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Chapter 475
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The Guardian's Return Chapter 476
Ethan said calmly, "Even if he can't take it, that has nothing to do with me. By now, Jeremy should have arrived in Hill City." Jeremy's involvement and Andy's peacemaking operations both required money, so Andy planned to ask Stephen for another 10 to 20 million dollars. Since Jeremy was now working with Andy, he would go along with Andy to make the request.Austin's body immediately tensed up. "What? Jeremy is at Hill City?" His worst fear had come true. He had to hurry back to Hill City to stop Stephen from meeting Jeremy. The sight of Jeremy could trigger something devastating for Stephen, just like with Snow. Even though she was still alive, he could never find her. His guilt grew with each passing day, weighing heavier on him until the day it would break him entirely.Austin understood that feeling all too well. As a psychologist, he had seen many patients who developed psychological issues due to relationships. One patient’s words still stuck with him. "The day she die
The Guardian's Return Chapter 477
Andy was expressionless. He felt no sympathy for Stephen’s current state. All of that was Stephen's own fault. "I'll be leaving soon, so I won't sit down. Anyway, I'm short of money, so give me 20 million dollars." The smile on Stephen's face immediately froze. Not a single word of concern but just a demand for 20 million dollars right off the bat from Andy cut Stephen deep. "Why should I give it to you?" Stephen asked in a low voice. Andy replied, "Let's not talk about how you almost killed me, but I know everything about what happened to Jeremy. You killed a hero and even destroyed the evidence. What do you think would happen if everyone were to learn the truth?" Stephen's expression darkened. "You're blackmailing me." "It depends on your decision. If you give me the money, things will be fine, but if you don't, then it won't be." Andy was not scared of him. He was no longer the naive and clueless boy who used to call Stephen his good friend. He had been through enough
The Guardian's Return Chapter 478
Nolan ran out when he heard Stephen. He knew Stephen must have seen Jeremy. “They can’t meet!” He held Stephen back tightly, saying, “Sir, calm down! Jeremy is dead! You’re seeing things!” “I’m not seeing things! It’s real! I saw him just now! He went into the elevator!” Stephen argued as he tried to free himself from Nolan’s grasp. “Let go of me!” Nolan cried, “Doctor, nurse! Hurry!” The doctors and nurses ran over to hold Stephen back. They knew Jeremy was dead and strongly believed Stephen was hallucinating due to the guilt and pressure. One of the doctors even brought sedatives over, trying to calm him down. “Let go of me!” Stephen was shocked and scared when he saw the syringe. He knew he saw Jeremy earlier and refused to let the doctors and nurses hold him back. “I am Stephen Quinn. I order you to let go of me!” He used his identity to pressure them, forcing them to release him. Upon being freed, Stephen got into the elevator and went downstairs. Nolan, the
The Guardian's Return Chapter 479
“You’ve lost your mind.” Ethan’s words cut through the air like a knife, and a chill ran down Stephen’s spine. He thought of the doctors and nurses and how Nolan looked at him yesterday. “Impossible!” Stephen shook his head in denial, hoping to shake the doubts away. He was not crazy. He knew no one believed him, but if he started questioning himself too, then it would all be over. “I’m fine. I’m sane. I’m awake! I’m not crazy. You’re just messing with me!” Stephen shouted. Ethan smiled. “You know better than anyone if Jeremy is dead or not. You’re the one who killed him. You watched him die.” Stephen felt a punch in his soul. Images of Jeremy’s lifeless face, his cold, empty eyes, flooded Stephen’s mind once again. He panicked, his breathing hurried. “He’s not dead. You must’ve saved him!” Stephen said, his resolve beginning to crack. “Tell me where he is!” Ethan said, “You know the answer to that question better than me. You’re the one who chose his burial spot. Why
The Guardian's Return Chapter 480
Austin was glad he told Stephen that Jeremy was still alive because he could use it to save Stephen. “Ethan certainly did not expect his own cleverness to backfire on him.” Stephen’s hopeless eyes gleamed and slowly regained focus. “Are you sure?” Austin glanced cautiously at Ethan and said, “I am.” On the way here, Austin could not stop thinking. Stephen had everything—wealth, power, and influence. With just a single word, Stephen could achieve a level of success that most people could not even dream of, so why had he been completely devastated?When he saw Stephen collapse on the floor, losing his mind, while Ethan sipped on his tea calmly, he knew the answer. It was all because of the man before his eyes. He helped Stephen up. After taking a deep breath, he looked at Stephen. “Why are you pushing him this far? This is too much!” Austin was furious. Ethan was a criminal, and Stephen was the one who governed Riveria. Stephen’s well-being would affect the lives of mill
The Guardian's Return Chapter 481
Ethan knew why Jeremy refused to meet Stephen again, so he told Austin the news and got him to inform Stephen that those letters were all fake. Snow did not care about him, and Jeremy gave up on him long ago!Stephen was able to pull himself together because of those fabricated letters. If he found out they were all lies and learned the harsh truth behind them, what would he do? He would not go mad but choose to end his own life instead. He would LAO be the one ultimately responsible for Stephen’s death! Ethan was using him to push Stephen to his death!Austin’s face turned pale as he looked at Stephen in horror, speechless. After all the trouble he went through to save Stephen, he was about to push Stephen back into the abyss again.Was he really a psychologist?Stephen grabbed Austin’s collar. “Tell me! Why did Jeremy refuse to see me? What’s up about the forged letters? Have you all been lying to me this whole time?”Austin’s head hung low, and he did not dare to speak. He wa
The Guardian's Return Chapter 482
By noon, Ganter arrived at the mansion. When he saw Ethan, he was a little shocked. The Austin he knew was always quick-witted, strong, and quickly adaptable. They even once argued on the topic of whether curing a patient with schizophrenia meant killing their friend or lover and if there was a way for both to exist. He thought Austin had remarkable talent and was the chosen one, unparalleled among his peers. However, when he saw Ethan, he realized how naive his assumption had been. Before going up the mountain, he had asked Simon and the others for information about Ethan, including his age. However, despite having prepared himself mentally, Ganter was still intimidated by Ethan’s calm aura and his eyes that seemed to see through his very soul. He appeared to be about the same age as Austin, yet the pressure he radiated felt as if it came from a mentor, not a peer!“Dr. Steel, did you come to seek justice for your protege or to settle Stephen’s grudge?” Ethan’s voice sounded.
The Guardian's Return Chapter 483
Ganter gritted his teeth. “Okay. I promise you!”Ethan took out his phone and dialed Andy’s number. “Lord Rivers, what can I do for you?” Andy asked respectfully. The more he knew about Riveria and its foreign borders, the more he realized Ethan’s influence. The name Ethan had even become a symbol of power beyond the borders!“Is Jeremy available?” Ethan said, “Arrange a time for Jeremy and Stephen to get on a video call.”Andy was confused as to why Ethan would suddenly want Jeremy to see Stephen. However, since it was Ethan’s orders, he would do as he was told. “What does Jeremy have to say to Stephen?” Andy asked. “Just have him express his true thoughts. Oh,” Ethan added, “If you’re in need of money, you can use this opportunity to get more from Stephen.”Andy immediately understood Ethan’s intention. “Got it.”After the call ended, Ethan gave Ganter a number. “As you wish. Stephen can have a video call with Jeremy.”Ganter said gratefully, “Thank you.”Ethan smiled.
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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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 808
“Everything we’ve worked hard on would go to waste, and the Quinn family would be plunged into endless doom. The federal government would cull us. Nobody would let us off.”The issue now was not as simple as stealing Ethan’s achievements and locking him up. They were unafraid to do it in the past because they thought Ethan was an incapable orphan without any backing. They figured he just got lucky. However, they were wrong. Ethan turned out to be the Grand Marshal’s only mentee and the head of the Ledger family’s chosen one. He was also the one who intimidated the South Regent into retreating and achieving peace for Riveria. Everyone in the province owed him their lives.Just the revelation of his identity and achievements would be more than they could handle, and there was a new problem. Under their management, Riveria had nothing but problems. The province was once the nation’s largest, boasting a 15 trillion GDP, but how much of it was left now? It had long since fallen to
The Guardian's Return Chapter 807
It happened all too suddenly. He had done everything he could to prevent this. He had made countless preparations, ensuring no criminals or illegal weapons could get in, and even arranged his own men to be the “lucky audience” chosen for the interactive session. Yet, he had not expected a celebrity of that level to speak out for Ethan. Simon racked his brains, trying to figure out how it all happened. However, how would he know that the celebrity had become famous thanks to Ethan? His mind buzzed, completely blank. He could only say, “We will investigate this matter. Everyone, please wait for our notice. For now, please continue to enjoy tonight’s show!”He handed the mic to the host and rushed off stage. The show had to go on. He had put too much effort into inviting celebrities and pouring money into security to have it go to waste like that.Unfortunately, people’s attention was not on the show anymore. Stephen, Simon, Riveria, and Ethan immediately started trending. The e
The Guardian's Return Chapter 806
However, the truth was that everything she went through had nothing to do with Ethan, while the hardships he had encountered were even more unbearable than hers. However, he always remained calm and was even willing to lend a hand. “I’m sorry.” Snow trembled, tears streaking across her face. There was so much she wanted to say, but she did not know where to start. She could only apologize repeatedly and wipe her tears away. Her heart was filled with resentment toward Stephen, who was no human at all! Lily also spoke, her voice shaking, “I can’t believe you were the author. And you’ve done so much!”She thought back to the first time they met and when she called Ethan petty. Now, she finally understood how generous Ethan was. He had sacrificed himself to protect everyone in Riveria, saved her life when she should have been dead, and helped her find a new meaning in life. Yet what about him? He was imprisoned in that desolate mountain alone. Lily thought about herself. As the
