Chapter 284

Winona was greatly angered by Olivia, so she immediately passed the message to Sarah.

Sarah was having dinner with Michael and the others. When she heard the news, she got angry right away.

She thought to herself, “Olivia is really crossing the line!”

Sarah called Daniel and asked ferociously, “Daniel, do you know what Olivia did to Winona?”

Daniel was reading documents at the office.

Recently, the company had been going through a period of instability. There had been several new rules from higher–ups that restrict the development of the internet.

At first, Daniel did not take it seriously and thought it was the country taking action to regulate the internet.

In recent years, the rapid development of the internet had outpaced some policies, leading to a lot of chaos.

One of the incidents was online “human flesh searches” that led to the loss of life a few years ago.

It wasn’t until a few days ago when the tax bureau checked the accounts of New City Network, claiming that someone had reported New City Network for tax evasion with their real names, that Daniel finally understood.

“It isn’t the country trying to regulate the internet,” he thought. “Rather, some influential figures from higher authorities want to bring me into compliance or control my actions.

“In Capital City, those several political families, whether it’s the Book family or the Swift family, the Sullivan family has connections with them, and our relationships are quite good. So, it’s unlikely that they are the ones behind this.

“So, who could it possibly be then?”

In the past two years, Capital City had been in the midst of leadership changes. Several prominent families were fiercely competing, creating a tense atmosphere.

The next leader was very likely to come from the Book family, as Ryan had had a good track record in recent years and accomplished many significant achievements. However, the Grant family was also not to be underestimated. It was said that the Grant family had a deep influence. They usually kept a low profile. At crucial moments, their methods were quite powerful.

The Manson family’s Prooco Group belonged to the Grant family.

Jeremy Watson, the deputy director of the Capitol Research Institute, also hailed from the Grant family.

Although Daniel was focused on business, he could not ignore the news coming from the capital. He had been constantly arranging for people to inquire about it.

In the change of leadership this time, the Book family and the Grant family were evenly matched.

Almost all the forces had expressed their stance, except Capitol Research Institute.

Although the deputy director of the research institute, Jeremy, was a member of the Grant family, the director was not. He had not declared his support for any family.

Therefore, the stance of the research institute was crucial. It would practically determine the victory or defeat of the Book family and the Grant family.

Both sides wanted to win the support of the research institute, but the director of the research institute never expressed his stance.

It was said that this director’s identity was very mysterious. He had not appeared in public all these years. Other than a few esteemed senior academicians of the research institute, no one had seen the director in person.

Even Jeremy, the deputy director, did not know who the director was and what he looked like.

Daniel had also made considerable effort to ask around, but unfortunately, he could not find out anything. All he knew was that this director was elusive and was not in Capital City all year round.

Daniel did not know which family was targeting him, but the Grant family was the more likely one.

This was because the timing of the incident was too coincidental. Winona had just appeared, and New City Network then ran into trouble.

It was hard to keep Daniel from overthinking it.

He was contemplating the matter related to the Grant family when he received a call from Sarah, and she began by questioning him.

Daniel had a headache. He could not help but rub his forehead and ask patiently, “What happened?”

Sarah quickly recounted the situation to Daniel. Then, she said, “How do you intend to deal with it?

Winona has been really wronged. I heard she couldn’t even have dinner.”

Daniel frowned and his expression immediately turned cold. “What did you just say?” he said. “This is outrageous. Why did it escalate to this point?”

Upon hearing this, Sarah’s lips curled up. She was very satisfied with Daniel’s attitude.

She thought to herself, “Hmph, I know he still cares about Winona. Acting all nonchalant most of the time, but when Winona gets into trouble, his facade falls apart.”

“It’s all because of Olivia,” she said. “She’s really too audacious. She actually…”

Before Sarah finished talking, she was interrupted by Daniel with a frown. “You’ve got it wrong,” he said. “I wasn’t talking about Olivia. I meant Winona was the one who went too far!”

Daniel leaned back in his chair, his body reclining, and he rubbed his eyebrows.

He then enunciated each word as he said, “Out of respect for your grandmother, I’ve been tolerating you time and time again, but my patience is limited. Sarah, be cautious and consider the consequences of your behavior.”

Daniel’s voice was not loud, and it even sounded somewhat nonchalant. However, every word carried a chilling undertone, leaving Sarah pale.

Her face was pale. She still wanted to question Daniel, but Michael snatched her phone away and hung up the call. Then, he growled, “Enough. Have you satisfied your urge to cause trouble?”

“How can you call this causing trouble?” Sarah roared. “What’s going on with Daniel? He’s just standing by and letting Winona get bullied. Doesn’t he care about their past at all?”

“That’s enough!” Michael said impatiently. “Can you stop meddling where you shouldn’t? Whoever Daniel fancies is his business, not yours. Please remember your place. You’re just a friend of Daniel.”

Sarah stomped her feet in anger, but she eventually calmed down.

However, she was still a little indignant. She muttered to herself, saying, “I just feel sorry for Winona.

She put in so much effort to help Daniel, who used to be lazy and not focused on anything. She tried everything to get him on the right path, but Daniel just didn’t care and continued to drift through life. “It wasn’t until Winona left in disappointment that Daniel suddenly came to his senses. He reclaimed the Sullivan family and established such a large family business.

“This is all Winona’s merit. She painstakingly accompanied a man to grow up, tolerated all his bad habits, and urged him to progress. After so much effort, she nurtured a fragile sapling into a towering tree. What right does Olivia have to pluck the fruit?

“What right does she have?”

This time, Michael did not say anything.

He was not as extreme as Sarah, but deep down, he also leaned toward supporting Winona.

This was because back in those days, Winona really had it tough.

She was the beloved daughter of Prooco Group and the only daughter of the Manson family. Jonny would never allow her to marry Daniel, who was incompetent, lazy, and could not even inherit the family business.

In order to be with Daniel, Winona really did a lot of things.

Not only did she accompany Daniel in his growth and urge him to improve, but she also contributed a lot. She invested money, effort, and resources. She had also persuaded the Manson family to invest in Daniel, all with the hope that Jonny would see Daniel’s progress and agree to their relationship.

It was because Daniel disappointed her so much that she eventually gave up and left.

However, all these words were of no use now. Matters of the heart did not follow reason, and timing was everything.

After six or seven years had passed, everything had already changed beyond recognition.

Michael patted Sarah’s shoulder and said, “Since it was Winona who let go and left in the first place back then, she can’t expect Daniel to stay in the same place and wait for her.”

i didn’t let go. She didn’t leave on her own.

“You don’t know anything!” Sarah sniffled and shouted. “Winona didn’t let It was Jonny who forcibly took her away.”

Sarah still remembered the despair on Winona’s face to this day.

Back then, Winona crouched on the floor and covered her face. Her tears had dried up as she repeatedly said, “What should I do? What should I do? Dad said if I don’t go overseas, he’ll get someone to break Daniel’s legs.”