Stephen was surprised and immediately had the company investigated.The results showed that the company had been established a month ago and had a registered capital of 30 million dollars! Furthermore, the scale of the company ranked among the top in Celestial City.Stephen was overjoyed.At a time when Celestial City desperately needed people, the arrival of this company was like a lifeline!“We welcome you!” Stephen personally went to meet the owner.Mark Smith was very young and seemed to be under thirty. Stephen was surprised. If this young man had built his business from scratch, he was just as capable as Stephen himself.“What does your company specialize in, Mr. Smith?”“Food production and processing. We also have our own online platform...” Mark described the nature of his business.He toured the city center and selected a building as the company’s office. The annual rent for that building alone was in the billions.Stephen was overjoyed to see this. With such a major
After a round of drinks, Mark received a call. He glanced at the screen and hung up. He smiled and said, “Please continue, gentlemen. I need the restroom.”Two minutes later, another businessman stood up and said he needed to use the restroom as well. He slowly walked toward the gents’ room and was just about to enter.Bam!A young man rushed out and collided with him head-on.The businessman stumbled back and managed to regain his balance. He looked up and was just about to scold the man when he suddenly froze.The person he bumped into was one of the criminals!Although he was dressed in the restaurant staff’s uniform, there was no mistaking his face!The criminal saw the businessman’s reaction and knew that his cover was blown. He pulled down his hat and hurried away.The businessman was just about to take out his phone to call the police when he saw Mark come out of the restroom.Their eyes met, and the air suddenly turned tense.The businessman realized something and ask
Then, Mr. Lynch looked at Mark again. “Even if you fool everyone else, you can’t fool me. I’ll be watching you.“I’m in the cement and construction business and have a vendetta against the South Regent. If you make any move, don’t blame me for being rude. After all, anything can be buried in cement before it sets!”He wanted to threaten Mark so that the latter would not make any bold moves. Celestial City could not afford to be further destroyed.Then, he stormed out of the room in a rage.Mr. Holt shouted at his back, “You’re sick!”Only Mark, one of the South Regent’s men, watched Mr. Lynch’s figure and smiled faintly.Mr. Lynch left the restaurant and called for his driver to pick him up.As the car approached, its headlights glared in his eyes, making him feel uneasy. He quickly stepped back.However, the car slowly came to a stop by the curb. The car door opened, and the driver got out to help the still-shaken Mr. Lynch into the car.“Check the car thoroughly before we le
“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything.” Mark said, “I told you, I’m here to establish myself in Celestial City. Why would I dirty my hands?”Mark’s voice was so calm that Stephen felt a chill go down his spine.For an instant, many scenes flashed through his mind.The attackers at the speech, the criminals who kidnapped Richard, and the thugs who kidnapped another businessman’s child.Stephen had a bad feeling and hurriedly rushed out of the station, trying to call Mr. Lynch. However, no matter how many times he dialed the number, the line did not connect. He quickly informed the police chief and told them to search for Mr. Lynch.Then, he called George to assist in the search. “Find Mr. Lynch now! He’s in danger!”Stephen thought of the armed thugs. Since Mark was arrested, they would definitely try to eliminate Mr. Lynch, the last witness.If anything happened to Mr. Lynch, they would lose all evidence against Mark! They would no longer be able to convict him!Meanwhile, Mr. Holt
After hearing this news, Stephen instantly understood what was happening. Mark wanted to get rid of Gary.However, he did not need to take action, and neither did the criminals have to. They would use someone else to do the dirty work.Mr. Holt would be the one to kill Gary.If the two business rivals killed each other, how much chaos would that cause in Celestial City?It would not only cause public outrage but even result in the remaining businesses living in fear! Some might think of fleeing, and those who fled would not dare to come back.Stephen realized that he had to stop Mr. Holt. If Mr. Holt killed Gary, it would be over.If Gary died, no one could testify against Mark. He would be acquitted. Furthermore, he would be the only business left in Celestial City.All Stephen could do was support him!Not only would he fail to bring Mark to justice, but he might also be forced to support Mark as the new leader of Celestial City’s economy! It was absurd.Just then, George fo
Stephen found Mark and stared at him coldly. “Your plan succeeded.”Now, Mark could openly set up shop in Celestial City since he was the only large enterprise left. Stephen had no choice but to support him, making him the leading business.Mark smiled. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”Stephen said, “Even if you claim not to understand, I’ll be watching you.” He had to find a flaw with Mark. Once Celestial City stabilized, he would get rid of Mark.“Don’t make it sound so frightening.” Mark said, “No matter what, I’ve made contributions.”“Contributions?” Stephen frowned. “What contributions?”He almost went mad from anger. The chaos in Celestial City now was all thanks to Mark.“First, while everyone else pulled out of Celestial City to save themselves, only I stayed. Second, I caught the two thugs who tried to kill you and found the kidnapped child.”Boom!Stephen’s body shook, his face full of shock. He anticipated the first point, but he did not expect the second!
In the meeting room at headquarters, everyone was shocked when they learned about the situation in Celestial City.The South Regent dared to start a business in Celestial City.Furthermore, he had used schemes to drive away all the other businesses, making him the only major company left, which made it difficult for Stephen to act.Since the city was still in turmoil, Mark’s company had become its economic backbone. If anything happened to it, Celestial City’s economy would collapse completely.They could still arrest Mark, but that would come at too high a price.First, the economy would crash. Second, Mark was a hero who had captured the criminals.They all felt trapped.“At this point, we have no choice but to support him. Once the economy stabilizes, we can gather enough evidence and arrest him.”The others nodded in agreement.After the meeting, Simon called Stephen.“Have people infiltrate his company and gather evidence, but don’t make any other moves. Support the comp
Stephen snapped back to his senses and stared at George in shock, wondering if he had heard wrongly.George continued, “I’m the one managing Riveria now. You can pin all the blame on me.”He understood now.The enemies Riveria had to face were not fools. The South Regent was still untouched and would surely make more moves in the future.George felt that his own family background would not be enough to protect him.However, Stephen’s could. He was the young master of the Quinns, one of the largest families in Metropolis. Even if Stephen could no longer stay in Riveria, he could still return home.Thus, George decided to sacrifice himself to earn Stephen’s favor. If he faced any misfortune in the future, the Quinns would still protect him!Stephen looked at George gratefully. “Thank you.”“It’s nothing.” George smiled bitterly. He never thought that he would be in such a situation one day.His heart was filled with regret. If he had not driven Ethan away back then, would things
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