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Chapter 670
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The Guardian's Return Chapter 671
With that, they all had to silently put up with it and did as their bosses said. Some of the married couples were already on the verge of divorce.Although Stephen was in misery, they were in even more pain and suffering.When Stephen learned about their difficulties, he fell silent. He raised his head with reddened eyes. He thought that his life was hard enough, but it turned out that everyone else was living in far worse conditions.At that moment, he thought of Ethan.Three years ago, during a time when Riveria was even more chaotic and tragic, Ethan turned the tide and allowed everyone to live peacefully and happily.However, Stephen destroyed all of it. He felt utterly despicable.Someone said, “We’ll only accept a refund.”Stephen knew that there was no point in trying to persuade them anymore. The economy was struggling, and jobs were scarce. Even if he renovated their houses, they might not want them. At times like these, they would only have a sense of security if they
The Guardian's Return Chapter 672
“You won’t touch a single penny of the Quinns’ money!” Simon refused to compromise. To him, apologizing and paying compensation would ruin the family’s reputation, especially paying compensation to ordinary people. Having someone from the Quinns step up to talk to normal civilians was already an honor for them.Stephen said in a low voice, “Fine, I won’t touch it. I’ll come up with something myself.” Then, he turned and left, not wanting to say another word to Simon.“Stop!” Simon shouted after him, but Stephen did not listen. He had made up his mind and was convinced that compensation was the only solution. Continuing to cover things up, avoiding responsibility, or using the money from Breeze City to address the issue would not solve the root problem. Since it had all started with him, he should be the one to end it!Bam! Stephen returned to his room and slammed the door shut.Simon heard the door and clenched his fists. He could not understand why Stephen had become so uncontro
The Guardian's Return Chapter 673
The next morning, Stephen still did not receive any inquiries from buyers.When he arrived at his office building, a group of people immediately surrounded him at the entrance. Their faces were full of anticipation and nervousness as they asked, “When will we get our money back?”Stephen forced a smile. “Soon. Very soon.” Then, he hurried away.A whole day passed, but he had no money since the villas were still not sold. He did not know how to face the people’s hopefulness and did not even dare to meet their eyes.‘I hope the estates sell soon.’Feeling uneasy, he organized all the proof of purchase documents and calculated the total compensation needed. It was 5 billion.Stephen sighed in relief. Selling just one villa would be enough.However, there was still no news by evening, and Stephen grew anxious. It was almost two days by now. Nevertheless, he knew that there was no point worrying about it. He was completely helpless without the Quinns’ support.Another night passed,
The Guardian's Return Chapter 674
Stephen felt miserable. Although he knew that he had framed Ethan first and even imprisoned the latter in Drakthorn Ridge, he still asked, “Do you have no shred of compassion?”Ethan felt like he had just heard a joke. “You reaped the rewards, became the Grand Marshal’s mentee, married Rachel Lowe, and took over Riveria. You don’t need compassion. You’re just trying to shift the consequences of your incompetence onto me.”Stephen fell silent.“You long for love, and you long for someone to help you when you’re in trouble, but here’s the truth: to be loved is to be understood, and those who truly understood you and were willing to help you are all dead because of you.”Stephen’s body trembled.“The happiest time of your life is over. You can never go back. When the Quinn family helped you, there were many problems that you couldn’t solve. Now that they won’t help you, you’ll face even more challenges you can’t overcome. Your fate is already sealed. You can either die by trial or ta
The Guardian's Return Chapter 675
Stephen considered it for a moment. The fact that he had to wait so long for one potential buyer meant that the villas would not sell easily. Furthermore, he needed the money urgently.Although it was only 3 billion, it would at least resolve the immediate problem. He did not know how long he would have to wait if he missed this opportunity. He could not afford to let it slip away.“Okay,” Stephen said. “3 billion it is.”Victor smiled. He thought that Stephen would haggle a bit longer, but the latter unexpectedly agreed so quickly. It seemed he was indeed at the end of his rope.Stephen said, “I’ll head back to Metropolis now to complete the deal.”He had to be present due to the enormous sum involved. When he arrived at Metropolis at night, he immediately called Victor as soon as he got off the plane.Victor sent someone to finalize the deal with Stephen and successfully bought the villa worth 8 billion for only 3 billion dollars.“Thank you!” Stephen exclaimed in gratitude.
The Guardian's Return Chapter 676
Everyone looked eager. When Stephen saw that no one blamed him, he could not help but sigh in relief. He thought to himself, ‘I made the right decision.’After sending them all off, he returned home, feeling satisfied. ‘Maybe I’ll finally get a good night’s sleep tonight,’ he thought.Meanwhile, Simon found out that Stephen sold his villa for 3 billion dollars.“He’s gone insane.” Simon was furious. “That is a villa at Heavens Estate. Only the elite can afford to buy it. How could he actually sell it to compensate commoners? What an ingrate! I can’t let this news spread.”If people found out that the Quinn family spent 8 billion on a villa for Stephen’s birthday gift, it would surely become a point of discussion. Furthermore, the family’s reputation would be ruined upon the news about the heir of the Quinns being forced to sell his property because he did not have enough money.At that thought, Simon hurriedly found the person who bought the villa.“I’m Simon Quinn,” he said. “Yo
The Guardian's Return Chapter 677
The door opened with a click.Stephen had returned. Currently, he was in a good mood and could not help but hum to himself.Simon grew furious when he saw Stephen behaving like this. He sold his villa, apologized to ordinary people, and even compensated them. Was that something to be happy about?He marched over and slapped Stephen across the face.Smack!Stephen was stunned by the sudden blow.“Dad, what was that for?” He stared at Simon with wide eyes.“What was that for?” Simon almost laughed from rage. “Why did you sell the villa and compensate those people? If you really wanted to compensate them, you could’ve used the funds from Breeze City!”Stephen realized that it was about pride and dignity. His father always believed that a Quinn should never apologize or admit fault, let alone compensate others. To him, that was equivalent to betraying the family.“Breeze City has no more money,” said Stephen. “Taking billions from the city would ruin it. Using my own money is the
The Guardian's Return Chapter 678
Since it was Victor who came, Simon could not play any tricks and had no choice but to complete the transaction and watch Victor leave.Simon felt extremely frustrated. Although 8 billion was nothing to the Quinns, he had been threatened and brought shame to the family.He had prepared thoroughly and planned to capture the buyer during the transaction, but the other party had clearly anticipated it. Now, he had failed to regain his dignity and lost even more due to his miscalculation.While he felt vexed, there was a smile on Victor’s face.“Simon isn’t that great.” Victor had come of his own accord because he knew that Simon could not swallow the insult of being threatened. Thus, he decisively took the risk and showed up, foiling Simon’s plan.“He must be furious now, but there’s nothing he can do about it. No wonder Stephen is so useless. It’s hereditary. Looks like Stephen really is his biological son.”He got into the car, feeling slightly emotional. He had been hiding abroad
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The Guardian's Return Chapter 702
Everyone shook their heads.Some wanted to share their opinions, but after hearing what Simon said, they knew it would be pointless. Simon would not have listened regardless.At that moment, they all found themselves missing the previous leader of Riveria. If only he were still here, he would have solved the problems—no, he would have prevented them from happening in the first place.Ever since Stephen came to Riveria, everything had been falling apart."If there are no questions, meeting’s adjourned," Simon said, turning to leave. He still had to think about ways to turn Breeze City's crisis around.The department heads reluctantly left the conference room, each wearing troubled expressions, unsure how to announce the salary delay. However, as that was Simon's order, they had no choice but to follow through.When they announced the delay of salary payments, it caused an immediate uproar. Nobody could believe it."Salaries would be delayed by several months?""What’s the reas
The Guardian's Return Chapter 701
Simon took a deep breath to calm himself down. As someone who had weathered many storms before, this was not his first rodeo, and he knew how to handle this."Call all the heads of departments in. I need everyone for a meeting." He planned to explain to everyone that those were special circumstances and have the heads of departments inform their staff about the delay in salary payment.Simon believed that if he explained the situation with reason and appealed to their emotions, everyone would understand Breeze City's current predicament and appreciate his good intentions. He trusted that with patience and teamwork, everyone would continue working without rushing to demand their salaries. If they just stuck together, the crisis would be over soon enough.Soon, the heads of departments arrived. With Breeze City financially broke, everyone was anxious and looking to Simon for solutions."Payday is coming up. What do we do since we're out of money?""Yes, we won't be able to pay any
The Guardian's Return Chapter 700
Breeze City’s GDP plummeted even quicker.Simon had to ask about the GDP every few hours, and he was beginning to fear sleeping because when he woke up, the numbers dropped again.“Why hasn’t anyone bought the development zone yet?” He had already lowered the development zone price drastically.Before coming to Breeze City, he had thought the problems here were not that serious. He believed that things could be resolved with just a little effort.However, the problems exceeded his expectations. Now, the situation was not only resolved but heading toward complete collapse.Just as he got a headache, his phone rang. Simon glanced at the screen and saw that it was the South Regent.“Have you been busy lately?” The South Regent chuckled.“Did you call just to mock me?” Simon’s voice turned cold. How dare a leader outside the borders mock him? He wanted to send people to wipe out the South Regent’s forces right now.The South Regent laughed. “Of course not. I’m not that kind of pers
The Guardian's Return Chapter 699
After asking around, they found out that the famous psychologist in Metropolis, Dr. Steel, had retired. He had gone to Riveria with a student before, but an incident caused the student’s leg to be broken, leaving them disabled for life.After returning, Dr. Steel announced that he would never be involved in anything related to psychology.This decision had created a huge stir at the time. Everyone speculated what happened to Dr. Steel and his student. However, to this day, there was no clear answer.Dr. Steel also said nothing about it, and whenever someone asked, he would only show a pained expression as if the memory itself was filled with sharp needles that hurt his heart.“It’s a shame that Dr. Steel retired,” several people lamented. They did not know that Dr. Steel’s plight was thanks to Stephen.It was Stephen’s failed management that caused chaos in Hill City. Then, Dr. Steel could only watch as his student’s leg was shot and broken while the city was turned into a mess.
The Guardian's Return Chapter 698
For a moment, no one knew how to comfort Stephen. They knew a little about his troubles, but since they had not experienced it themselves, they could only say, “It’s all in the past. We have to look forward.”Stephen grabbed a bottle of beer and drank it directly.“Stephen!” The others were shocked to see Stephen chugging the beer.“I’m fine.” Stephen was still sober. He drank heavily now because he wanted to get drunk. Ever since Lily’s death, he started to drink to forget his troubles.However, every time he woke up, the weight of everything he had to shoulder threatened to suffocate him.“Even if you’re fine, you can’t drink like that.” Someone quickly took the bottle from him.“You can’t drink anymore. We’ll take you home.”They helped Stephen out and put him in the car, then drove toward the Quinns’ residence.Stephen said, “I don’t want to go back.”“You don’t? Where do you want to go then?” someone asked.“Where...” The question left Stephen at a loss. Where did he wan
The Guardian's Return Chapter 697
[Come back home; I’m waiting for you.]The song continued.Stephen’s vision blurred as tears welled up in his eyes. He used to love this singer and always wanted to attend one of his concerts. Lily was the same. However, this singer had never performed there before.Now, the singer was here, and Stephen could finally watch him live. He even sat in the VIP section and would be able to shake hands and get an autograph later. The expressions of everyone around him were filled with excitement and emotion.However, Stephen’s face was streaked with tears. He was not happy at all. Despite finally making it to the concert, he felt sad inside because he should not be here alone tonight. He should have been here with Snow, Lily, Jeremy, and Andy.“Stephen, are you crying?” someone asked beside him.Stephen snapped back to his senses. “It’s nothing. The song was too beautiful. I really admire the person who wrote it.”The person nodded. “Yeah, I just looked it up. The lyricist and composer
The Guardian's Return Chapter 696
Stephen had no other choice. He was under house arrest, so he simply smiled wryly. “I hope you have fun. Well, I still have stuff to do. You should go now.”Exhausted, he had been suffering from a lack of sleep during this period. Coupled with the blows from several incidents, he was mentally and physically drained.Although everyone still had something to say, they held back when they saw how tired Stephen genuinely was.“Rest well, Stephen.”“Take care of your health.”“Let us know if you need anything.”They said goodbye to Stephen and left. After seeing them out, Stephen then sighed and returned to his own room.When he reached the door, he suddenly froze at the sight of an unexpected visitor.Victor Hughes!Victor had his hands in his pockets as he walked over slowly. “Mr. Quinn, we meet again.”Stephen took a deep breath. “Why are you here?”He had no goodwill left for Victor. Victor left immediately when trouble arose in Breeze City and even shifted the blame to Steph
The Guardian's Return Chapter 695
Naturally, Stephen knew the reason‒he wanted to make up for the mistakes he had made in the past.However, he did not dare to voice that thought and simply said, “Because I used the Quinn family’s money for compensation.”Harrison nodded. “You’re not wrong, but that’s just part of the reason. Your other fault lies in your lack of thoroughness and firmness. You let them post about you recovering the money online.”Stephen did not dare to raise his head. “I understand. I won’t make the same mistake again.”“That’s more like it.” Harrison was very pleased.Over the past six months, Stephen had stirred up a lot of trouble in Riveria. Other families had been gossiping, and some even said that Stephen was not a genius at all and was not fit to manage Riveria.Harrison also had some doubts. However, he still believed that Stephen was intelligent and clearly knew what he did wrong.“The new year is approaching. For now, stay home and behave. If you have nothing to do, then read some boo
The Guardian's Return Chapter 694
When the children laughed and ran away, Stephen simply sighed and said nothing.He prepared to take a shower and go to bed. He was too exhausted for the past half year and forgot what it felt like to sleep in his own home.Just then, someone from the family came to see him. He was an old man with white hair and a cane, but he exuded a powerful presence more intimidating than Simon.Stephen’s head instantly bowed when he saw the old man. “Grandfather.”The person who came was Stephen’s grandfather and Simon’s father, Harrison Quinn.“You still call me your grandfather?” Harrison rebuked. “What have you done in Riveria the past six months? Riveria’s GDP reached 15 trillion and was just shy of 20 trillion, but you managed to make it plummet below a trillion. Are you trying to drive us to our graves?”Stephen did not dare to look at Harrison. He wanted to explain that Riveria was not what everyone thought it was. It was not a peaceful blue sky but a turbulent deep sea. One misstep, a
