She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 190

After finishing her grocery shopping, Hulda headed home, whipped up a few dishes, packed them into a lunch box, and took a cab to the convalescent home.

She had two goals: first, to visit Dr. Atherton before lunch.

Second, to find out exactly what was going on with the joint laboratory and why Caspian Sterling had suddenly become their primary investor.

Even though Brandon was managing the institute now, launching a massive collaborative project without her mentor's absolute approval was entirely impossible.

Especially when the partner was Caspian.

Hulda didn't believe her mentor or Brandon would ever intentionally do something to hurt her, which meant there had to be a specific reason they had kept her in the dark. She needed to know what it was.

However, this time, she was stopped cold at the gates.

The security guard looked extremely awkward. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Atherton, but Dr. Atherton explicitly stated he doesn't want to see you today. You should probably head back..."

Internally, the guard was incredibly confused.

Usually, the moment Dr. Atherton heard her name, he would immediately order them to let her in, acting like a delay of even one second was unacceptable. What on earth was going on today?

Hulda narrowed her eyes. She knew exactly what this was—her mentor was hiding from her.

She wasn't about to make life difficult for the guard. She simply handed over her lunch box. "Could you do me a favor and make sure Dr. Atherton gets this?"

With that, she turned and left.

Up in the private suite, Conrad was staring at the door like it was a live grenade. The second the handle turned, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

Seeing it was only the caretaker, he aggressively exhaled in relief.

The caretaker couldn't help but chuckle. "Relax, Dr. Atherton. The guards have strict orders to keep her out. There's no way she's getting in."

Conrad choked on his breath, then grumbled defensively, "Who says I'm scared?! You think I'm scared of a little girl?"

"She... she never used to know how to cook."

Not understanding the heavy history behind the statement, the caretaker assumed he didn't like it and reached out to take the tray away. Conrad immediately swatted his hand.

"What are you doing?! I'm eating that!" With that, he began shoveling the food into his mouth with alarming speed.

The caretaker stood there stunned. It was the first time he had seen the doctor eat with such ravenous appetite.

...

Later that afternoon, Hulda received a call from Hayden. They agreed to meet the following morning.

Initially, Hayden wanted to invite her to the National Go Academy, but sensing how much she missed the courtyard where his father had taught her to play, he changed his mind and suggested they meet there instead.

The courtyard was actually the old Owen Residence. Ever since Arthur had retired and moved back to his hometown, the property had sat completely empty.