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Chapter 431
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The Guardian's Return Chapter 432
He lay back on the bed but still could not fall asleep. Stephen’s eyes were wide open as memories of his classmates flooded his mind. After all these years, it seemed like none of them were doing particularly well. “Sigh.” Stephen sighed, got out of bed, and took a melatonin pill. He returned to bed and thought of something while waiting for the pill to take effect. “I don’t have enough people around me.”Julius was dead, George was jailed, Rachel hated him, and he still did not know whether Nolan was his ally or enemy. “I need a helper.” Stephen understood. “I need to have someone I can trust!”If he had someone loyal who truly had his back, many problems would not feel so overwhelming. His burden would be lighter too!“Who would be suitable for this role?” Stephen’s first thought was to reach out to his friends back in the capital. However, due to Riveria’s recent situation and the incident with Andy, there was no way those prestigious families would spare anyone to help h
The Guardian's Return Chapter 433
In the evening, Stephen met Jeremy. Jeremy was thinner than he had been during their school days. His clothes were worn, and the most striking thing was how exhausted he appeared. Despite only being in his twenties, his hair had turned grey. Anyone who did not know better might have mistaken him for a man in his fifties.“Stephen, I’m here.” Jeremy walked to him and immediately knelt in front of Stephen. “Thank you for your help.”Stephen motioned for him to stand up. “Stephen, whatever you need, just say the word. I’ll do it, even if it costs me my life.” Jeremy looked deadly serious, his resolve unwavering. Stephen was pleased with his reaction. It was exactly what he had hoped for. “I need you to secretly investigate two companies for me.”They were the South Regent and the Spencers’ companies. Jeremy understood immediately. Stephen tried giving him more money, just in case anything went wrong later. However, Jeremy rejected it, stating there were still leftovers from t
The Guardian's Return Chapter 434
Jeremy did not say a word. He had made up his mind that he would not betray Stephen, even at the cost of his life. Stephen extended a helping hand when he needed it the most. Although his mother could not be saved in the end, it at least allowed her to pass away with dignity. He looked at the South Regent with an unwavering gaze, not a trace of fear in his eyes. The South Regent had seen that look before. A long time ago, he had the same look in his eyes, but the person he looked at back then was Ethan. Then, Ethan defeated him time and time again, shattering his pride and resolve. The South Regent chuckled. “You remind me of myself in the past. But even if you refuse to say who’s behind you, I can guess it. It’s Stephen, isn’t it?”Jeremy was shocked. He did not expect the South Regent to get it on the first guess. Seeing his reaction, the South Regent confirmed his suspicion and knew what Stephen’s plan was. Stephen must have hired the man to infiltrate his company, search
The Guardian's Return Chapter 435
The people about to storm up with their metal pipes and machetes all hid their weapons behind their backs and carefully backed away. The others who had stepped out of their cars acted as if nothing had happened and got back into their cars. Even the pedestrians instinctively took a few steps back. The South Regent was confused, not understanding what had just happened. He slowly looked at Ethan’s hand outside the car window to see Ethan holding a black handgun.“Give me a minute,” Ethan said as he opened the car door. Gun in hand, he stepped out slowly, and the tension among the crowd grew even thicker. No one dared to say a word. Ethan walked to the roadside and picked up the bread from the ground, gently brushing off the dust. The woman held her child as she looked at Ethan nervously. “The world will not stop for anyone. We need to stop it ourselves,” Ethan said as he handed the bread to the woman. The woman dared not take it, fearing those around her would scold her.“
The Guardian's Return Chapter 436
The South Regent had seen through Jeremy’s intentions and even knew about Stephen. However, instead of showing anger, he openly let Jeremy go and even warned him about the Spencers.He also mentioned a name—Ethan Rivers.Jeremy looked at the driver and asked, “Mister, do you know who Ethan Rivers is?”“Lord Rivers? Of course,” the driver replied in a language Jeremy understood. “Everyone knows Lord Rivers.”“Why? Isn’t he from Riveria?”The driver laughed. “He brought peace to Riveria. It’s chaos personified here, so everyone is hoping that he’ll return and save them.”“I see...” Jeremy thought about it, then asked, “But Riveria isn’t really that peaceful now.”“Yeah, that’s because Lord Rivers has been missing for some time.”Jeremy was shocked. “Missing? What happened?”“We don’t know the details.” The driver was also helpless.Jeremy had no further questions. The next day, he returned to Riveria and received a call from Stephen as soon as he arrived.“Why did you go missi
The Guardian's Return Chapter 437
“I tricked him to his death?” Stephen said coldly, “Watch your words. I saved his mother. He’s helping me because he wants to repay me.”The South Regent guffawed. He realized that Stephen must not know that Jeremy’s mother had already passed away. However, that had nothing to do with him, so he could not be bothered to say a thing.“You’d better tell him to be careful. He’ll die a horrible death if the Spencers find out.”“Nonsense.” Stephen said, “Who would dare kill my people?”“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” the South Regent said indifferently. “If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up now.”“Wait.” Stephen had not asked what he wanted to yet. “Did you try to bribe him?”“Yes, but you are lucky to have such a loyal man. He refused me.”Stephen felt a hint of satisfaction when he was called lucky. It seemed like the South Regent failed to bribe Jeremy after all. A weight was lifted off his chest.Stephen hung up the call and sent a message to Jeremy, reminding him to be carefu
The Guardian's Return Chapter 438
Ethan walked over and sat on a chair under a tree, then glanced at the stone stool beside him. “Have a seat.”Jeremy snapped back to his senses and quickly walked over. “I have some things to ask you, Lord Rivers.”Ethan said calmly, “Everyone who comes to find me has something they want to ask.”“I heard from the South Regent that you once brought three years of peace to Riveria, and many people abroad still hope for your return. However, why are so many netizens cursing you?”“They have different pieces of information, so they view issues from different perspectives,” said Ethan. “Of course, in most cases, it’s because people don’t think things through.”Jeremy almost laughed at the words. He had mentally prepared himself before coming, thinking that Ethan might be someone very serious. However, it seemed Ethan was much more interesting than he expected.“Since you once brought peace to Riveria, you must know the South Regent and the Spencers. Can you tell me who the good guy i
The Guardian's Return Chapter 439
If someone found this order, they would be doomed.The boss was sweating profusely. “There were too many documents at that time, and I accidentally placed the order in the wrong file. It won’t happen again.”Nolan asked, “Has anyone else seen it? If there is, deal with them before they have a chance to talk.”The boss quickly responded, “Gotcha. I’ll make sure there are no accidents!”Nolan scoffed. “Find it quickly and call me back.”The call ended. The boss sighed in relief, but his hands continued searching. Not long after that, he found the order and grabbed it, leaving hurriedly. The room plunged back into darkness.At that moment, the hand covering Jeremy’s mouth finally let go.Jeremy crawled out from under the desk and looked at the person hiding in there. A young man crawled out after him.“Who are you?” Jeremy looked at him warily.The man smiled. “Don’t worry. We’re not enemies.”Jeremy understood. “Do you work for the South Regent?”“Bingo.” The man started searc
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The Guardian's Return Chapter 817
Hugo waited until Natalie fell asleep before leaving the hospital ward with the South Regent. He said in a low voice, “Please take me to see Mr. Rivers.”From that moment onward, he also addressed Ethan as Mr. Rivers.Ethan did not only save his life but also Natalie’s. He would repay that debt with his life.“Are you sure?” the South Regent asked. “If you take Natalie and her grandfather back to Metropolis now, you can stay out of all of this.”Natalie’s grandfather’s health had also stabilized after treatment.If Hugo wished, he could take them back to Metropolis, where the medical treatments were better. Furthermore, Hugo had worked as a psychologist for many years and even treated Stephen, so he had saved up over a million dollars.If he managed his finances well, he would not become rich, but it was enough for Natalie to grow up safe and healthy and ensure that her grandfather retired peacefully.Hugo did not hesitate. “I’ve made up my mind.”He played a part in how things
The Guardian's Return Chapter 816
“Stephen has always lived in Riveria. He is the Grand Marshal’s sole mentee and the one who brought three years of peace to Riveria. Ethan is a corrupt criminal.”Scrolling further down, there was also an apology video from Stephen. He claimed that the statement was true and expressed regret that he caused an outcry and wasted public resources.Hugo fell completely silent after watching it.How could this be? Others might not know whether Stephen truly was the Grand Marshal’s mentee or not, but he did.Victor had told him about Ethan’s achievements. Even assassins feared Ethan. Stephen had also admitted in front of him who Ethan really was.Only Ethan could save Riveria.In the past, Hugo thought that Stephen was just being misled and used, which was why he wanted to help him.However, now, Stephen insisted that he was the Grand Marshal’s mentee and that he was the one who had managed Riveria in the past.As a psychologist, Hugo could tell from Stephen’s expressions in the vide
The Guardian's Return Chapter 815
The doctors told Hugo what happened.“Back then, you had already lost too much blood. You’re lucky that there was a young man with the same blood type as you when you were brought in, so he gave you a transfusion. Then, our family head sent us to take care of you. If not for our excellent medical skills, you probably wouldn’t have woken up.”Hugo was confused. “Family head? Did Simon send you?”The two doctors suddenly froze, their expressions turning dark.“Watch what you say. Simon didn’t send us. Ugh!”They were so angry that they stopped the examination.Hugo was stunned at the sudden change in their attitude. They were not sent by Simon? Furthermore, why did they react so strongly to the mention of Simon’s name? If not Simon, who else could be the ‘family head’?“Who sent you?” Hugo asked in confusion.“We’re from the Ledger family,” the doctor said coldly. “Who’s Simon? We don’t know him. Don’t lump us in with that filth.”“Huh?” Hugo was still bewildered. “The Ledger fa
The Guardian's Return Chapter 814
Tyler frowned. “What happened?”“It’s about Riveria.” Nolan handed his phone to Tyler. “Simon and Stephen have completely lost all shame. I can’t believe they said something like this.”After reading the news, Tyler’s expression darkened. “Although I know they’re shameless, I still underestimated them.”In the past, they had slandered Ethan and stole his achievements. Now, after being exposed, they fabricated evidence and worked with headquarters to deceive the public.“Tyler, what should we do?” Nolan asked. “I can’t stand by while they slander Mr. Rivers like this.”Tyler said, “Let me think.”To them, Ethan was their savior. Without Ethan, the Spencers would never have made it out of Riveria alive. It was thanks to Ethan stepping in that they had a chance to start over.However, Simon was shamelessly going further to distort the truth and rewrite history. They could not watch this happen. The truth had to be exposed!A moment later, Tyler said in a low voice, “Let’s go to Ri
The Guardian's Return Chapter 813
The netizens had mostly been deceived by the internet trolls.When they saw Simon and headquarters both speaking out, they fully believed that Stephen was innocent and that everything was part of Leo and Ethan’s schemes. Even the few who had firmly believed in Ethan began to doubt themselves.Online, the uproar gradually died down. At that moment, Simon took the next step! He had someone publish the recording of the gala and instructed the trolls to guide the audience in revisiting the highlights.With that, both he and Stephen were completely safe.When people reviewed the gala recording, it also boosted Riveria’s popularity. It was killing multiple birds with one stone!Simon did not rest. Instead, he took the official statement and the trending discussions online and headed to the jail to meet Leo.“Has he confessed yet?” Simon asked the staff.After Leo was imprisoned, he had been questioned who the mastermind behind this was.“No. He keeps saying there’s no mastermind.”S
The Guardian's Return Chapter 812
“Yeah. I’m from Breeze City. If Stephen is driven away by all your insults, what are we supposed to do?”“All this is part of Ethan’s scheme. He’s deliberately trying to frame Stephen!”This was the next phase of their attack. They accused everyone of being too extreme and then created a victim narrative to gain sympathy. Finally, they flipped the story. Stephen was the pure-hearted and selfless one while Ethan was the true villain!While the internet was being flooded with manipulated narratives, Simon was not idle either. He felt that fabricating transaction records and hiring internet trolls alone was not enough. Ne needed more fabricated evidence.Thus, he had several people in Riveria publicly claim that Stephen had been the one managing Riveria all along.Ethan Rivers? Never heard of him!After a day of work, Simon was drenched in sweat. He felt his heart pound as if it might leap out of his throat.After all, he had not rested properly for days because of the gala. Furthe
The Guardian's Return Chapter 811
Simon stayed up all night thinking.The next morning, a little after 6 a.m., he called someone to forge records that Stephen had lived in Riveria before.At the gala, someone had questioned whether Stephen really was the Grand Marshal’s mentee. His response at that time was that Stephen had always lived in Riveria.Now, he had to fabricate those records as soon as possible and release them publicly. Protecting Stephen’s identity as ‘the Grand Marshal’s sole heir’ was extremely important. As long as that narrative was maintained, it would minimize suspicions from others.“But that’s not enough.”Simon continued to take action and hired internet trolls. Since he could not suppress the public’s interest, he personally intervened and made the trolls comment that Stephen was the one in charge of Riveria while Ethan was a corrupt criminal and that Leo was spewing nonsense!As soon as the money was paid, the trolls began their work.“You guys say that Ethan was the one in charge of Riv
The Guardian's Return Chapter 810
However, the event was quickly losing steam! Leo had shifted everyone’s attention away, and people were more curious about Ethan and Stephen’s true identities. The whole internet buzzed with discussions, and many were engaged in fierce arguments. Even if Simon tried to suppress the controversy, it was nearly impossible to stop it. Quite a few people were even starting to leave the event. Many planned to stay in Breeze City for a few days and tour the city, but after experiencing the incident, they no longer trusted Simon. Therefore, they changed their plans and decided to leave the next day!By the time the event ended at 1 a.m., the audience present had dropped to less than half of the original count. When Simon and Stephen took the stage and saw the half-empty seats, they felt dispirited. The celebrities and singers who attended the event could also barely manage a smile. They regretted coming. The scandal surrounding Stephen’s real identity could easily engulf them, and the l
The Guardian's Return Chapter 809
Stephen immediately raised his head and asked, “Where is she?”Simon fell silent. He had no idea where Lily was. Perhaps only Ethan would know her whereabouts, and he did not know how to answer Stephen. Stephen frowned as he waited for a response. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you say she’s alive? Why don’t you tell me where she is?”Simon took a deep breath. “It might not be the best time to tell you now.”He still tried to brush it off. “What do you mean?” Stephen was getting anxious. “Do you want me to get on my knees and beg you? Don’t you know how important she is to me?” Stephen pointed at his gray hair. “I want to see her again so badly.”As Simon lowered his head, looking conflicted, Stephen fell to his knees with a bam. “What are you doing?” Simon exclaimed and quickly pulled him up. At that point, he realized that he could not hide it anymore. He did not want to say that Ethan saved Lily, but only Ethan knew where she was now. Even if he wanted to lie, he could not. W
