. Now, Stephen and Simon were each other’s support and burden. Simon slumped on the ground weakly. Right now, they both wanted to die, but neither of them had the courage to follow through. All they could do was live on in pain. After a long silence, Simon said, “I’d like to file a report on someone.”To obtain some kind of reward and survive a little longer, Simon decided to turn in George and Rachel. When the officials heard him, they were stunned. They did not expect Rachel to be involved in framing Ethan. “Shit!” Someone exclaimed. “I heard Rachel bought a flight ticket overseas. Could she have fled?”The room was filled with dread. If Rachel ra
Seeing that Stephen was awake, the others rushed to get the doctor. The doctor was astonished as well. Stephen’s sudden awakening was nothing short of a miracle. However, after examining him, the doctor’s expression darkened. Stephen had regained consciousness, but the prognosis was far from hopeful.“He can’t move,” the doctor said. “As of now, he’s paralyzed.”Stephen could open his eyes, but the rest of his body was unresponsive. He could not move his limbs or his neck and mouth. The only part he could move freely was his eye. Even his breathing was dependent entirely on medical equipment. “He might never be able to leave the bed again.”Upon hearing that, Stephen closed his eyes in despair, tears continuously rolling down his cheeks. He had fought so hard to wake up, only to realize he had missed his final chance to meet Snow and Lily. Worse yet, he also lost the ability to move. From now on, he would be confined to the bed and hooked up to machines just to stay alive.
His father died a miserable death, his son was in a coma, and the Quinn family was shattered, leaving only Simon behind to finally realize all his mistakes. However, it was too late. Harrison could not come back to life, the Quinn family could not be whole again, and Stephen could not recover. Simon would forever be haunted by pain, despair, and regret for the rest of his life. At that moment, in complete darkness, Stephen heard Simon’s voice. He was conscious but failed to open his eyes or speak; he could not move a muscle. He wanted so badly to sit up and tell Simon that it was not solely his fault. They were all wrong, and this was their retribution!Just then, two women walked into the ward. When the officials saw them, their eyes widened in shock. For a second, no one even breathed. They were Snow and Lily!The officials thought they were seeing ghosts. Those women were supposed to be dead. Why were they there? Snow and Lily noticed their shocked gazes and offered them
Due to Harrison’s previous incident, the officials reacted quickly by sending Stephen straight to the hospital.After an emergency rescue, Stephen’s life was saved. However, he paid a heavy price. When the doctor walked out of the emergency room, the officials asked, “How is he?”“The situation isn’t looking good,” the doctor said grimly. “His body is in a bad state, and due to long-term emotional distress, he suffered a brain hemorrhage from the emotional shock.“He’s still in a coma, and we can’t say for sure when he’ll wake up again. It depends on his will to live.”The officials drew a sharp breath. “Do you mean he might end up in a coma forever?”The doctor nodded. No one saw coming that Stephen would fall into a coma, with little chance of ever waking up again. However, it also meant he did not have to die anymore. He would be alive but confined to a bed. Suddenly, they thought of Harrison’s desperate pleas to Ethan back in his villa. “I’m willing to trade my life fo