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Chapter 662

ผู้เขียน: Old Pumpkin
The next day, Stephen, Simon, and Rachel went to the Fords’ residence for the funeral.

The Fords’ mansion was packed that day, with representatives from various families. Many business executives and celebrities were in attendance too. Some of them had red, swollen eyes, clearly devastated by Lily's death. However, the moment Stephen appeared, all eyes turned to him.

Everyone present was influential and knew about Stephen's relationship with Lily. They had grown up as childhood friends, and everyone remembered Lily always saying she wanted to marry Stephen one day.

When they saw Stephen's graying hair, everyone was stunned, and a shiver ran down their spines.

Just six months ago, Stephen had jet-black hair and was an air of confidence. He was the epitome of a young business prodigy, admired by every up-and-coming member of elite families and companies.

Now, however, his hair was gray, his energy completely drained, and he walked with a slight stoop. He hardly looked like the youn
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  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 663

    Seeing him silent with his head bowed, no one else approached to speak with him.Meanwhile, in a distant room, Ethan took a sip from his teacup, sampling the supposedly premium tea from an elite family. Finding it rather ordinary, he set down the cup and asked softly, "You don't want to see him?"Beside him, Lily gently shook her head."No."After experiencing death, she gained clarity about many things. The current situation could not be changed by her wishes alone.Stephen was not the head of the Quinn family, just as Jason was not yet the head of the Fords. They all had to mind their families' opinions and follow their orders.That was why meeting Stephen now would not change anything; it would only create more problems. Besides… "I have more important things to do now."She glanced sideways at a young woman standing nearby. It was Snow.Ethan had brought Snow there to show Lily another world. Born into the Ford family, Lily had grown up wealthy and privileged, thinking

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 664

    Stephen pushed his hand away. "You don't understand.""No, I understand perfectly." The man's weathered face showed no emotion, but his words stopped Stephen in his tracks."I lost my wife in a car accident, and my child to a terminal illness. Yet here I am, year after year, each difficult, but still getting by."After that, he turned and left, leaving Stephen staring at his back.While Stephen was still lost in thought, the funeral began.Everyone gathered in the cemetery to watch as "Lily's ashes" were lowered into the ground. Many people began crying softly. Stephen stood at the front, holding a white rose. Though silent, his eyes were red, tears threatening to fall.After the ground was filled in and people began laying down roses, Stephen spotted a familiar face in the crowd. It was Ethan!Stephen stopped in his steps, wondering why Ethan was there. After all, the man had no connection to the Fords.After Ethan laid down his rose, Stephen quickly caught up to him as he was

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 665

    Simon had tried to retain businesses, but only small, insignificant ones stayed. The large and medium-sized enterprises that comprised the bulk of Breeze City’s economic activities all chose to leave.The only solution he could think of now was to create new opportunities to attract other businesses."And the development zone issue must be addressed too."Simon knew that the problem would not just disappear if they ignored it."We'll have to spend money to fix it."He thought they could use Breeze City's funds to fill that hole, though the impact would be enormous since the city barely had any money left. As such, he planned a meeting the next day to discuss those plans.He found Stephen in his room. "Get some rest with Rachel. You'll need to attend a meeting with me tomorrow."In the room, Rachel had not forgotten her main purpose—to have Stephen's child.Now that they were in the same room, she tried to seduce him again. However, when Stephen saw her lying undressed on the be

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 666

    Many people added insult to the injury, mocking Stephen further. “You deserve it!”“Do you want our pity? Truth be told, you brought it all onto yourself.”“What’s this called? This is karma. You’ve done terrible things, and now that your childhood sweetheart is dead, you realize how painful it is, huh?”“It was unlucky for Lily to have met someone like you.”Stephen did not dare to read the comments. In the past, he had spread rumors about Ethan to make everyone misunderstand the man and launch relentless attacks on Ethan online. At that time, he felt delighted about it. Now, it was his turn, and even his friends and Lily were dragged into it. Stephen was heartbroken, and regret consumed him. He knew the words that attacked Ethan were fake. Ethan had never embezzled or bribed anyone. He made everything up, and worst of all, the anger of others did not affect Ethan. However, the criticisms aimed at him were all true. He had indeed done too many wrongs that he now regretted

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 667

    “Ah!” Stephen screamed. “Don’t kill me!”He clutched his head with both hands and immediately crouched down on the ground. “Why aren’t you the one dead?” A familiar voice rang out beside him.Stephen trembled and cautiously raised his head to see that all the coffins had vanished and only one person stood before him. The thick mist made it difficult for him to see the person’s face clearly. The next second, as if a breeze just swept through, the mist swirled, and Stephen finally saw the face of the man before him. Recognizing the man immediately, Stephen’s eyes widened. It was Ethan! “You don’t want to die, and neither did they. Why did you kill them?” Ethan looked down at Stephen.Stephen’s face paled. “I didn’t. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to kill anyone!”“Is that so?” The South Regent slowly stepped out from the side. “You might be able to explain it if there was only one death, but how many lives has it been now? Do you even remember? You only pick the ones closes

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 668

    His question rubbed salt in Stephen’s wounds, and it hurt. “I’m not in the mood now, nor have I thought about it,” Stephen replied. “Why? Are you that busy?” Simon pressed. Stephen took a deep breath. “When Lily made her final call to me, I hung up on her because of Rachel.”Simon was stunned to hear that. He realized that the problem might be more severe than he expected. From now on, whenever Rachel wanted to sleep with Stephen, he would think of that missed call. That call he had once hung up impatiently would become the regret that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Simon wanted to say something but hesitated. After a while, he finally asked, “Do you still want to sleep with women?”“No,” Stephen said honestly. “It makes me want to throw up.”Simon’s expression turned ugly. The worst-case scenario still happened in the end. The overwhelming stress and trauma had caused Stephen to lose interest in women, and getting him to have a child with someone would be a

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 669

    To gain more benefits in Riveria, the Hugheses would never let things go smoothly for Stephen. If Stephen ended up handling the crisis successfully, it would be harder for them to intervene, let alone make a profit. Victor picked up his phone and made a call. “Find a suitable time to spread the word that Stephen apologized to the large and medium-sized companies who chose to leave while ignoring the small companies willing to stay. “The small companies aren’t his priority, and he doesn’t care whether they survive or not.”After that, he hung up. His reason was to stir discontent among the small businesses that chose to stay. With Breezy City’s current situation, even a few companies leaving would hugely impact the market and economy. Since most businesses had left, the farmlands were abandoned, and there was no funding to continue the development area. Now, Breeze City had almost no job opportunities. If not for the fact that many eyes were on Breeze City, Simon even wanted t

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 670

    As long as she got pregnant, her position would be secured, and she could gain a certain level of freedom, which would only benefit her immensely. However, Stephen was not up to it, and it left Rachel frustrated. If not for the overwhelming power the Quinns held, she would have secretly worked with another man behind everyone’s backs to get herself pregnant. The next morning, Stephen woke up before 7 a.m. His sleep quality had been terrible lately, and he went downstairs with heavy bags under his eyes. He hastily had breakfast prepared by the maids before leaving the house in a hurry. He did not forget the important mission he had today. He had summoned the people who bought houses in the development zone in batches, planning to explain the situation to these homeowners and discuss possible solutions. He specially chose a restaurant for the meeting and decorated it to reflect a calm atmosphere. At a little past ten, Stephen met the first batch of homeowners. Most of them were

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  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 920

    After everything was settled, the people from HQ went to Ethan again. They apologized to him and begged for his forgiveness.“We’ve dealt with everyone involved in this matter. Are you satisfied with the outcome, Mr. Rivers?”With that, they lowered their heads to the ground nervously. Their only hope now hinged on Ethan’s response.They did not dare to ask for much. All they hoped for was that Ethan would not leave the country.Ethan glanced at them calmly and said, “Send someone to help move my stuff down the mountain.”Hearing that, everyone was first stunned, and then ecstatic.“Of course!” they replied in unison.They understood what Ethan meant. He was staying! Although it was not his complete forgiveness, he was willing to give them another chance.They were all overjoyed. As long as Ethan did not leave, there was plenty of time to slowly make amends.They took out their phones and made arrangements to help Ethan move.After the call ended, they said, “We respectfully

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 919

    The day of Rachel and George’s trial came.The livestream began at 10 a.m., and hundreds of thousands of viewers joined instantly.Rachel and George slowly walked into the courtroom in handcuffs.Bang! The judge’s gavel fell, and the room went silent.It was not a lawsuit. It was a trial to expose the sins of Rachel and George.The judge read out their crimes one by one, until Rachel and George’s faces paled to the point that they looked like corpses.The viewers in the livestream finally saw the full picture.“So that’s it! The Quinns and the Lowes conspired!”“They deserve to die! How could they frame Ethan like that? Are they even human?”“The death penalty! They deserve the death penalty!”They were all furious.Many people had lost their families as a result of supporting Stephen and scolding Ethan. After watching the livestream, they realized just how deeply they had been wrong.They were accomplices to the Quinns and the Lowes' crimes in framing Ethan!Their current

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 918

    They suppressed their disgust and returned home, only to see their parents and wives’ panicked expressions.“What did you do out there?”“So many people came today, asking for you by name.”How were they supposed to answer those questions? They could not just say that they had insulted Ethan online.If they did, their parents would beat them to death before anyone else could.“It’s nothing,” they replied stiffly. They had no choice but to hide the truth. After all, they could not say that they had insulted Ethan, or that they had lost their jobs.However, the next second, their parents received text messages. After their parents glanced at their phones, their expressions instantly changed.It was a message from the bank, stating that their child had been listed as a defaulter and urging them to repay the loan immediately.“What have you done?” Their parents’ voices trembled.Seeing that there was no way to hide it anymore, they had no choice but to confess the truth.They los

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 917

    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

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 916

    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

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 915

    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

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 914

    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.

  • The Guardian's Return   Chapter 913

    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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