Chapter 258
“Miss Starr—”
“I don’t like beating around the bush.”
Lindsay’s voice cut in cleanly, stopping Winnie mid-sentence. Her smile remained polite, but her gaze had already turned sharp.
“I don’t care about your past with Michael. But today, I was unhappy.”
Winnie’s expression didn’t change. “If this is about Michael, there’s no need to misunderstand. There’s nothing between us.”
Lindsay let out a soft laugh.
“I haven’t even finished speaking, Winnie. Isn’t that a little too quick?” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Doesn’t that make you look… guilty?”
Winnie fell silent for a moment.
Then, flatly, “What exactly do you want?”
“You deliberately drew his attention at my birthday party,” Lindsay said, as if stating a fact, “and now you’re asking me what I want?”
She moved slowly.
Circling behind Winnie.
Like she was evaluating something already caught.
“You’re an Olson daughter, so I can’t really do anything extreme to you,” she continued lightly. “But I am your customer.”
A pause.
“Having you drink with me… that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
At that moment, the butler entered carrying a bottle of foreign liquor.
Heavy. Expensive. Sharp with alcohol even before it was opened.
Winnie’s gaze landed on it.
Her face changed instantly.
Lindsay’s voice softened.
“Drink this,” she said. “Finish it, and I’ll sign the delivery. I’ll also forget everything that happened today.”
Her smile deepened slightly.
“Refuse… and I’ll return everything and file a formal complaint.”
The words landed like a verdict.
Winnie understood immediately.
This wasn’t just a petty threat.
Lindsay had already spoken to Veronica.
Which meant this wasn’t about pride anymore.
It was about leverage.
One complaint was enough.
And one complaint could cost her everything.
Her position.
Her evaluation.
And most importantly—her only path out of the Olson family.
Because Winnie wasn’t truly “free.”
Not yet.
Not even close.
Her mother’s arrangement had been absolute.
A five-billion-dollar inheritance.
A biological research patent worth a fortune.
All locked behind conditions set before her mother’s death—and placed under the control of Veronica’s father.
If Winnie failed her annual evaluations before turning thirty, half of everything would permanently shift to him. The rest would remain as controlled allowances, still under Olson's supervision.
On paper, it sounded like protection.
In reality, it was a cage with comfortable walls.
And the conditions for release were always just out of reach.
Every year, she tried.
Every year, she failed.
And every year, the same conclusion followed—
“Not qualified.”
Winnie knew better than anyone what that meant.
It wasn’t incompetence.
It was interference.
The Olson family had never intended for her to pass.
From childhood onward, they had shaped every environment around her—strictly enough to claim discipline, subtly enough to deny responsibility. Any attempt she made to improve, leave, or resist was quietly blocked before it could take root.
Even now, her so-called position as “store manager” was nothing more than a controlled test.
A leash disguised as responsibility.
Winnie’s fingers tightened slightly at her side.
But her expression remained calm.
Because she also knew something else.
They didn’t want public accusations.
They didn’t want scrutiny.
So everything had to look “fair.”
And that was why Veronica’s father had offered her a compromise.
Work at the store until the end of the year.
Endure it.
Survive it.
And he would allow her to leave the Olson family structure voluntarily.
It sounded reasonable.
Even generous.
A trial of patience. A test of character.
A way out—if she behaved.
That was the trap.
Winnie stood still for a long moment, staring at the bottle in silence.
Then she exhaled once.
Slow. Controlled.
Her eyes lifted back to Lindsay.
Cold again.
“What if I refuse?”