She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 133

Sylvie's news was an absolute lifeline for Herbert and Justin.

Herbert was particularly thrilled. He had immense confidence in his own abilities and his company's tech—otherwise, Brandon Lowe wouldn't have favored him so highly in the first place.

Though he still had no idea what had caused Brandon to suddenly terminate their exclusive partnership, Herbert knew that as long as they could get their foot in the door, he could outshine every other competing tech firm.

"Are you serious, Sylvie? You're sure they're willing to help us get an invite?" Herbert had caught that her friend worked at Trident Corporation.

Trident was synonymous with the Sterling family, and their recent encounter with Caspian Sterling at the resort had been less than pleasant.

Justin was equally stunned. Scoring an invite to this specific conference was notoriously difficult. H&J had zero business ties or personal favors with Trident or the Sterling family.

How could they possibly secure access just through one of Sylvie's casual friendships?

But Sylvie nodded with absolute certainty. "I'm positive. We're definitely getting in. My friend said we'll receive the email and the formal invitation shortly."

Just as the words left her mouth, a notification pinged on Herbert's computer. He had received an official invitation sent on behalf of the joint laboratory at The Conrad Atherton Institute.

"The joint laboratory?" Herbert frowned. He hadn't heard of it before.

"Yes, it's a collaborative research hub co-founded by Caspian Sterling and the institute. My friend handles the communications between the two entities," Sylvie explained.

Herbert knew that large research institutes often engaged in horizontal collaborations with major domestic corporations to boost funding. The corporation injected capital, the institute handled the research, and the corporation received priority commercialization rights.

"If that's the case, then this invitation is perfectly legitimate." Herbert's eyes lit up. The relentless pressure and torment of the past few days had left him physically and mentally drained.

Now, he finally had the miracle he needed to turn it all around!

Overcome with euphoria, Herbert pulled Sylvie into a sudden, tight hug. "Thank you, Sylvie! You're a lifesaver!"

Every day she walked into the office, she could feel the weight of their stares.

The respect she had once enjoyed was gone, replaced by judgment, resentment, whispers, and eye rolls.

It was a reality she fundamentally refused to accept!

Thankfully, fate had smiled upon her. This friend had reached out out of nowhere. Sylvie didn't care how the woman knew her situation or why she was offering help; all that mattered was the result.

Herbert pulled back, resting his hands firmly on Sylvie's shoulders. "Sylvie, I'm going to say this one more time. The accident at sea was not your fault. You didn't want it to happen. It was a tragedy, but it was an accident."

At his words, Sylvie's eyes brimmed with tears. "But... if I had just listened to Hulda and hadn't insisted we go out, this wouldn't have happened."

Seeing her so consumed by guilt, a flash of genuine heartache crossed Herbert's eyes. "I told you, that was purely a coincidence. Hulda doesn't even have a basic degree. How could she possibly understand professional meteorology? She probably just asked an AI and used it as an excuse. It's just her usual jealous, petty behavior. Hasn't she pulled stunts like this a million times before?"