The Guardian's Return by Old Pumpkin

Chapter 527
Not long after Nolan left, Stephen came with his men to interrogate Charles.
"How long have you been embezzling and taking bribes?" Stephen asked bluntly as soon as he entered. "I had such high hopes
for you."
Charles looked at him and said, "Half a month."
"Half a month?"
Stephen did some quick mental calculations. Hill City plunged into chaos again half a month ago, which matched Charles'
timeline of corruption.
"You're such a fool!" Stephen said coldly, "Who bribed you? You'd better speak.”
Charles knew that even if he did not get a death sentence, he would spend the rest of his life behind bars. He had come to terms
with his fate, so he named everyone who bribed him with money.
After ordering his men to record it, Stephen asked, "Why did you do it? You've let me down so much."

Upon hearing that, Charles laughed. "Let you down? If I let you down, then you've completely devastated me! You must know my
parents died, right? Do you know how they died?"
Stephen frowned. Did they not try to stir up rumors and demand Ethan's release?
"How did they die?"
"You killed them." Charles glared at him. "You took Ethan away, cut off my family's subsidy, and stopped our medical insurance.
They committed suicide because they were afraid of being a burden to me."
Stephen wavered. Was that the truth behind Xavier and Jessica's death? Was he really responsible for their deaths?
However, he soon calmed down, reminding himself that he had been trained in difficult situations.
He took a deep breath and said, "You're twisting the facts. What do I have to do with their deaths? You're just trying to find an
excuse for your crimes and incompetence."

Charles laughed again. "You can say that. After all, I was indeed wrong this time." Not only did he do something wrong, but he
also let Ethan down.
"You're a rich heir who's never wanted for anything. You can say we ended up like this because we didn't work hard enough, but I
also have something to say to you.

"Riveria has millions of people, and many of them rely on subsidies and medical insurance to survive. You will never compare to
Ethan!"
Stephen was stunned. He realized that if Charles was telling the truth, and many people relied on subsidies and medical
insurance to survive, then imprisoning Ethan without implementing a new measure was none other than trying to kill those
people!
Now that Riveria was already plunged into chaos, if many people committed suicide out of desperation, he would be done for!
The tragedy that happened to his old friend, Penny, flashed through his mind. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
He must handle the matter properly. Not only was it to stop many tragedies that might destabilize his position from happening,
but most importantly, he had to prove that he was not inferior to Ethan. He needed to show that he could do even better than
Ethan!
Once the interrogation ended, Stephen left in a hurry. He wanted to discuss setting up subsidy programs with Simon.
In the hospital, Ganter was anxiously waiting for Austin's surgery to conclude. The surgery took two hours, and as soon as the
doctor came out, he rushed forward to ask about the outcome.
The surgery was successful, but Austin's leg, which had been shot, was crippled. He could only rely on a wheelchair or crutches
to walk in the future.
The news hit Ganterhard. He walked into the ward in a daze and saw Austin, still unconscious, left with only one leg. He almost
burst into tears.
Austin was his favorite and most valued student, someone with the potential to surpass his own achievements. Yet now, the boy
was crippled. For someone only in their twenties, that was an unimaginable blow.