Chapter 423
Stephen was at a loss for words. No matter what, he was the one who hurt Andy. It was his fault Andy was hunted beyond the borders and forced to witness the death of someone who had once saved his life.
Stephen sighed helplessly. “How much?”
“At least 20 million.”
Stephen then thought of the 120 million in funds that he had just received, “Fine, but what are you going to do with the money?”
“I want to change people’s lives for the better,” Andy said without a second thought, his tone
firm.
Stephen handed over 20 million, which left him with just 100 million. He believed it was enough if he could spend it wisely.
After getting the money, Andy turned to leave.
Stephen called out, “You’re leaving already? Do you want to have lunch?”
“No. There’s nothing left for us to talk about,” Andy said without turning back.
His words cut through Stephen like a knife, leaving him feeling as though his heart had been shredded to pieces. He never would have thought that the friend he grew up with would say something like that to his face.
As he watched Andy disappear into the distance, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but all he could do was let out a helpless sigh.
After Andy left, Stephen slumped into the couch, feeling drained.
Where had he gone wrong? How had things come to that?
The love of his life had left him, his good friend had turned on him, his right–hand man was in prison, his loyal subordinate was dead, and he had married someone whom he had no feelings for. The netizens online even criticized him from time to time.
He was a son of the Quinns, born into power and privilege, a man destined for greatness. None of this should have been happening to him.
Before he could figure out the answer, Nolan came and said, “Sir, I have something to tell you.”
Looking tired, Stephen said, “What is it?”
Nolan hesitated, eyeing him carefully before saying, “You don’t look too good. Should I call the doctor?”
“I’m fine. What is it? Just tell me.”
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Chapter 423
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Nolan nodded and said, “We just received a collective statement from the villages. They’re displeased with the compensation amount.
Stephen frowned. “Displeased? Why?”
“It’s too little. A lot of them lost hundreds of trees but only received a few thousand, at most 10 thousand, in compensation.”
“What? How?” Stephen believed he had allocated quite the amount for the compensation.
“I guess there’s just too many of them,” Nolan said, but he knew what actually happened. The money was filtered through levels and ranks, so it was almost impossible that the people would get ahuge compensation.
Stephen, however, believed there were simply too many people for the distribution. “How much are they asking for?““”
“Conservatively, 50 million in total.”
Hearing the number, Stephen closed his eyes and laid back on the couch.
He had just secured 120 million dollars and given 20 million to Andy. Now, he had to give away another 50 million? That would only leave him 50 million in total!
“I’ll give you the money. Go settle the problem.”
Stephen dared not withhold the money anymore. A similar incident happened at Aqua City when he tried to transform it, and it took the lives of more than ten people. The incident of the village chief taking his own life to prove his own innocence at Celestial City had traumatized him as well.
If people died under his watch again, he would have no excuse anymore.
“50 million left…”
Stephen frowned. It seemed impossible trying to fix the ruins of the forest fire with such an amount. He was forced to wait and see if he could raise more funds.
Three days went by. He had 70 million from the fundraiser now, and it was the most he could get.
He was displeased with the numbers. He had expected a lot more that would allow him to not only cover the damages from the fire but also open a charitable foundation. He wanted people to praise his generosity and admire his “selflessness.”
Now, he barely had enough to help the places affected by the forest fire, let alone anything else.
