"You think we don’t know? We found out that Gray Winston was the one who frad my father. And isn’t he a close friend of your husband?"
Rose sighed dramatically.
"Oh, Olivia, always looking for soone to bla. Maybe your father did steal and got caught."
Olivia took a step forward, but Theodore grabbed her arm, keeping her back. "Enough, Rose," he said, his voice sharp.
Mrs. Lancaster shook her head.
"This conversation is pointless. If you don’t have proof, don’t waste my ti. Now, if you’ll excuse us—"
"You don’t need us to tell you what you already know," Theodore interrupted smoothly.
His eyes locked onto Mrs. Lancaster’s with an unshakable confidence.
"Guilty people always act like this."
Rose’s smirk faltered for just a second, but she quickly recovered.
"You’re so dramatic, Theodore. Go ho before you embarrass yourself further."
Mrs. Lancaster cast a glance in Theodore’s direction and suddenly smiled,
"Theodore, right? I know you are currently looking for a ground-breaking role in the entertainnt industry. Did you notice though, that for the past few weeks, you haven’t been receiving any opportunities?"
Theodore’s face turned pale.
"As for your eldest brother...what was his na again...Ah! Right! Lucas. He can lose his part-ti. Then there is your eldest sister, Adriana, who works as a waitress, right? I can get her fired too.
Your mother Mary works as a part-ti librarian...Haha, what if soday she makes a mistake and by accident sets a fire in the library? How much will she be liable to pay then, Rose?"
Rose giggled, flipping her hair.
"Around $100,000, I think?" she said mockingly. "That would be really bad, wouldn’t it?"
Theodore clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. Olivia felt her whole body shake with anger.
Mrs. Lancaster tilted her head, her smile never fading.
"You see, dear, sotis it’s better to know your place. Your family is already struggling, isn’t it? It would be such a sha if things got... worse."
Olivia took a step forward, but Theodore grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
"Are you threatening us?" Theodore asked, his voice low and cold.
Mrs. Lancaster chuckled softly.
"Oh, no, no. I’m just giving you a friendly warning. If you walk away now, no harm will co to you or your family. But if you keep pushing..."
She sighed dramatically.
"Well, accidents happen all the ti, don’t they?"
Rose smirked.
"Yeah, Olivia. Maybe you should just drop this. After all, last ti, you were the one who caused trouble first.
My poor dad’s friend, Mr. Winston, is just doing what he thinks is right. Your father was caught stealing car parts, wasn’t he?"
"That’s a lie!" Olivia shouted. "You know it is!"
Rose shrugged. "Well, if it’s a lie, then prove it."
Olivia gritted her teeth. She wanted to punch Rose so badly, but she knew that wouldn’t solve anything. Instead, she glared at Mrs. Lancaster.
Theodore suddenly bent down and said softly,
"I am sorry ma’am, it was our father’s mistake. We will compensate accordingly."
Mrs. Lancaster raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.
"Oh? So you finally understand your place?" she asked, her voice dripping with mock sympathy.
Rose smirked. "Took you long enough, Theo. If you had just admitted it earlier, things wouldn’t have to be so difficult for your family."
But Theodore didn’t respond to them. Instead, he kept his head slightly lowered, his face calm.
Olivia’s eyes widened in shock. "Theodore! What are you saying?!" she hissed, grabbing his arm.
Theodore gently squeezed her hand, signaling her to stay quiet. Then, he looked up at Mrs. Lancaster and forced a weak smile.
"We don’t want any trouble," he said. "Just tell us how much we need to pay, and we’ll figure sothing out."
Mrs. Lancaster chuckled. "Oh, how sensible of you. I knew you weren’t as foolish as your sister."
She turned to Rose. "See, dear? This is how smart people handle things."
Rose nodded, grinning. "Right! Unlike Olivia, who just runs her mouth all the ti."
Olivia clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
But she didn’t say anything. She trusted Theodore—he must have a reason for saying this.
Mrs. Lancaster took a step closer to Theodore.
"Since you’re finally being reasonable, let make things easy for you. Just pay the $50,000 your father owes, and we’ll consider this matter closed."
Theodore lowered his head again. "Thank you for your kindness, ma’am."
Mrs. Lancaster smiled, clearly pleased with herself. "Good. I’ll give you a few weeks to get the money together. But if you fail..."
She trailed off and shrugged. "Well, let’s just say I’d hate to see your family suffer."
With that, she and Rose left.
The mont they disappeared, Olivia grabbed Theodore’s arm again.
"What was that?! Why did you say that?!"
Theodore straightened up, his eyes sharp and serious.
"Olivia who we are?"
Olivia blinked in surprise before replying,
"The Waters Family."
"How much savings do we have?" Theodore asked gently, but the corner of his eyes turned slightly red.
"More than $420,000," Olivia answered.
"How much do they have in their bank account?" Theodore continued.
"100’s of Millions..." Olivia answered with an irritated expression, "But what does that have to do with this case, are you asking to bow to their powers."
"No. Now tell how well connected they are?" Theodore asked.
Olivia crossed her arms, her brows furrowed.
"Very well connected. They have friends in business, politics, and even law enforcent."
Theodore nodded.
"Exactly. And how much power do we have?"
Olivia hesitated.
"Not much. But that doesn’t an we should just let them walk all over us!"
Theodore sighed, rubbing his temples.
"I’m not saying we should. But if we go against them head-on without proof, they’ll crush us. The cruel reality is Olivia, even if we fight head-on with all the power and money we have, we will never win, do you know why?"
Olivia was irritated.
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