Chapter 289 Young People Are Too Impatient!
Matthew was already in shock, and after that slap, his mind went completely blank.
"Fuck!" he thought. 'What's going on?'
Sure, he had contacted Orlando for the kidnapping, but Sandra had orchestrated the whole thing. He was just the middleman. Now that it failed, Sandra was pinning it all on him. Totally unfair!
Matthew was about to defend himself when Sandra slapped him again, her face full of bitter disappointment. "You've ruined the Johnson family's reputation. Confess, and you'll get leniency; resist, and you'll face severity! Hurry up and confess to the police!"
She glanced him in the eye, making it clear that he should know what to say and what not to say.
Under her pressure, Matthew swallowed his words and said to the officer, "I admit, I did all these things. It has nothing to do with the rest of the Johnson family."
The officer replied, "You'll need to come to the station to explain the details. However, the rest of the Johnson family will also need to come with us to make a statement."
Reluctantly, Sandra and the others stood up, lowered their heads, and left the venue under police guidance.
The press conference was a complete disgrace for the Johnson family. They were utterly humiliated.
After they were taken away, the entire venue buzzed with discussions.
"My God! I didn’t expect them to use such vicious tactics. It’s really unethical!"
"The Johnson family being taken away by the police serves them right!"
"Actually, the real victims here are Maple Real Estate and SR Group. They suffered so much unjustly and faced so much online abuse!"
"True, but thanks to this live press conference, they can finally clear their names. This should have a positive impact on these two companies!"
"Houston is about to witness a legendary couple, Ryder and Sarah. They’re so young and talented. What a great news story! I’m going back to write my article right now!"
With the Johnson family's defeat, the rumors about Maple Real Estate were dispelled, and the press conference came to an end. Reporters rushed back to write their articles, eager to cover the many newsworthy points from the live broadcast.
The only ones left in the venue were Ryder and some business moguls from Houston. Ryder shook hands with David, Andrew, and others and expressed his sincere gratitude.
These moguls didn’t know what the outcome of the press conference would be; they came purely out of trust in Ryder and Maple Real Estate. This wasn’t the first time they had helped Ryder, and he was eager to maintain deeper connections with them for future challenges.
Ryder knew his strength was limited; he needed to develop his network.
As for those businessmen who came to see Maple Real Estate fail, they were filled with deep regret. If they had known the outcome, they would have supported Ryder from the start.
If they had the confidence to step forward and say a few words, they might have gained Ryder's favor and secured a small cooperation deal, which would be endlessly beneficial.
So, these somewhat self-aware individuals had no choice but to leave regretfully and quietly.
David and the others also left shortly after, understanding the situation. After all, everyone saw that Sarah was still waiting for Ryder.
Now, the only ones left in the venue were Ryder, Sarah, and a janitor cleaning up.
Ryder walked over to Sarah, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, unsure of how to break the awkward atmosphere. He had hidden his identity for so long and finally revealed part of it because he had no other choice.
Just as Ryder was about to say something, Sarah suddenly hugged him tightly, pressing her body firmly against his chest.
"Ryder, tell me, is all of this fake? Did you hire a bunch of actors to make me happy? Is this all just a play?" Sarah asked, choking up.
Ryder smiled bitterly. "Even if I were acting, I wouldn't let you suffer so much. It would break my heart."
Hearing this, Sarah blushed. She punched Ryder on the shoulder and said angrily, "Smooth talker! Men are all the same, just good at deceiving women! You said you were the head of security at Maple Real Estate and that your classmate was the CEO. You just thought I was easy to fool! You hid such a big thing from me; who knows what else you might be hiding! You bastard! You make me cry!"
As Sarah spoke, she kept hitting Ryder. Ryder wisely didn't argue back, feeling a bit emotional himself. After all, hiding this from Sarah was a form of hurt to her, especially during this time when she was extremely busy and lacked a sense of security. So he felt guilty towards her.
Fortunately, after complaining for a while, Sarah moved away from Ryder, her eyes red as she stared at him and asked, "Tell me the truth, where have you been these past three days? Do you know how worried I was? Do you know how anxious I was? Do you know I even thought that if something happened to you, I wouldn't want to live either?"
At this point, Sarah's emotions got the better of her, and she started crying again. Ryder was very flustered. He quickly wiped Sarah's tears with his sleeve, apologizing and explaining at the same time.
Ryder recounted everything that had happened in the past three days, except for the details of his rescue. He said the police rescued him, as it wasn't the right time to reveal the truth about Scott and his own real identity to Sarah.
After hearing Ryder's story, Sarah was so shocked that she forgot to cry. She didn't expect Ryder to have gone through such a dangerous and bizarre three days. She almost never saw Ryder again.
Suddenly, Sarah thought of something and reached out to lift Ryder's shirt.
Ryder was puzzled. "What are you doing?"
"Don't worry about it!" Sarah was anxious. She had heard that Ryder was shot in the waist and wanted to check on his injury.
Sarah lifted Ryder's shirt. At this moment, the passing janitor felt a bit embarrassed and cleared her throat to remind them, "I know you young people are impatient, but this is a public place. You should find somewhere else; if you make a mess here, I'll be responsible."
Both Ryder and Sarah were speechless.
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