The livestream was not over yet. Stephen admitted publicly to everything he had done over the past six months, from framing Ethan to bringing men to raid his properties, only to find that Ethan bought every house with his own earnings, and it was full of thank-you letters from people he had helped. “He wrote novels, songs, scripts, produced TV shows, movies, held charities, built roads, founded schools and hospitals, and gave Riveria a total makeover, turning it into its prosperous state today. And the novels he wrote, the movies he produced—you’ve all seen them.”Stephen admitted his mistakes and also laid bare Ethan’s sacrifices and contributions. Knowing they had all read the novels Ethan wrote, and many of them were even loyal fans, the viewers felt numb. They often discussed why the author stopped publishing, wondering whether the author was slacking off. On top of that, all those TV shows and movies were commercial hits, gaining high ratings on all platforms. Half were hai
As Stephen read the comments coming in, he continued, “Ethan’s contributions to Riveria aren’t just that. Because the Grand Marshal couldn’t restore peace to Riveria despite years of effort, and he sadly passed away in sickness, people panicked at that time, filled with despair for the future. “It was Ethan who stood up, taking on the responsibility alone. Under his leadership, foreign forces and internal factions in Riveria suffered a great loss.”He also told stories about Ethan that were passed down outside the borders, such as him single-handedly obtaining half of the South Regent’s forces. Alone, Ethan made the people across the borders respect free marriage. Families and forces no longer dared to force their children to get married. In fact, merely hearing his name was enough to intimidate an army of armed forces into retreating. There were too many stories to recount. The viewers were dumbstruck as they stared at their screens. If someone else said that, they would have
While they still had doubts, foreign countries had already extended invitations to Ethan.It was the same as calling them blind. They failed to cherish such a valuable and important person, and even had the nerve to doubt him.Everyone felt their faces burn with shame.They quickly logged into their accounts, keen to show that they had always supported Ethan and never questioned him. However, when they tried to log in, they found that their accounts had been muted.Meanwhile, the people in the meeting room in HQ also saw the international invitations extended to Ethan. The offers were generous, providing not just resources but also status and power.The generosity of the foreign officials made them uneasy. Would Ethan refuse such an offer?If the Grand Marshal were still alive, they might have had some hope, but after the Grand Marshal died, Ethan had to go up against both foreign and domestic enemies alone. They had never once offered help or even asked about the situation.Aft
Now that HQ was also backing Ethan, even if they were unwilling to admit it and try to distort the truth, there would be people correcting them and telling them what the facts were.They suddenly panicked.“Even HQ is supporting him?”“Were we really wrong all along?”“How could this be?”The sudden truth was hard to accept.Meanwhile, Stephen also saw the statement.HQ found out about the truth. If it were in the past, he would have panicked. However, now that he knew his fate was sealed, he felt calm instead.He thought to himself, ‘At least, I did the right thing before I die, and there’s still a chance for the Quinns and Riveria.’He continued his speech. This broadcast would be his last chance to see everyone, so he took the chance to apologize to many people.First, he apologized to Snow. He had been deceived and used by other people, betraying her kindness and love. It was already too late by the time he realized it. From then on, he never stopped feeling regret.Next
How could Stephen reveal the truth?He would undoubtedly die if he did, yet he still dared to reveal everything in a livestream.George thought that Stephen had gone mad. Ethan must have driven him insane.His fear of Ethan grew deeper. Ethan had stayed at Drakthorn Ridge the whole time, yet he was capable of doing so much. It was as if everything had been under his control from the very beginning.“Rachel, you need to leave quickly.”George only had one thought now, and that was to send Rachel abroad as soon as possible. She would only have a chance of survival if she went abroad.Rachel was also terrified. Stephen was like a madman now, willing to say anything. If he exposed her involvement in the scheme to frame Ethan, she would be doomed too.“I know. I’ve already bought a plane ticket.”Rachel did not dare to stay any longer. Even if she was married to Stephen, the Quinn family would not be able to protect her if the truth were exposed. After all, they could barely protect
At HQ, the meeting room was in chaos.Stephen’s sudden confession was too sudden and caught everyone off guard. In an instant, they learned of all his crimes and how Ethan was framed.Now, they had to interrogate Stephen, deal with the consequences of falsely accusing Ethan, and figure out how to face Ethan himself.They were all overwhelmed. An emergency meeting was called to discuss their next step.“Having the officials from Riveria meet Ethan wouldn’t be appropriate. His contributions are far too great, and we owe him too much. At this point, we must go meet him in person.”Ethan had achieved more than any one of them. However, they locked him away on Drakthorn Ridge without giving him a chance to explain.Now, they were all filled with despair. Without daring to delay, they hurriedly boarded a plane to Riveria.By evening, they arrived at the foot of Drakthorn Ridge. Their hearts felt heavy as they looked up at the towering mountain.If they were thrown into a remote mount
“Ahem.”The officials did not know how to greet Ethan, so they could only make a noise to signal their arrival.Ethan looked at them calmly.They forced out awkward smiles and said, “Ethan, we found out about what happened to you. We deeply sympathize and understand.”They walked forward together and took out various certificates.“This incident was also related to our negligence and carelessness. To make up for our past mistakes, we've prepared some things for you.”They placed the certificates on the table.Ethan glanced at them.As long as he signed his name, he would join the cabinet and be on equal footing with the Quinn family.However, he was not interested at all. He did not care about Riveria anymore, and the Quinns were finished.When the officials saw Ethan remaining still, they all tensed up nervously. They were afraid because foreign countries were all reaching out to Ethan.The fact that Ethan had not agreed to them meant that their offer was not tempting enoug
Already feeling guilty that the Grand Marshal passed away in Riveria, they could not afford to let Ethan down again now. On the other hand, Ethan’s achievements were too monumental—so great that they overshadowed everyone else’s. It was enough to warrant his own chapter in history. None of them had the right or the courage to raise their voices in front of him.Ethan said calmly, “I’ve gotten what I wanted. It’s getting late. You should go.”All of them looked uncomfortable. Before they came, they had imagined every possible reaction, from being yelled at to being beaten, even. At worst, he would blame them and scold them for everything. However, they were wrong. They thought of everything except for Ethan’s indifference. At their level of status, they thought nobody could reject them, but now, they understood that they were not as powerful as they thought. “We’ll take our leave.” They could not help but sigh.Given the current circumstances, they could only return anothe
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