She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 103

The next morning, before heading to work, Hulda stopped by Brandon's house to give him the wine.

After all, bringing a gift like that to the institute could attract unwanted attention and cause unnecessary trouble for him.

In the living room, Brandon clutched the bottle, beaming with joy. "This is fantastic. I look forward to this every single year."

"As long as you like it, I'll keep bringing it every year," she said with a smile, glancing toward Sienna Lowe's bedroom. "Where's Sienna? Already off to school?"

"Yeah, she left before the sun even came up. Senior year is incredibly demanding." His face softened with parental sympathy before he chuckled. "But you wouldn't understand that. You skipped all the standard college entrance exams."

It was true. She had never taken them. Thanks to her brilliance, she had been fast-tracked directly into university at a very young age. By the time she was Sienna's age, she was already working as an intern at the institute. The only difference was that back then, her name had been Hulda Sterling.

Later, she adopted her mentor's surname. Brandon had personally updated her name in the institute's internal personnel files, completely severing her ties with the Sterlings and her old identity.

"It's great that you came by today," Brandon's voice pulled her back to the present. "We can skip the institute for now and head straight to that tech company."

"Right now?" she asked. They had planned to do the inspection today, but going this early felt a bit abrupt.

"Yeah." He stood up and grabbed his briefcase. "It's fine. Their attitude is fantastic. They said they'd be ready for us all day. I just need to give them a quick heads-up before we head over."

She watched as he made the call to inform the company they were on their way.

It was obvious how much he believed in this tech firm and how deeply he wanted to help them succeed.

Seeing his enthusiasm, she figured that as long as their qualifications and products met her standards, she would approve the partnership as a favor to him, providing them with the necessary components and technical support.

"Exactly. Didn't I tell you?" Brandon had completely forgotten. The last time he tried to mention the company's name, Abby Corbett had interrupted them, and the conversation had derailed.

Both of them had been so busy since then that she had never thought to ask again.

He locked the car and gestured toward the building. "The founders are incredibly capable, and their products are top-tier. You'll see once we get inside."

Hulda stared at the approaching front doors. It was the very same building she had been barred from entering, the place where Herbert and Justin had explicitly banned her. No matter how much she tried to maintain her objective, professional composure, her emotions were inevitably tangled.

Just then, Brandon's phone rang. He glanced at the screen and frowned. "It's a classified call from the institute. I need to take this in private. You head in first. They should have a reception team waiting for you."

Since the call involved sensitive information, he couldn't take it in public. He turned around and got back into his car.