She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 109

"Hello?! Dr. Lowe!" Sylvie's panicked voice echoed sharply through the expansive lobby.

But her desperate calls were met with silence. Brandon had ruthlessly hung up on her. When she immediately tried dialing back, she was hit with a busy signal. It was blatantly obvious—he had blocked her number.

"How could this happen..." she whispered, staring at her screen in sheer disbelief.

Sensing something was horribly wrong, Herbert rushed over the second she lowered her phone. "What's going on? What happened?"

Justin looked equally anxious. Sylvie was always the picture of calm professionalism; it was incredibly rare to see her lose her composure like this.

The management team, still waiting in formation to welcome the VIPs, exchanged nervous glances.

Something catastrophic must have just occurred to make her look like that.

Her arm fell limply to her side. She looked up at Herbert, her eyes rimmed with red. "Mr. Jewell... Dr. Lowe said they aren't coming."

"Not coming?" He furrowed his brows, still not fully grasping the severity of the situation. "Did they reschedule?"

Justin let out a frustrated sigh of relief. "Tch. These academic types always pull this kind of power play. Did they say what day they're coming instead?"

Her expression only grew more devastated. The words that left her mouth landed like a bomb. "They aren't coming at all. Ever."

"What?" Justin's breath caught in his throat.

"Sylvie, what exactly do you mean? Be clear," Herbert demanded, the gravity of the situation finally crashing down on him.

She took a shaky breath, repeating the exact words she had been told. "He said to pretend the targeted partnership was never even discussed. And he told us to never contact him directly again."

Tears pooled in her eyes as she looked between the two founders, her voice trembling. "That means the inspection is canceled, and H&J has officially lost the targeted partnership."

The lobby erupted into pure chaos.

Unsurprisingly, his number had been blocked as well.

From the crowd, a terrified voice broke the silence. "We're dead. We're almost entirely out of our current gyroscope inventory. If this keeps up, we won't be able to manufacture the quantum navigation systems at all. The company is going to go under..."

That single comment sent the panic into overdrive.

Dozens of desperate eyes locked onto Herbert and Justin, praying for a miracle or at least an explanation.

But Herbert didn't utter a single word. He just turned around and walked back toward the private elevator in dead silence.

"Herbert, wait for me..." Sylvie scrambled after him, trying to offer comfort. "Don't panic. We'll find another way."

Justin was left standing alone in the lobby. He wasn't the head of product or engineering; he had absolutely no idea what to say to pacify a room full of terrified employees.