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Chapter 695
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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 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 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 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 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 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 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 703
At that moment, a large crowd gathered outside Simon's office. Seeing the imposing and angry mob, security personnel felt nervous, beads of cold sweat rolling down their foreheads."Simon Quinn, pay our salaries on time!""We must get paid this month! No delays!""How are we supposed to survive this month without our salaries?"Everyone shared the same goal: getting Simon to release their paychecks for the month. The news reached Simon quickly, and he was taken aback."Are they protesting at my door? How absurd!"It was just a few months' delay in pay, not like they were not getting paid at all.In the past, when he faced similar issues, people had shown such great dedication and a spirit of sacrifice. No one brought up the subject. Some had even told him, "Don't worry about the money. Let's get through this crisis first."Now, they were protesting at his door demanding timely payment just after the announcement.Simon walked out, his face cold as he looked at the agitated cro
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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
