She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 10

Herbert froze, staring at her as if she had just started speaking in tongues. "Excuse me?"

"I said, I want a divorce!" Hulda repeated, her chest aching with bitter irony.

She had already asked for a divorce at that absurd circus of a wedding yesterday. It seemed he truly didn't give a damn about her, considering her words hadn't even registered in his memory.

Sensing the situation was about to completely detonate, Callie frantically scurried over with the insulated bag.

"Mr. Jewell, the food is all packed. You should hurry and take it to Ms. Sinclair before it gets cold."

Herbert snatched the bag from her hands, his eyes locked onto his wife in a deadly glare. "I'll give you time to think about what you're throwing away. But hear me clearly, Hulda. I will not tolerate these endless tantrums forever."

Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed out, dragging the freezing temperature in the room with him.

After seeing him out, Callie whipped around to reprimand Hulda. "Mrs. Jewell, why do you have to be so stubborn? Just listen to your husband and go apologize to the girl. It'll all blow over. She's really a sweet person, you shouldn't have..."

Hulda leveled a dead, hollow stare at the housekeeper before turning her back and walking out of the kitchen.

Callie stood rooted to the spot, genuinely terrified by the look in her employer's eyes. It was a side of Hulda she had never seen before.

...

Back in the bedroom, Hulda looked at her packed suitcases. She needed to find a place to stay immediately so she could get out of this house.

She had scheduled to meet Brandon this morning to visit their mentor. Seeing the time, she forced herself to shake off the numbness, quickly washed her face, threw on some casual clothes, and headed out the door.

She crossed paths with Callie in the living room. The housekeeper opened her mouth to say something, but Hulda breezed past her without sparing her a single glance.

Following the address Brandon sent, Hulda arrived at Conrad Atherton's location. It was an exclusive VIP sanitarium tucked behind Aldercy Central Hospital, strictly reserved for top-tier executives and national-level experts.

...

"We have one last card to play," Herbert said, looking at him. "The Conrad Atherton Institute."

"Dr. Atherton?" Justin was obviously familiar with the legendary titan of the industry. "But word is his health took a massive dive. He's practically retired."

"He is," he nodded. "The institute is being run by his protégé, Brandon Lowe. He told me their R&D department's Quantum Crystal Oscillator Gyroscope is highly likely to be compatible with our system. But the exact technical parameters are only known to Dr. Atherton and the original mastermind who built the project."

"But no one can even get a meeting with Dr. Atherton right now!"

Herbert's expression turned grim. "Exactly. Which is why Dr. Lowe promised he'd try to get in touch with the original creator. But so far, it's been radio silence on their end."

"Who the hell is this person? Do they think they're royalty?" Justin practically pulled his hair out. All they needed was for this mystery genius to step out of the shadows, and their entire corporate crisis would vanish overnight.

Herbert shook his head. "Nobody knows. They've never made a public appearance. The only thing anyone knows is that they were Dr. Atherton's most brilliant student, an absolute prodigy." He stared out the window at the bright blue sky, his voice hard. "I don't care what it takes, we have to find them. If they agree to give us the tech, they can name their price."