In Hill City, Marcus tracked Andy’s phone location to determine where he went and then got someone to bring up the surveillance footage, eventually tracing Andy to a company under the South Regent. About ten minutes later, Andy left and went to a hotel. The surveillance footage, however, did not show Andy leaving. Marcus and his men went to the hotel to look for Andy, but Dylan was nowhere to be found. He requested the hotel’s security footage, only to discover that several cameras had malfunctioned.Alerted to the situation, the hotel manager called technicians over to fix them and was told that the security cameras had only recently gone down. Marcus had a bad feeling about it. When the cameras were fixed and the security footage was restored, it only showed Andy entering a room, but there was no record of what happened after that. Andy’s phone was also in the room. Marcus had someone hack into the phone, but after a thorough search, he did not find anything useful. “Wher
Stone Village plunged into chaos after Nico’s death, and there were few villagers left in the village. “No. Why are you asking?” Stephen asked. “Andy is missing.” “What? How?” Stephen was shocked. “I don’t know. We’re still investigating it. I suspect some organization or faction has taken him. That’s why I am calling you,” Marcus explained. Stephen frowned. Two days ago, Andy had come to him, asking if he knew anyone related to the South Regent, and at his wedding, the South Regent had presented him with a bullet, the bullet that shot his man to death. Now, Andy was missing, and Stephen started to feel nervous. Could the South Regent be targeting the people around him? If the bullet he received was the one that was used to shoot the South Regent’s man to death, would the South Regent use it to take out his friends? He could not wait any longer. He had to get to Hill City. When Stephen arrived, he rendezvoused with Marcus and headed to the company owned by the South
Marcus’ breathing grew heavy. At that same moment, Stephen also pieced it together that the homeless man was Andy. On the third day of Andy’s disappearance, Stephen and Marcus finally found a lead, but Andy had become homeless!The two of their minds buzzed with disbelief. To think the son of the Whites had been reduced to a beggar!Stephen looked at the owner angrily, grabbed him by the collar, and growled, “Where is he? What did you do to him?”The owner shook Stephen’s hand off and said, “This video was taken by someone beyond the borders. We’re not sure where he is. If you’re accusing us of doing something to him, that’s unfair. We don’t have a clue how he ended up there.”Stephen and Marcus felt a little dumbfounded. Andy was beyond the border, and it was not the South Regent who took him?“Send him back immediately!” Stephen ordered the owner. However, the owner said, “Only if you pay up, and it’ll take time. After all, finding someone beyond the border is no small tas
A man stepped out and immediately saw Andy slumped against the corner. Startled, Andy quickly said in an incoherent foreign language, “Sorry. I’ll leave now.”He did not actually speak the language, but after being beaten up so much, he had picked up a few common apologetic phrases. Andy pushed his hand against the ground, trying to push himself up. However, he was too exhausted. He attempted twice and still could not make it to his feet. The man turned and went back inside. Andy panicked even more. He was afraid the man would come out with a gun or a stick the next second. He had encountered such situations a few times, and every time, he had run for his life, scrambling away in fright. He wanted to flee now, but his body had no strength left. A moment later, the man walked out. However, instead of holding a gun or a stick, he was holding a bowl of hot soup, which he offered to Andy. Andy’s eyes widened. He looked up at the man in disbelief. Instead of chasing him away, t
Although he had fulfilled his wish of challenging the South Regent, he was crushed in a one-sided battle and defeated in a single move. Although he was released afterward, many people treated him like a stray dog, beating and looking down on him along his journey. Seeing that Andy did not reply, the man smiled. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. Are you returning to Riveria now?”Andy nodded. “It’s still far from Riveria, around 143 miles.”The distance made Andy feel a wave of despair. Was it still so far away?“You seem afraid.” The man was surprised. “Yeah,” Andy said honestly. “I feel like I won’t make it back.”“How could that be?” The man chuckled. “Aren’t you from Riveria? All it would take is a single call, and someone would come and get you, right? Riveria has Ethan. Here, anyone would show nothing but respect when they hear Ethan’s name.”Andy was stunned. Was Ethan really that powerful? Did his name hold influence even beyond the borders?“Do all of y
“I…” Andy mumbled softly, “I’ll try my best.”Now, he was not sure how to face Ethan anymore. He had treated a real hero, a savior awaited by countless people, as a country bumpkin and cursed at him disrespectfully.Andy realized one thing. All this time, he had looked down on Ethan and tried every way to prove that he had surpassed Ethan. However, look at him now—captured in a foreign land, beaten, and ridiculed. He looked no better than a homeless man and was not sure if he could make it through the day, but a family extended a helping hand to him at this moment. The family wished for Ethan to save everyone outside of the borders. They admired Ethan and mistook Andy for someone from Riveria, which was why they helped him. He was saved not because he was a son of the Whites or because of his remarkable combat skills from years of training. No, he was saved simply because he was from Riveria, the province Ethan managed. It was Ethan who saved him!Andy lowered his head shamefull
“I’ll go with you!” Andy shouted, not daring to make any more requests.Someone then took out a rope to tie Andy’s hands behind his back and then used it to haul him up. Andy felt the rope digging painfully into his wrists, but he did not dare to make a sound. “Take him out.”Andy was forcefully dragged out. When he was almost out of the door, he saw the leader aiming his gun at the girl. They wanted to silence the witnesses to prevent anyone who arrived later from knowing about Andy’s whereabouts. Seeing that, Andy quickly yelled in a panic, “Don’t shoot!”Using every bit of strength he had left, he tried to break free and stop Scarface but was quickly kicked to the ground by one of the others.“Don’t kill them!” Andy yelled, not caring about the pain. “I’m the son of the Whites. If you hurt them, I won’t let you get away with it!”“Even if you’re the head of the Whites, it’s useless here.” Scarface said, “Beat him up, but don’t kill him. We’ll carry him later so he doesn’t m
“I’m worried about that man. He saved me, but you guys hurt him.”The glasses guy sighed. “Fate is unpredictable. Worrying won’t change anything. Besides, the money our boss gave them is enough for the mother and daughter to live on for years. People die every day here. It’s a normal occurrence. Even if they hadn’t run into us today, they’d run into someone else. We desperately wish for Ethan’s arrival because it’s too chaotic here.”Andy found it harder to sleep. He never knew it was so dangerous here. It seemed like nobody here knew whether they would live to see tomorrow or fall victim to the next random attack. However, he still could not shake off the uneasiness. He felt like the glasses guy was just trying to justify their actions by saying the family would bump into someone else if not them. Just as Andy opened his mouth, about to argue, there was a loud bang. The car jolted violently as if it had been hit!Scarface shouted, “We’re under attack!”Andy had no idea what wa
Stephen couldn't believe what he just heard. He asked in disbelief, "Dad, what did you just say?"Simon spoke gravely, "Lily Ford is dead. She poisoned herself.”Clatter.Stephen’s phone fell to the floor. At that moment, he felt all his strength drain away.Just a short while ago, Lily had called him, wanting to see him one last time. Now the next news he heard of her was that she had taken her own life!"No! It's impossible! She wouldn't do something so foolish. You're lying, you're all lying!" He clutched his head, his whole body shaking."What's wrong?" Rachel was startled by Stephen's reaction and quickly got up to ask.Stephen came to his senses. Ignoring Rachel, he quickly picked up his phone. "Where is she? Where is she now?"Simon answered, "In the capital. She seems to have been on Drakthorn Ridge."Whoosh.Stephen immediately got out of bed, hastily put on his clothes, and rushed out of the room."Where are you going?" Rachel shouted. However, she got no response.
Lily smiled and reached out her hand, gently stroking Jason's face. "It's nice here, but there's somewhere else I want to go now."Jason grabbed her hand. "Lily, don't go. I promise you won't have to marry Sebastian. I won't agree with anyone! Please don't go. Stay with me, please!"Lily smiled brightly at these words. She still thought Stephen was speaking to her.The bodyguards nearby were also getting teary-eyed.Lily held Jason's hand. "When you're old, will you dream of me? I won't wait for you. By then, I'll surely be reborn into a good family. But if I have the chance, I'll definitely come find you. When that time comes, make sure you manage Riveria well and become a well-known figure, so I can find you more easily."It's getting a bit cold. Stephen, hold me tight... I'm a little scared."Only then did Jason realize she was mistaking him for Stephen, but he still held her tightly. He sobbed, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I’m here!"Lily's gaze seemed to look past him
Meanwhile…Rachel had pulled Stephen into their room.Unable to find any trace of Lily at the foot of the mountain, Jason felt that something was amiss. After asking around, he learned that no one was seen driving down. At this point, alarm bells started ringing in his head.He quickly led his men up to the summit where he found Lily."Lily!" Seeing her standing at the cliff's edge, his heart lurched, and he cried out, "Calm down! Get away from there!"Lily turned to look at him, her face already streaked with tears. She had wanted to see Stephen one last time but was unable to. Instead, it was Jason, her brother who wanted to drag her back, who found her."We can talk about the marriage. Just come here first.” Jason inched forward carefully. "Come to me. I'll make things right."Lily shook her head, knowing these were just lies to trick her. Once they got her back to the Fords, these words would mean nothing."Brother, don't lie to me," she responded. "I know that you’re only
Jason could not understand the conversation between Lily and Ethan, but he had not forgotten why he came here. He said to Lily, "Come back with me right now. Everyone's been looking for you since you ran away. Go home and apologize to Mom and Dad, and don't run off like this again. You're getting married in just over a month. Stay home and learn how to be a proper wife."Hearing this, Lily's heart grew heavier. She became more convinced that her gut feeling was correct."I'm not going," Lily said."Stop being ridiculous!" Jason grabbed her arm. "You're coming back with us right now. If the Katz family finds out you're running around like this, it won't be good for any of us. The Fords raised you for all these years. It's time for you to repay them."Lily's last hope died. She finally understood why the Fords were forcing her to marry into the Katz family—they had never seen her as a person. Just like in Cora and Scott's story, both she and Cora were merely bargaining chips for thei
Jason’s eyes widened. “Who wiped them out?”“Ethan Rivers! This name keeps coming up.”Jason froze, taken aback. The bodyguards around him and Lily also looked terrified because the man named Ethan Rivers was right before their eyes! Just moments ago, Jason had arrogantly demanded that Ethan apologize to them.The bodyguards could not help but stumble backward.Jason’s mind raced. Those powerful forces were not much weaker than his family, yet Ethan had wiped them all out.What did that mean? It meant it would be no problem for Ethan to wipe out the entire Ford family!“You should understand now,” said Ethan, “that in my eyes, your family and all other families have no dignity or honor to speak of.”Jason turned paled, and his body trembled uncontrollably. “Who exactly are you?”He never knew that such a terrifying figure existed in Riveria.Suddenly, he understood why Stephen had changed so drastically after coming to Riveria. The place was far more terrifying than the powe
"You're alone with him in his house. Just the two of you, a man and a woman. Aren't you worried about what people will say? And don't forget your place—you’re still the Katzes’ future daughter-in-law!"Lily lowered her head in despair. Only Ethan remained seated, his expression calm as he looked at Jason.“I can assure you that I don’t find Lily attractive. I can also assure you that the Katzes would not dare to say anything even if they found out she spent the night here. Also, a family that sells off their own daughter has no dignity to speak of.”Jason frowned. “Is that your justification? Do you think you can avoid apologizing with that and simply brush the matter aside?”“No,” said Ethan. “I have just one answer. Your family has a vast intelligence network and access to the largest database. Find out who caused the chaos in Riveria three years ago.”Jason did not understand what Ethan was up to. However, he was curious, especially since Stephen had encountered a series of set
“Mr. Rivers.” Lily lowered her head.Ethan looked at her calmly.“I was reckless and irrational yesterday. Please forgive me, Mr. Rivers.”Then, she bowed toward him.In the span of a day, she had experienced Stephen leaving her and her own family locking her up, demanding that she cut ties with Stephen. She had thought things through and came to a realization that the only person in the world who could help her now was the person in front of her—Ethan Rivers. She also understood that she could not walk away unscathed.Her visit today had two purposes. The first was to apologize to Ethan sincerely and earn Ethan’s forgiveness. As for the second...Lily raised her head and looked at Ethan. “I have an unreasonable request. I can’t let him go. Please help me move on from him, Mr. Rivers.”She knew she had to marry Sebastian, so she wanted to move on from Stephen. That way, it would be better for both her and Stephen.Ethan said calmly, “You should go to a psychologist or neurolo
Everyone was surprised. In the past, Stephen would always find excuses to avoid responsibility, but now, he was openly admitting to his mistakes.“He’s actually facing all the issues head-on.”“This doesn’t seem like Stephen’s usual style. Is this a PR tactic?”“Who cares what it is? Just criticize him as usual. None of the previous problems have been solved yet.”“That’s true. He still deserves to be criticized!”“A rotten apple will always be rotten. No matter how nice his words sound tonight, he’ll go back to his old tricks tomorrow.”The public was only slightly surprised at his behavior, but they had no doubt as to what he would do in the future—he would continue to destroy the city’s peace.Stephen was prepared for that reaction.“I’ve made too many mistakes in the past. It’s impossible for everyone to believe in me immediately. However, as long as I keep working hard, they’ll slowly change their opinions of me.”After getting everything off his chest, he felt lighter, l
“You sure like joking around, Dad,” Rachel responded, trying not to show how much she actually cared about the situation.Then, she added, “It’ll happen naturally.”Simon did not expose her either and simply said, “Do as you please.”He stood and left. He still had a lot to handle, such as the companies leaving in droves and the problems with the development zone.After he was gone, Rachel immediately stood up and went upstairs to look for Stephen. She wanted to take action immediately.When she walked into the room, she saw Stephen sitting at his desk, reading through some documents.“Stop reading that.” Rachel stepped forward and tried to drag him to bed.However, Stephen was not in the mood. His mind was a chaotic mess, consumed by the proposals in front of him and the haunting image of Lily breaking into tears when he left her.“Don’t bother me.” Stephen pushed Rachel away.Rachel was stunned. Stephen had always cared deeply for her. Since their marriage, she had not even