Lounging in his villa overlooking Seaside City, Howard Green read an article on Ethan. According to the news, Ethan was free and had acquired a house as a gift. However, Howard had not been able to get in touch with Ethan despite multiple attempts. Howard was worried about Ethan’s safety. After all, he would not be where he was today if it were not for Ethan. … Three years ago, Seaside City was a hotbed of conflict as various entities and organizations vied for power. Howard was the leader of one of the entities, and his organization was one of the best in Seaside City, potentially giving Crestwood a run for its money. However, a traitor in the ranks and Crestwood’s aggressive approach of usurping other organizations led to Howard’s defeat against Crestwood. Howard could never forget the day of his downfall. It was raining that day, and he met Ethan for the first time. At the time, the mayor of Crestwood and his people were hunting Howard down. Howard, having sustained
“That’s right.” “I can’t let you do that.” Dennis said, “You can take anyone away but not him. He and his men are obstacles to the development of Crestwood. He hurt and killed many of our people. How can I face my people if I let him go?” “Tell them that I want to take him,” Ethan replied.Dennis fell silent. Then, he hissed through clenched teeth, “I still can’t let you, but I can give you a chance. You might be strong enough to be my rival. If you beat me, I’ll let you take him away.” In the middle of the pouring rain, Ethan stood calm and collected, his expression never wavering as he said, “You’re not qualified to be my nemesis.” Dennis clenched his fists at the statement. Unqualified? Ethan sure was cocky. Dennis had a reputation to uphold as a mayor to thousands of town residents. Ethan continued, “But I can give you three pieces of advice in return for taking him.”Dennis was confused. He had no use for advice. “Here’s the first piece of advice,” Ethan spoke.
Ethan’s plan was for Howard to restrain all local entities and change Seaside City for the better. The city’s positive transformation would strike those people that times were changing, and brute force was unnecessary in the pursuit of happiness. Once violence was put aside, they would be ready to address the issues in the city. Three years had passed since, and Ethan felt that the time was right. However, he was put behind bars before Howard could get the instructions for the next step. Without those orders, Seaside City was just one step away from gaining peace, but news arrived that Crestwood was stirring up trouble again. Howard immediately rallied his team to keep Crestwood in check, stopping them from causing havoc in Seaside City. Meanwhile, Stephen received the file on Howard, and his brows furrowed as he read on. Howard used to be the leader of an entity. While he did not have blood on his hands, he had wounded many, and his men had blood on their hands. “He’s a m
Howard took the call from his secretary. “We have a visitor from the state government, sir. His name is Stephen Quinn. He wants to see you.” Howard frowned. He knew of Stephen, the man who apologized for trusting North Hill City in the hands of the wrong guy. Stephen was also the one who gave back Ethan his freedom, yet Howard could not reach Ethan to this day. “Why does he want to meet with me?” Howard headed straight to the office. Upon learning where Stephen was, he stepped into his office and immediately spotted Stephen on his chair with his legs across his desk, acting like he was in charge. Howard entered the office and closed the door behind him before asking, “What can I do for you?” Stephen sized Howard, a lean-looking middle-aged man with a scar on his face, up.‘Ethan doesn’t seem to have a good eye. He could’ve looked for someone easier on the eye.’ Stephen thought to himself.Then, Stephen took out a file and threw it near Howard’s feet. “Take a look. You
The people of Seaside City were surprised. “Has Howard killed before? I doubt that happened.” “Yeah. He’s active at giving. A charitable man can’t be a murderer.” “This can’t be true.” Many were skeptical. In Crestwood, however, Dennis jolted to his feet in thrill at the news. “Has Howard been arrested? Go and find out if it’s real.” Howard had been keeping Crestwood in line, preventing Dennis from being a menace, and Dennis had had enough. The worst part was the dwindling drive of his men. Some of them had actually settled down—working regular jobs, getting married, and starting families. Few had even persuaded Dennis to stop raising hell. “We like our lives now. Isn’t that good enough?” “Yeah, we’ve worked hard to get where we are today. Now, we can finally relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor.”“My family is my priority, and I want to spend more time with them.”Dennis knew that was his last shot at making a fortune and getting even. His two right-hand men a
Stephen quickly sought out Howard’s men. “Howard has been arrested, but fear not because you can work for me.” Stephen’s men barged into the place, guns blazing. The speech bore striking similarities to Dennis’ recent remarks, and Howard’s people quickly came to a decision. Sure enough, their peace was short-lived. Here came another to recruit their services. Even though pleading allegiance to Stephen would get them killed, they could not say no to his face. They would be done for if Stephen had them arrested on the spot. Hence, they expressed their loyalty to Stephen. With Howard’s forces yielding to him, Stephen burst out in laughter. “I win this time. I took the fruits of your labor, Ethan. How are you going to react when you find out?” Stephen could not wait to fly to Drakthorn Ridge to tell Ethan. However, he still had more things to do in Seaside City. After Stephen left, everybody set out for Crestwood and joined Dennis’ gang. Dennis laughed out loud at the tur
Stephen wanted to take Howard to Ethan. Since they both would only have a life on the inside, Stephen thought it was appropriate for them to meet and cry in each other’s arms. “I bet it’s going to be funny. I should have everything ready to take a picture.” Howard looked haggard dressed in his orange jumpsuit during his first day in prison. It seemed like he had aged ten years overnight.His hair was a mess, and he looked out of it. Stephen approached his cell and said, “How do you feel, Howard?” Howard glanced up at him but did not say anything.Stephen snickered. “If you hadn’t turned me down, things might have turned out differently. I guess there’s no turning back now.” Howard remarked solemnly, “Are you here to make fun of me?”“Not at all.” Stephen said with a smile, “I’m here to help you. Come with me.”He led Howard to a car, and they set off for Drakthorn Ridge. As the car went up a mountain, Howard perked up. Was he going to be executed, or was he being brough
Ethan sized Stephen up.Stephen? A genius? Well, he certainly did not see it. If Stephen were truly a genius, North Hill City would not be in its current state. Honestly speaking, Ethan could not even think of a way to save it.Ethan mused, "Your family background is impressive. Perhaps you are indeed a genius in the eyes of ordinary people, but you still need to learn to see things from their perspective."Ethan was probing Stephen with his words. The deeper meaning was clear—Stephen had spent too long on his pedestal, and it was about time he learned how ordinary people lived and thought.Stephen scoffed, "Learn the foolish thinking of the commoners?"Ethan shook his head.Stephen had completely missed the point. It seemed he was not a genius after all. He was merely an ordinary person born into the right family.At that point, Ethan had only one thing to say."No," Ethan said as he slowly stood up. "It's about learning to see me from their perspective."A breeze swept by,
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 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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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