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Chapter 62
“Don’t lie to me. I’ll verify this with Stephen.” Simon pulled out his phone.
Before he could punch the numbers, his phone rang with a call from Stephen. The suspicious timing of the call made Simon’s heart sink. He dreaded the realization of his worst fear.
Simon shakily took the call.
“Dad, North Hill City is in trouble.”
Those words hit Simon like a ton of bricks.
It was true. North Hill City was done for. To make matters worse, they gave the culprits the means to commit the crime.
“Shawn and-”
Simon interrupted Stephen and said, “I got it. Your priority is to restore order in the city.
“Stop the mayhem from spreading. North Hill City’s economy can’t afford another hit.”
Then, he ended the call.
Simon sat on the chair at a loss, devastated that the city was ruined at the hands of his son. Stephen had become a disgrace.
“It’s all your son’s fault. North Hill City is ruined because of the people your son picked.
“Your son only realized what was going on when the trio fled on him.
“We can estimate the city’s financial loss at 50 million dollars. The cost can break the city.”
Faced with the accusations, Simon could not hold his tongue anymore.
“Cut it out!”
Jolting to his feet, Simon glared at everybody and said curtly, “Don’t push everything on my son as if you can do no wrong.
“Who jumped on the idea with Stephen? Who wanted to interview them? Who helped them achieve nationwide recognition?
“Who made Ethan the scapegoat?”
The barrage of questions shut everybody up.
The group was in a bind. They got it all wrong, accusing the good for bad and mistaking the bad for good. The public would not have faith in the group anymore if the truth were to get
out.
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An individual asked, “What do we do now?”
The group fell silent as a nervous energy lingered in the air.
What more could they do? They were out of ideas.
“The only choice left is to tell the truth. We can’t keep this much longer.”
Even if the group tried to cover it up, Shawn and the others on the run would eventually bring the truth to light.
Now that Shawn and his people were removed from the chaos, they would relish the prospect of even greater turmoil. Everybody would be too distracted to catch them.
The group sighed
On the other hand, Stephen had his hands full. He took the first flight to North Hill City, hoping to convince some businesses and investors to stay. The plan was to keep the impact on the city’s economy to a minimum.
Stephen met with several businesspeople and investors.
“The city needs you more than ever.
“I’ll make it worth your while if you stay. I’m talking about a fifty percent tax break for the first three years.”
He presented many enticing terms that tempted the businesspeople and investors. However, that was all there was to it.
A businessman uttered, “We need somewhere peaceful. North Hill City can’t give us that now.”
Street brawls had become a regular occurrence now. Heck, explosions were common too. Bombs could be spotted in the streets.
Stephen said, “Don’t worry. I will restore peace and order to the city as soon as I can. Just give me time.”
Thanks to Stephen’s determination, the people started to have second thoughts about leaving.
Then, came a loud bang. An explosion occurred in the streets. Someone had thrown a grenade.
Stephen turned pale.
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Chapter 63
The previously swayed businesspeople and investors remained steadfast.
“We can talk once North Hill City is peaceful again.”
They then turned on their heels to leave. It was now or never if they wanted to get out of there.
Thrown in a panic, Stephen grabbed one businessman and said, “Can’t you give me a little more time?”
The businessman stopped and gave him a callous look.
“You’re not Ethan, though. If Ethan were here today, we would stay even without the perks.
“That’s all we have to say. We have a plane to catch.”
The businessman shook Stephen’s arm off, leaving Stephen standing there at a loss.
Ethan’s name was mentioned yet again, and Stephen could not understand why the public had so much faith in him. Despite Stephen’s humble pleading, the business owners were determined to leave.
“How am I any worse than Ethan?”
The chaos in North Hill City quickly emerged online, and the public expressed their
confusion.
“What’s with the sudden mayhem in North Hill City?”
“Is this another of Ethan’s plans?”
“This guy won’t go away. Can’t someone just get rid of him?”
“Yeah. Ethan is a menace to society.”
Certain individuals in the know started commenting too.
“Actually, Ethan has nothing to do with it. We had the wrong idea about Ethan. He’s a good guy. The real bad guys here are Shawn, Eric, and Brandon.”
“Yeah, Ethan only kept them in line, knowing the type of people they were.”
“Ethan has been doing his best behind the scenes.”
Those comments, however, were met with retaliation.
“Hahaha! That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read. I can’t believe people are coming to Ethan’s defense. Just listen to yourselves!”
“Everybody has eyes to see what Ethan has done. You have the nerve to excuse his actions.”
“How much did Ethan pay you to take his side? He should be sentenced to prison soon before he could cause more damage.”
“These lot should receive punishment too.”
Faced with a tirade of abuse, those with the inside information held their tongues. On the other hand, the people who bashed Ethan felt vindicated and grew bolder
“If Ethan is innocent, I’ll swallow my screen standing on my head!”
“Count me in. If Ethan is the good guy, I’ll head to the street and scream what an idiot I was,”
“Why are they staying quiet now? I bet they are scared and hiding, Hahaha!”
It did not take long before a nationwide notice was issued.
“Shawn Hill, Eric Morningstar, and Lytton led by Brandon North, have fled the country with a large sum of money.
The previous and present disruptions to North Hill City’s order are caused by Shawn and his party. Ethan bears no responsibility for any of this.
“Aware of their characters, Ethan has never put his trust in them.”
The multiple announcements were released all at once, and the news rocked the online community.
Shawn, Eric, and Brandon were the cause of North Hill City’s turmoil? Ethan had been wrongly accused?
Those who criticized Ethan before froze. The announcements were a slap in their faces. Their cruel remarks and mocking laughter at videos targeting Ethan came back to haunt
them.
Their cheeks burned in shame. They wished they could crawl into a hole.
“Ethan is a good guy, and Shawn and his friends aren’t. How did that happen?”
“So he has been battling it out with Shawn, Eric, and Brandon in silence?”
“Ethan has sacrificed a lot for us, but what did we do?”
The public stared at their hands, finding blood on them for a second. Guilt weighed heavily on the people who posted malicious articles and videos.
