I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 570

Ethan was completely oblivious to his own self-importance, happily rambling on. Sienna, however, clearly saw the disdain on Quentin and Ian's faces. Only Ethan missed it.

He had invested in Easton's AI robots and pulled in a massive return, and now he was desperate to invest in Sienna's personal ventures. Since she wasn't budging, he figured he could butter her up.

He knew Sienna's heart was set on Hayden, but since Hayden hadn't proposed yet, Ethan thought he could play matchmaker and force the issue.

"You flatter me, Ethan."

Sienna said, cutting him off. First of all, Quentin and Ian couldn't care less about her business. Second, Easton was currently imploding from the inside, teetering on the edge of total collapse.

Hayden had promised to fix it, but she was still terrified.

He had left for less than half an hour before returning to drag her to this symposium. It was focused on AI tech, and he told her to "learn something." That alone made her sick with anxiety.

If the Easton disaster blew back onto her and required her actual technical expertise to fix, she knew exactly how badly it would end.

Sienna clearly wanted to drop the subject. Just then, Commissioner Sterling arrived.

A crowd immediately surged around him, everyone vying for a moment of his time.

He exchanged polite pleasantries with the crowd before making a beeline straight for Zoe, with Marcus closely trailing him.

Zoe had originally planned to greet the Commissioner with Garrett, but seeing the mob around him, they had decided to wait.

Marcus expertly navigated the crowd, carving a path for the Commissioner. Spotting Zoe, he guided Sterling away from the networking vultures directly to her.

"Ms. Lynd, my apologies for the delay."

That single sentence sent shockwaves through the onlookers.

A high-ranking Commissioner speaking with such deference to a young woman? Timothy wasn't surprised; Zoe's resume spoke for itself. Sterling's military robotics initiative had explicitly requested her.

His respect was purely professional recognition of her genius.

Even Hayden seemed to be leaning toward her now.

Emotions boiling over, Sienna parted her lips to speak, but after glancing at Hayden—who remained stonily silent regarding Zoe—she decided to keep her mouth shut.

"I wouldn't be so sure. If you ask me, Sterling isn't someone Arthur Kendall Sr. can just buy off. Talent is talent. The way he treats Zoe doesn't look like he's doing a favor for the Kendalls. It looks like genuine admiration and respect."

Ethan was left speechless. As he watched Zoe being surrounded like a glittering star, Sienna felt a bitter twist in her gut.

That spotlight belonged to her.

If Zoe hadn't intentionally sabotaged the code, her robots wouldn't be failing. Now, Sienna was too terrified to show her face publicly, wishing she could just disappear.

Suppressing the news didn't mean no one knew.

She was terrified of being exposed, stripping away the untouchable arrogance she used to flaunt when she had the Thorne family backing her every move.