âYou should be visiting the doctor instead of coming to me. I canât do anything about your condition,â Ethan said while putting his book down. He knew about Seaside City and why Stephen came to him. Hence, when he spoke, his words carried two meanings.The first interpretation was literal: Stephen should see a doctor for his cough instead of coming here. The second was more subtle: Stephen needed to learn how to deal with the problems he had caused, rather than seeking help from him. Stephen, unfortunately, did not understand Ethan. His expression turned bitter as he sat down on the couch. âIâm here with good news.â Ethan had a look at his face and said, âHm. I guess itâs really good news. It explains why you have that look on your face.â âWe have decided to let you go,â Stephen said with a cold grunt. Then, he stared at Ethan, hoping to see excitement or gratitude, but all he saw was an expressionless face. âYou seem awfully calm knowing that you can leave.â Stephen coul
If Shawn Hill, Eric Morningstar, Brandon North, Dennis Lewis, and Howard Green were already leaving Stephen with no way out, what about the big players in the pool? People like the South Regent wanted to dye the entire province in its own blood. Stephen, who still had no idea how serious the situation had gotten, got up and bellowed, âYou know what Howard did. Why canât you talk to him? Is it that hard for you to help? You know Dennis is a ticking time bomb and what Howard has contributed, yet you say nothing. âYouâre actually partially responsible for what happened to Seaside City. Are you really just going to sit back and do nothing?â Stephen took a deep breath to regulate his emotions. âIf youâre willing to help, we will give you more money. In fact, you can get more than just money, you can get women and young menâwhatever you like!â Money, women, and freedom were the three more tempting things to a man, so Stephen believed Ethan would say yes to him this time. âI tol
âJust go. Itâs getting late,â Ethan said. Stephen had no memory of how he left the place. He only regained his senses when he felt the cool mountain breeze on his sweaty face. He turned around for a glance at the mansion. An uncontrollable fear flickered in his eyes before he rushed down the hill. On the way back, he could not help but give his father a call. âI offered him money, women, and freedom, but he rejected all of them. He doesnât want to help.â Simon gasped when he heard the news of Ethan rejecting the offer. âWhat? Why did he reject you?â âHe said he doesnât need any of those.â âHe doesnât need any of those?â Simon thought he had heard wrong. A man locked up in a mansion on the mountain had no need for money, women, and freedom? He pondered, but he could not figure it out either. He simply thought Ethan was bluffing. However, Ethanâs rejection made things more difficult for Simon, and he could not think of a better solution for the time being. âGo home
Simon never wanted to take that step, but Ethanâs refusal left him no choice. âDennis has agreed. He will delete the video and take a new one to clarify everything. It might not be as useful as Howard clarifying himself but at least it's something,â Simon said. Upon listening to the good news, Stephen slumped back onto the couch. With the weight lifted off his shoulders, he felt a great relief. He was safe and had overcome the crisis. Once Dennis made the clarification, everything would be better. Stephen also could not believe that his savior would also be his enemy. After Dennis poisoned him and tossed him into the thrash, he had sworn to capture Dennis at all costs, but now he found himself having to rely on the very man for help. He knew that insult would be with him for the rest of his life. Maybe others would believe everything was fake, a prank video just to slander him, but he knew it all really happened. He could fool everyone but not himself. Meanwhile, Simon br
They even had to give Dennis 50 million dollars to release the clarification video. If the truth got out, the Quinnsâ reputation would be ruined. Fortunately, only Simon, Stephen, and Dennis knew about it. The only worry the father and son had was Dennis exposing the truth. âLetâs just hope Stephen can be better from now on. If he does a good job, Dennisâ words will no longer matter.â As long as Stephen could produce some results, he would not need to be afraid of criticism. Meanwhile, at the Lowesâ mansion, Stephen went online and noticed the netizen had started scolding Dennis instead of himself. George came over, looking surprised. âDennis Lewis spoke up to defend you?â It was astonishing. Dennis had caused Stephen a lot of trouble. How could he suddenly speak up to defend Stephen? âThatâs because Stephenâs charms and character won him over,â Rachel timidly said. âHahaha!â Stephen was in a great mood and loved hearing such compliments. He hugged Rachel by the waist
A quick thought later, Stephen came up with an idea. âAqua City has beautiful aquatic scenery and an abundance of freshwater produce. If the sports games can be held there, the city will see a rise in fame and attract more tourists, local and foreign. âCompanies working in the food and beverage industry, especially those specialized in freshwater produce, will seek a collaboration with the event. It will definitely benefit the city.â He was elated. The sports gamesâ timing was impeccable. âIf we can hold some games on the water, the cityâs fame will skyrocket!â He rubbed his hands excitedly, already envisioning the cityâs future. âOnce the city is famous, the GDP will rise!â Stephen immediately contacted the mayor of Aqua City, informing the man of his upcoming visit. The sports game was crucial to Aqua City, and he needed to oversee the plans personally. More importantly, he wanted them to build the event platform directly on the water! Stephen thought. âWhile the at
âThird time's the charm. I wonât fail again.â Simon nodded and agreed with his son. Besides, how could someone fail at the same job three times in a row? After the call, Stephen wrote a proposal for his plans. The next day, he took a plane to Aqua City, but this time, he came prepared. The mayor welcomed him at the airport and brought him to the hotel. On the way to the hotel, Stephen asked, âHow much longer until the sports games?â âOne month.â âOne month? Hm, itâs short but should be enough,â Stephen muttered to himself. âThis is the proposal that Iâve come up with. Have a look.â He handed the mayor the proposal. After going through the details, the mayor frowned. The proposal focused on heavily promoting tourism, building more resorts, opening more bed-and-breakfasts, and even launching some trendy spots. It also included plans to introduce more freshwater species to diversify the local aquatic life and attract more seafood companies to set up shop. Lastly, it sugg
Stephen still could not fully understand Ethanâs plan. The cityâs development? They were meant to highlight the cityâs beautiful aquatic sceneries and also prevent the landscape from being ruined. After all, if the environment gets destroyed, what good would hotels and resorts be if no tourists came? Limiting the types of aquatic life farmed? It was because the water in the city was only suitable for farming local species. If non-native species were introduced, it would also destroy the local ecosystem, resulting in poor quality and quantity of seafood. Due to that, Ethan also forbade people to release non-native species into the waters of Aqua City. As to limiting other companies from expanding locally? It was because he wanted to protect the forest of the city. Many companies saw the potential in the areaâs hydroelectric resources and population. They wanted to set up factories there, where they could dump untreated waste into the rivers and offer jobs to the people. A lot
After everything was settled, the people from HQ went to Ethan again. They apologized to him and begged for his forgiveness.âWeâve dealt with everyone involved in this matter. Are you satisfied with the outcome, Mr. Rivers?âWith that, they lowered their heads to the ground nervously. Their only hope now hinged on Ethanâs 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, âSend someone to help move my stuff down the mountain.âHearing that, everyone was first stunned, and then ecstatic.âOf course!â 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, âWe respectfully
The day of Rachel and Georgeâs 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 judgeâs 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 Georgeâs faces paled to the point that they looked like corpses.The viewers in the livestream finally saw the full picture.âSo thatâs it! The Quinns and the Lowes conspired!ââThey deserve to die! How could they frame Ethan like that? Are they even human?ââThe death penalty! They deserve the death penalty!âThey 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 wivesâ panicked expressions.âWhat did you do out there?ââSo many people came today, asking for you by name.âHow 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.âItâs nothing,â 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.âWhat have you done?â Their parentsâ 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.âHow could this be?âNo one expected this outcome. They thought, âSo what if I insulted him? Are they going to punish me for it? Besides, so many people are insulting him. They canât possibly punish every single person who did it. At most, Iâll post a public apology and promise that Iâll never do it again.âHowever, 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.âWhy are they going this far? Arenât they afraid of causing unrest?âOf 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!âWhere else would she be?â 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.âYou really have some nerve." The people from HQ sneered. âYou fooled us all completely.ââYouâve been hiding Ethanâs contributions all this time, havenât you?ââYou two are nothing but disasters to this country! You deserve to die a thousand times over.âGeorge kept his head down while Rachel sobbed. âI was wrongfully accused!ââShut 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. âAh!âSimon could not take it anymore. He suddenly ran towards the window, trying to end his life. Fortunately, the officials quickly stopped him. âDonât be reckless! Think about Stephen. Youâre all he has now!âThat sentence made Simon stop. Now, Stephen and Simon were each otherâs 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, âIâd like to file a report on someone.âTo 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. âShit!â Someone exclaimed. âI heard Rachel bought a flight ticket overseas. Could she have fled?âThe 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. Stephenâs sudden awakening was nothing short of a miracle. However, after examining him, the doctorâs expression darkened. Stephen had regained consciousness, but the prognosis was far from hopeful.âHe canât move,â the doctor said. âAs of now, heâs paralyzed.âStephen 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. âHe might never be able to leave the bed again.âUpon 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 Simonâs 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 Harrisonâs previous incident, the officials reacted quickly by sending Stephen straight to the hospital.After an emergency rescue, Stephenâs life was saved. However, he paid a heavy price. When the doctor walked out of the emergency room, the officials asked, âHow is he?ââThe situation isnât looking good,â the doctor said grimly. âHis body is in a bad state, and due to long-term emotional distress, he suffered a brain hemorrhage from the emotional shock.âHeâs still in a coma, and we canât say for sure when heâll wake up again. It depends on his will to live.âThe officials drew a sharp breath. âDo you mean he might end up in a coma forever?âThe 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 Harrisonâs desperate pleas to Ethan back in his villa. âIâm willing to trade my life fo