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Chapter 873 "If I could, | would never want to see you again in my life," the man's icy voice echoed through the office. The rain outside was pouring heavily, making a pitter-patter sound.
But his voice was crystal clear and cold as ice, sending shivers down one's spine.
"I... I..., back then..." The President opened his mouth to say something but was immediately interrupted by Franklin's frigid tone.
"I don't want to hear about your past. This is evidence for Clare's case, and the Hipps family is innocent.” "Evidence?" The President paused and looked at the documents that Franklin had just placed on the table.
"You can tell just by looking,” Franklin remained cold as ever.
The President trembled as he opened up the folder with shaking hands and flipped through each page one by one. After about five minutes, he finally closed it with a long sigh of relief. His stern gaze fell upon Franklin; it took him a while before he spoke again. "l can pardon the Hipps family but on one condition." "What condition?" Franklin narrowed his eyes; he knew this man wouldn't agree easily.
The President silently stared at him before saying. "You come back to me." "That's impossible!" Almost without thinking twice, Franklin rejected him outright.
The President stood up from his seat and walked towards Franklin until they were face-to-face. He didn't miss any expression on Franklin's face when he said. "Clare will be executed in ten minutes. You can consider it." Franklin lifted an eyebrow at him sarcastically. "You're despicable!" "It was you who abandoned me first! And now you want me back? Do you think I'm garbage or a dog? Summoned when needed and dismissed when not?" His handsome face showed intense resentment mixed with chilling anger.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"You're the president! My mother was just another woman among many around you! It's only because she didn't have strong support from her family that... you treated us so cruelly.” "In your heart of hearts, who has left their mark? Now that you're asking me to come back - what do you really want from me?" As Franklin accused him bitterly with each word spoken out loud, there were waves of discomfort rising in the depths of his eyes.
"I... I had no other choice..." "Choice? Are you kidding?" Franklin sneered coldly. "It isn't because | must save Clare; it's because | don't wish for good people to be wronged or justice absent.” "You're using my pitiful sense of righteousness against me - Is this what being a national leader should look like?" The President's face turned red and then pale after being confronted by Franklin's words.
After a while, he finally let out a long breath and said, "You may leave." As he spoke, he picked up the phone on the table and dialed. "Innocent release. The Department of Justice shall issue a public announcement, proclaiming to the world the pardon of the Hipps Family, restoring their titles, and lifting the ban on the Hipps Manor." After Franklin heard him finish the call, he left without looking back or saying anything else. The President watched him go with a murmured comment. "You will come back soon... | believe it won't be too long." Meanwhile, in Imperial Prison...
A prison guard with short hair was preparing for an execution. He held a machine gun in his hand while carefully wiping it down with a clean cloth - something he did every time before an execution.
As he wiped the gun barrel clean, tears began to well up in his eyes. "When | first joined the Air Force as logistics personnel," he said softly, "I was just another rookie from a poor family. At that time we were all sent out for training exercises; my mother fell seriously ill but | didn't have enough money to pay for her medical expenses... It was the Hipps family who gave me some financial assistance so she could receive proper treatment..." "But now," he continued bitterly as more tears streamed down his face, "I have to execute my benefactor myself..." A chubby prison guard walked over and patted him on the shoulder comfortingly. "If you can't do it today, then let me take your place instead. When my turn comes around next time, you can take mine." "No..." The short-haired guard shook his head resolutely while wiping away more tears. "Let me do it... Let me send Mr. Hipps off one last time." He stood up straightened himself out before picking up his gun again readying himself to leave when suddenly the warden rushed over anxiously, shouting, "Don't go! Don’t go!" Inside one of the cells, Clare had changed into new prisoner clothes early this morning.
He never imagined that this day would come so quickly that even before upgrading from Diamond status they were already executing him! He couldn't help but feel resentful but what good would resentment do? Sitting still at his position, staring blankly at the small window nearby, the entire cell block seemed dark except for other prisoners’ breathing sounds along with Ronnie's soft crying voice.
"Mr. Hipps, if you really are gone, what am | going to do?" "Why doesn't anyone uphold justice? You're clearly innocent..." Clare felt annoyed by Ronnie's crying voice which only made her headache worse. "Stop crying! What's death? Everyone dies eventually; it's just sooner or later!" He thought he would fear death, hate death. But when he faced this moment, he found himself calm. So calm that even he couldn't believe it. Except for one thing... he was not willing to die. He really wasn't willing to die.
He had thought about dying on the battlefield, dying in a plane crash, and even dying like the martyrs of the Hipps family who sacrificed themselves in airplane experiments...
But he never imagined that he would be executed so unjustly by firing squad.
He always wondered who was behind the plot against the Hipps family? Who wanted to eradicate them? As time approached midday, no prison guard came to open the door.
Ronnie wiped away his tears and said, "The guards haven't come... Mr. Hipps, maybe you don't have to die?" Clare's face was pale with almost no color left; his forehead still bore scars from his last fight.
He glanced at the time, "Maybe... something happened?” It couldn't be someone breaking into prison.
Just as Clare thought of this, footsteps sounded outside and then there was a loud clatter as someone opened their cell door.
"Clare and Ronnie! Come out!" Ronnie grabbed Clare's arm tightly, "Mr. Hipps, don't go out." "What are you doing? The President's order is only for me to be executed; why involve Ronnie?" Clare glared coldly at the guard; it didn't matter if he died but Ronnie must live on; that child still had a long life ahead of him with great potential waiting for him in future years.
"Why do you have to die? You two have been acquitted.” The guard could not help but smile at them, both respectfully saying, "Mr. Hipps, please.” "Acquitted?" Clare froze momentarily before reacting again while Ronnie jumped up startled asking, "Are you lying?" The guard laughed again, "You still don't believe me! Your family members gathered outside the Presidential House. Queena is truly an extraordinary woman! She banged her head against those doors!" "Yes, the whole country knows about this now- everyone from the Hipps family went banging their heads against those doors until blood covered all over the ground.” "I heard that eventually one couple brought evidence just in time before anything else happened.” "Well, you should hurry back home now and ask what exactly happened because I'm sure your family members might've been injured or something." The guard said it lightly and easily, but the two listeners didn't know how to react.
Clare's heart ached with every word he spoke.
Mother...
Father...
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmTribe members...
His eyes were bloodshot, his usually elegant face twisted in anger. He pushed past the prison guard and ran outside.
He ran so fast that Ronnie could barely keep up with him.
Once he was out of the prison, he kept running as if there were no obstacles in his way.
He ran all the way to the prison gate where two old people stood under a black umbrella amidst pouring rain.
It was his familiar parents’ faces waiting for him. They had been waiting for him all along.
"Dad! Mom!" He shouted and rushed towards Queena and Old Mr. Hipps who knelt down in front of them on the wet ground, crying out like an injured beast, "I'm sorry!" "Get up, silly boy, let's go home." Old Mr. Hipps helped his son up while Queena nodded at Ronnie who had caught up with them by then,"Thank you, Ronnie." They got into their car which was driven by one of their family drivers who handed Clare a cup of hot water to warm himself from being soaked through by rainwater.
Half an hour later, the car was safely parked in the Hipps manor garage.
As they walked towards their house, both parents recounted everything that had happened recently to Clare in detail; how Sylvia and Franklin saved him when they weren't even close friends or acquaintances really... it left Clare feeling shocked beyond words! "They are our family's great benefactors!" Queena exclaimed as she opened her car door before adding "But Skyla and Tammy, those two troublemakers have already been executed by order of the President.” "Executed?" Clare asked incredulously "Yes, yesterday," Queena replied as she surveyed what remained unchanged about the Hipps family estate since they left it years ago; green grass everywhere thriving despite recent rains giving off a vibrant feel all around them now.
"Those mother and daughter duo have caused nothing but trouble, leading to the downfall of our Hipps family. A simple execution would be too lenient for them,” Clare spoke with hatred, despising the pair in his heart.
It was all their fault that the Hipps family had been blind enough to recognize those imposters, bringing upon them a near- extinction disaster.
"Back already?" At that moment, a cold voice sounded from the entrance of the villas living room.
Clare looked up and saw an incredibly beautiful woman standing there, staring at him from afar. Behind her was a handsome and tall man who seemed to follow her every move like a shadow.