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Chapter 520

Author: Old Pumpkin
Charles went to the hospital to take care of the medical bills and then talk to his father. He believed even without Ethan, he and his family could live a good life.

“Ethan committed a crime and was jailed for it. If you want me to take him as our savior, I can’t do it. Besides, I have the money. I have 500 thousand dollars.”

Xavier was astonished by the astronomical amount. He looked at Charles, but there was no happiness or excitement in the man’s eyes. As a father, he knew exactly what happened.

“You took bribes.”

Charles’ expression froze, but he forced a smile and said, “What? No. I’m not that kind of person. I will never bow down to money.”

He was slightly stunned when the words escaped his mouth. They felt familiar. It was what Ethan had told him last night, and in less than twenty-four hours, he had done the complete opposite. It was a slap in his face.

Nevertheless, he feigned a calm look and said, “The money is clean.”

Xavier looked at him but said nothing. He si
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  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 521

    Ganter and Austin witnessed the chaos that unfolded in Hill City over the past two weeks. The hospitals were overloaded, and more patients were being admitted. Even they, a psychologist, were asked to help. Ganter shook his head helplessly. He was a doctor in psychology, so there was nothing he could do for those people. All he could do was watch them leave, disheartened and desperate. When he went out on the street, he noticed the people walking around were fewer than before. Every day, he could hear robberies happening and gunshots in the air. The street where his clinic was located used to be a bustling area with merchants selling their goods, but they were all gone. His clinic was the only establishment left in the street. Austin looked worried. “Ganter, we should also think about leaving. Hill City is not safe anymore.” News of robberies, shootings, and outbreaks of sickness were so frequent that the growing fear among the people was palpable. Even Austin was scared too.

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 522

    A while later, Charles, who was enjoying his spa and massage with several other business owners, got a call from the hospital that his parents had discharged themselves. The delight on his face disappeared. Why would his parents leave the hospital? He quickly called his father but could not get through. The same happened with his mother. Anxious, Charles called the hospital, demanding an explanation. How could the hospital release his parents without informing him first? The nurse explained, “They said there were not enough beds in the hospital because of the current situation and believed other people needed the treatment more than them, so they insisted on leaving. We tried to convince them to stay, but they were adamant.” Charles was stunned. Not enough beds in the hospital? What kind of excuse was that? He had the money to pay for their medical bills! He had more than a million at hand, and if he kept working hard, the money he was making would be enough to last him a l

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 523

    Was Ethan more important than their own son? Stephen said, “I understand. Please get up. Ethan Rivers has been accused of bribery, and it puts me in a tough spot.” Xavier argued, “He’s not capable of that! He has been fixing roads, as well as repairing hospitals and schools. He even used his own money to send other people’s children to school! Why would he take bribes?” Riveria used to be in chaos, and education was scarce. The adults in the family would rather keep their children at home to work than send them to school for education. Ethan then used his personal money to send every child to school, paying the families a stipend of 500 dollars a month. The children could also enjoy free lunches at schools, which drastically improved both attendance rates and nutrition levels in the region.Stephen said with gritted teeth, “It’s bribery! I don’t need you to tell me what he did!” He dared not look them in the eyes, so he quickly called security to send them off. After they

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 524

    “No!” Charles’ face paled. He pulled his phone out to call for help, but then his mother, Jessica, said, “You don’t need to call for help.” She had been fighting her illness for years and should have died a long time ago. It was Ethan’s subsidy and health insurance that helped her to stay alive, and after what happened, she believed she was the reason her son became twisted. She felt guilty, not just toward Ethan, but also toward her husband and their son. Years of pain and the burden she placed on her family had worn her down. She could not go on any longer. Maybe, just maybe, her death could help Charles find his way back.“I know what’s going on with my body,” she said, her voice strained and labored. “Son, I’ve hurt you enough. I’m so sorry. I will no longer be your burden. If you can, turn yourself in. You’re on your own now. We will always love you.” Charles teared up, his body shaking. He did not understand. He had worked so hard and taken so many risks, all to make s

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    Charles ran into his car and suddenly, he spotted a gun in the passenger’s seat. He was consumed by vengeance and did not care how the gun got into his car. He wound down the window and pointed the gun at Nolan. “Please take care of my parents’ funeral for me. Thanks.” He then stepped on the pedal and drove off. Nolan watched calmly as the car drove off. Everything was progressing as he planned. He walked into the house and saw Xavier and Jessica, both dead in each other’s embrace. He sighed helplessly. He may have dragged the two of them into this mess, but he never thought of hurting them or making them take their own lives. He made a call to his men and ordered them to give the elderly couple a proper burial. Meanwhile, Stephen was going through the reports on the recent updates. Even though riot police were deployed to maintain order in the city, things did not improve. Quite the opposite, the dangerous men armed with guns were further stimulated, causing them to be m

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 526

    Stephen slumped into his chair, boneless. He was really scared out of his wits when he had a gun pointed at him at such close range. He almost died. Only then did he have time to pick up his phone and check who had tried to call him earlier. However, before he could look, Nolan’s call came in. “Stephen, Charles’ parents committed suicide. He has a gun. He injured me and then escaped.”Stephen fell silent for a while before saying, “Got it. I’ve caught Charles. You should head to the hospital and get yourself checked out. You’ve done well.”He was more assured of Nolan, someone willing to risk his life to capture Charles. It looked like he was right in his choice of mayor this time. In fact, he had made an excellent choice!After hanging up, Stephen finally saw that it was Ganter who had tried to call him just now. However, nobody picked up when he returned the call. Seeing that he could not reach Stephen, Ganter had taken to the streets, trying to find someone to send Austin t

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 527

    Not long after Nolan left, Stephen came with his men to interrogate Charles. “How long have you been embezzling and taking bribes?” Stephen asked bluntly as soon as he entered. “I had such high hopes for you.”Charles looked at him and said, “Half a month.”“Half a month?” Stephen did some quick mental calculations. Hill City plunged into chaos again half a month ago, which matched Charles’ timeline of corruption. “You’re such a fool!” Stephen said coldly, “Who bribed you? You’d better speak.”Charles knew that even if he did not get a death sentence, he would spend the rest of his life behind bars. He had come to terms with his fate, so he named everyone who bribed him with money. After ordering his men to record it, Stephen asked, “Why did you do it? You’ve let me down so much.”Upon hearing that, Charles laughed. “Let you down? If I let you down, then you’ve completely devastated me! You must know my parents died, right? Do you know how they died?”Stephen frowned. Did

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 528

    Even Ganter himself doubted that he could have endured it. Besides, Austin should not have suffered that fate. It was all his fault. If he had not insisted on saving Stephen back then, he would not have come to Hill City and encountered the armed robbers. Everything was his fault!Ganter fell to the ground helplessly, wallowing in regret. He should not have saved Stephen back then. A few minutes later, he slowly walked out of the hospital ward and booked a flight to Riveria. He wanted to meet Ethan and beg for his forgiveness. Half a day later, Ganter arrived at Ethan’s mansion. Memories of his first visit flashed across his mind. At that time, he was confident, as if victory was already in the bag. Yet now, standing before the mansion again, his face was pale, and he looked significantly older. Ganter slowly walked into the mansion and saw Ethan sitting on the couch, reading a book, just like their first meeting. “Ethan…” Ganter approached him but hesitated. He was a master

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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    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

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 912

    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

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