Meanwhile, Victor was secretly laughing to himself. The plan was his idea, but he let Stephen implement it. That way, he could push all the blame onto Stephen in the future.Seeing that no one had any objections and even seemed to admire him, Stephen felt pleased with himself. He could finally show off and be proud!He immediately scrapped the original plan to reforest the area and implemented his own plan, handing over the land to developers. The space available for development was huge, and with Victor’s arrival, many people saw that as a golden opportunity, so the land was quickly snapped up. Stephen easily earned billions of dollars from that. However, the money was not his but Breeze City’s. Although it seemed like a large amount of money, it could only be used to fill the deficit caused by previous incidents. To make a real profit, he would have to wait until people began buying the homes.Even so, Stephen was satisfied. Since the river water was already polluted, he decided
If they had not chosen to relocate, they would also have gotten millions in compensation!The frustration and despair among the people were growing.“Breeze City is the grain capital of Riveria. This place grows crops and animals but not humans.”Everyone hoped that the developers would pick their land so they did not have to farm anymore, especially the people near the reserves.When Stephen heard the news, he immediately clarified that no one had received such compensation, but no one believed him.If Victor had not come from Metropolis to save them, the grain contamination crisis would still be unresolved. Even now, plenty of people still had to receive treatment regularly at the hospital.Seeing his plan working, Victor continued to spread the news. He told everyone that the land near the river would be developed into factories, which would impact farmland near the area. In the future, clean grain would be a rarity, and grain prices would continue to drop.The moment the new
“Ethan Rivers, we’ve received a report accusing you of multiple crimes, including embezzlement and bribery. Please come with us.”At Villa 88, Grand Tomson in Riveria, two uniformed officers stood before Ethan, their eyes fixed coldly on him.“Do you have the wrong person?” Ethan frowned.He was the future son-in-law of the governor, currently managing the entire province on the governor’s behalf. Over the past three years, he had worked tirelessly to increase the GDP of Riveria by fivefold.Thanks to him, Riveria was transformed from a poor backwater into a developed province with a GDP of 15 trillion dollars!“There’s no mistake.” A cold voice suddenly sounded from the front.Ethan was stunned to see the speaker. It was a beautiful woman, who was the governor’s daughter and his fiancee, Rachel Lowe.Rachel approached slowly, her gaze indifferent as she looked at Ethan. “I was the one who made the report. They’re here to arrest you.”When he heard her and saw the look in her e
“Besides, the Quinns from the capital will have a marriage alliance with us. Once Stephen Quinn comes to Riveria, he’ll easily raise the GDP to 20 trillion within a year!”Rachel walked over to the table and continued with a smile, “The Lowes’ affairs are none of your concern. You should worry about yourself now.”She smiled faintly. “After all, you’ll be spending the rest of your life behind bars.”One of the officers then took out a pair of silver handcuffs.Ethan knew that the Lowes must have planned it thoroughly. There was no chance they would let him walk away today, but he did not plan on walking away anyway. He was feeling a bit tired, after all. Over the past three years, he had constantly worked to attract investors, protect the environment, and maintain the delicate balance with the various forces. Now, he finally had some time to rest.Ethan looked at them calmly and said, “I’ll walk out myself.”The two officers frowned and moved forward to handcuff him. However, w
Ethan did not bother looking at them again and pulled out his phone instead. “Whether you call him or not makes no difference to me, but… whether I’m the one who calls him or you would make a significant difference for you.”The two officers gasped in shock. Just the comment he made carried more weight than the chef chewing them out for three hours straight!Seeing that Ethan was about to dial the chief’s number, they shouted in unison, “We’ll call him right away!”They then turned and bolted to find the chief, not daring to waste any time.A minute later, the police chief, Liam Yates, came rushing over. He felt a chill run down his spine when he saw Ethan sitting in the lobby.“Why is he here? He’s usually holed up in that villa. The last time he went out, he went to Crestwood alone and came out unharmed a few hours later. The entire town saw him off! Since then, Crestwood has been quiet and engaging in legitimate business!”The people in Crestwood were notorious for being tough
Due to it being located at the border, the situation there was extremely unstable, and deaths on the mountain would go unnoticed.Liam could not help but ask, “Why are you going there?”Ethan glanced at him. “I don’t need to explain my actions to you. I’m only informing you because I’m currently under suspicion.”Liam gulped. “I’ll go with you! It’s too dangerous there. You need someone to protect you.”The two officers behind had long since lost their words. Seeing the chief treating Ethan like that, they also started to wonder if they should beg for forgiveness. However, Ethan ignored them and simply headed straight for the door.Liam sighed in relief as he watched Ethan leave. As his mind cleared, a thought immediately crossed his mind.“Who reported him? Who would dare to report him? It must be someone from the governor’s side!“Is the governor getting rid of him after securing his re-election? This is bad. Ethan doesn’t need Riveria, but Riveria can’t be without Ethan! It’l
“Ethan has no talent. Riveria’s success is all thanks to my father!”The manager was stunned. Ethan had no talent? Riveria’s success was all thanks to George? He thought he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.Everyone in Riveria knew that George had no concern for the province. It was all Ethan’s efforts. Without Ethan, Riveria would not be a province with a GDP of 15 trillion dollars. Instead, it would be a poverty-stricken place plagued by trouble!If not for the fact that Ethan was George’s future son-in-law, they would not have voted to re-elect George. Even the hotel, which was the largest in Riveria, was founded thanks to Ethan.The manager frowned and said, “That’s not right. We common folks know Ethan well. Ask anyone, and they’ll sing his praises!”George and Stephen’s expressions instantly darkened when they heard everyone would sing Ethan’s praises. That was not the news they wanted to hear, and they needed Ethan’s reputation to be thoroughly destroyed.“S
If Ethan was removed and the South Regent made a move again, would the cities at the borders survive?George and Stephen’s expressions were grim with anger when their plan was exposed.“Nonsense. Ethan is just an orphan with no skills. He even dropped out of high school. What contributions has he made?“On the other hand, Stephen is the son of the Quinns in the capital. Not only did he graduate from the top academy, but he also studied abroad for three years and gained exceptional skills. Ethan is nothing compared to Stephen!”Zane scoffed in disdain. “If he’s so amazing, the GDP of the capital should’ve long surpassed that of Riveria and become the top in the nation, right?”George was instantly silenced, and Stephen’s expression darkened further.“I only have one thing to say. Riveria when it’s managed by Ethan and when not are two completely different places. Ethan will have an easier life if he leaves Riveria, but without him, Riveria will crumble!”George slammed the table
If they had not chosen to relocate, they would also have gotten millions in compensation!The frustration and despair among the people were growing.“Breeze City is the grain capital of Riveria. This place grows crops and animals but not humans.”Everyone hoped that the developers would pick their land so they did not have to farm anymore, especially the people near the reserves.When Stephen heard the news, he immediately clarified that no one had received such compensation, but no one believed him.If Victor had not come from Metropolis to save them, the grain contamination crisis would still be unresolved. Even now, plenty of people still had to receive treatment regularly at the hospital.Seeing his plan working, Victor continued to spread the news. He told everyone that the land near the river would be developed into factories, which would impact farmland near the area. In the future, clean grain would be a rarity, and grain prices would continue to drop.The moment the new
Meanwhile, Victor was secretly laughing to himself. The plan was his idea, but he let Stephen implement it. That way, he could push all the blame onto Stephen in the future.Seeing that no one had any objections and even seemed to admire him, Stephen felt pleased with himself. He could finally show off and be proud!He immediately scrapped the original plan to reforest the area and implemented his own plan, handing over the land to developers. The space available for development was huge, and with Victor’s arrival, many people saw that as a golden opportunity, so the land was quickly snapped up. Stephen easily earned billions of dollars from that. However, the money was not his but Breeze City’s. Although it seemed like a large amount of money, it could only be used to fill the deficit caused by previous incidents. To make a real profit, he would have to wait until people began buying the homes.Even so, Stephen was satisfied. Since the river water was already polluted, he decided
After handing Rachel the document, Victor was about to leave when Rachel said to him, “Thank you for telling me this.”Victor paused but did not turn around, hiding a smile on his face. He felt that Stephen was truly unfortunate to have married such a woman. However, it all worked in his favor.“No need to thank me. I’m just doing my part,” Victor said before making his way out.At night, Stephen finally came home after working the whole day, completely exhausted. All he wanted was to have a few bites, take a shower, and go to sleep.Rachel’s eyes flickered coldly when she saw him return. It was Stephen’s fault that Theo was dead!She suppressed her anger, stood up, and said to Stephen, “I have something to discuss with you.”Stephen was surprised. Since their marriage, Rachel had rarely initiated a conversation with him. Even after the scandal, she barely spoke to him, but her attitude toward him had improved vastly.“What is it?”Rachel walked over and handed him the document
Rachel had a favorable impression of Victor because he was handsome. Although he could not compare to Stephen, his disposition was slightly better than Stephen’s, just like Theo was.Victor smiled. “I came to see you.”“Huh?” Rachel was a little surprised.“I know you liked Theo,” Victor said, “and I have something to tell you.”“What is it?” Rachel immediately narrowed her eyes. Her relationship with Theo was a secret. Even Stephen did now know about it, so how did Victor know? Was he planning to use that information to threaten her?“Stephen caused Theo’s death.” Victor handed over a document. “This contains information on Theo’s family situation.”Rachel took the document, and as she read it, her expression instantly turned dark.It detailed how Theo was once the heir of a prominent family, but Stephen destroyed the Harlow family. With the Harlows wiped out, Theo was separated from his sister.Theo did not dare to get revenge but wanted to find his sister and protect her.
“Is that all?” Victor narrowed his eyes.“There’s something else,” the South Regent slowly said. “Back then, I was focused on escaping from Ethan and did not get the chance to face Rhys. I want to see the kind of strength you have for being able to defeat Rhys.”Victor was speechless. “You’re insane.”He did not expect the South Regent to choose to oppose them for such a reason. More importantly, he did not expect that the rumor about them defeating Rhys Estrela would bring them new enemies.“You’re scared,” the South Regent said, “Although I’ve never fought against Rhys, I know a bit about him. You couldn’t have won against him if this is all the courage you have.”He was not afraid of the Hughes family. He dared to challenge Ethan in the past. Although he was let go by Ethan or escaped miserably, he survived Ethan multiple times.After being tortured by the terrifying Ethan for so long, he truly did not think much of the Hughes family’s strength.Victor’s heart sank. He did no
Edward and Tyler looked at the South Regent with wide eyes. They believed that he was telling the truth. Cooperating with them to get benefits was just an afterthought. His real goal was to confront the Hughes family.Edward frowned and asked, “Are you confident?”The Hughes family was formidable. Although they could not compare to the Quinns, they were still a prestigious family from Metropolis. Ordinary families in smaller cities and the backward foreign forces could not match up to them.The South Regent smiled. “How will I know if I don’t try?” He looked at the two again. “Well? Should we work together? This might be a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove ourselves.”They knew very well that they were no match for Ethan, but if they could defeat Victor, it would prove that they were not that incompetent. It was just that Ethan was too powerful.“Okay.” Edward thought about it carefully and agreed to work together.“Good.” The South Regent raised his glass. “I look forward
Edward and Tyler sized up the South Regent. The Spencers and the South Regent had always been enemies. They even fought with each other at Hill City. Why was the South Regent inviting them to dinner so enthusiastically now?Edward asked with a serious face, “Are you here just to mock us?”The South Regent laughed. “Of course not.” Although part of the reason he approached them was indeed to mock them, he also had other motives.“I know the predicament you’re in now. I came to you because I want to work with you,” the South Regent said. “I plan to get involved in Breeze City.”Edward instantly understood. The South Regent wanted to take advantage of the chaos to enter Breeze City, set roots there, and continuously extract benefits from it.It was just like what he had done in Hill City and Celestial City!If the South Regent succeeded, his power would grow even stronger, and a large amount of Riveria’s money would flow out of the borders. This was not good news for anyone living i
Edward and Tyler could not help but feel envious. While they were standing outside under the sun, Ethan was inside, napping comfortably. The difference was immense.The two looked at the jug and the cups on the table but did not dare to drink. They had once challenged Ethan, but now, they did not even dare to breathe loudly in front of him. Even if their throats were burning from thirst, they did not dare to pour themselves water without Ethan’s permission.“Get yourself some water if you’re thirsty,” Ethan said calmly.Only then did Tyler pour a glass of water. He first pushed it in front of Ethan, then gave the second cup to his father and the third for himself.After drinking the cool mountain spring water, they both felt rejuvenated. They both drank three cups each before finally feeling completely revived.“From how you look, I already know why you’re here.” Ethan’s voice made Edward and Tyler freeze in their tracks. They nervously looked at Ethan.“What is your answer, Mr.
Many investors were tricked without even realizing it.Throughout the process, as the managers of the company, the Spencers did not receive a single dime.Edward and Tyler knew that Victor was no longer even pretending. He was openly signaling that they were just pawns he could discard at any time. They felt deeply resentful.The Spencers had experienced countless setbacks over the years, especially three years ago with Marcus’s death and the decline of the family. However, they managed to get through it.Now, Victor was forcing them into a desperate situation. Once Victor abandoned the Spencers, it would be completely over for them.“We can’t let that happen,” Edward muttered.Tyler asked, “What can we do?”They could not think of any solutions.“If only Marcus were still alive...” Tyler could only think of Marcus. Marcus was the genius of the Spencers. His talent and skill far surpassed even Edward. However, Marcus had already died as part of Ethan’s plan.“Alas.” Edward sig