Chapter 684 Hollow

+8 Pearls

Russell’s figure shrank as he walked farther down the long hallway, his shadow stretching thin beneath the pale hospital lights.

In that instant, the man who once ruled boardrooms and shook the business world as the head of the Jenson Group seemed to rise from the ashes. The despair that had once clung to him fell away, and in its place came a surge of raw, burning strength.

A police officer stepped forward, snapping the icy steel cuffs around his wrists, then pulled a black cloth over him. His tone was firm, steady, and unyielding. “Mr. Jenson, you’ll need to come with us now.”

Even the officers struggled to believe what they were doing. This was the man who had poured fortunes into community projects, built schools, founded organizations that helped young dreamers turn ideas into companies, and lifted the nation into greater prosperity. How could such a man fall so far?

But the truth stood unshaken. People could know a face, yet never a heart. And in the eyes of the law, there was only one word that mattered: evidence.

“Alright.”

Russell’s reply was quiet but resolute. His steps struck firm against the floor as he moved ahead. Yet each stride felt strangely light, as though a weight had finally been torn from him. The blade buried deep in his chest had at last been ripped free. The cost of that act was crushing, nearly unbearable, but it brought him the only thing he still craved: redemption.

The Jensons had weathered storm after storm. Russell had long sensed this day would come. He had braced himself for it.

“Dad…”

Dominic and the others stood as if emptied of soul and spirit, their eyes hollow, their bodies frozen. None of them noticed what stirred behind the ICU door.

Blair, whom the doctors had deemed lost to a permanent coma, let tears slip from her sealed eyes. Her fingers twitched, dragging across the sheets with desperate effort. Between ragged breaths, she forced out a voice that trembled on her lips.

“Rus… sell… No… stop…”

It felt as if her heart had known what was happening, sensing that the man she loved was about to be swallowed by danger. Her mind fought within a pit of black fog, groping blindly, clawing for a way out. A sudden surge of fierce fighting spirit rose within her, the raw urge to see him, to shield him. Her body weighed her down like stone. The climb toward waking seemed impossible. Yet still she fought the dark.

Russell was in peril. She could not remain trapped in this void. She had to open her eyes. She had to face Kyla. She had to demand answers. Why had Kyla betrayed her? Why had she chosen to ruin her?

Wake up. My body, wake up now.

The machines around her screeched, their alarms shrill and relentless, the glowing lines on the screens leaping in frantic waves.

Meanwhile, Russell rode the elevator down, flanked by officers on either side. As the doors opened, a sudden flood of reporters surged forward, cameras flashing bright, microphones shoved in his face.

“Mr. Jenson, is it true the police have arrested you for bribery?”

“Mr. Jenson, can you explain yourself? You’re known across this country as a man of honor. Why would you take bribes?”

“Sources claim there’s strong evidence against you, and that it happened more than once. How will this affect Jenson Group’s stock?”

The officer’s jaw tightened, his voice sharp and clipped. “No comment. We are carrying out official duties. Please move aside.”

The arrest was supposed to be silent, hidden from the world. Yet the press had found it anyway.

Russell lowered his head and kept his silence as the officers led him into the waiting cruiser. Behind him, the storm of cameras burst in wild flashes, each photo a nail sealing his fate. Even without his words, the pictures were enough. The journalists had struck gold. Their only task now was to rush back, write, and release the story before anyone else.

By nightfall, the internet roared to life.

[Breaking News! Jenson Group’s Chairman Russell taken from hospital by police]

[Shocking turn of events! Jenson Group’s leader caught in bribery scandal]

[Just landed in Motrar, here’s what I think about the Jenson case … ]

[Top investors reveal how Russell’s arrest will shake the market. Read it now, don’t miss out.]

The list of trending searches burned hot. Screenshots and videos of Russell being placed in the cruiser spread like wildfire. No one could deny it.

The nation erupted with whispers, curiosity spinning into a frenzy. The fall of a billionaire over bribery was not new. The public was desensitized to that kind of news. Such scandals often flared for a day, then faded beneath the latest celebrity rumors.

But this was not the same. Russell was not just any chairman. He was Tilda’s father, the very Tilda who had torn him down in court and across the internet. Their feud had once split the nation’s attention, and now, with his arrest, that memory rose again, loud and bitter as ever.