Chapter 181

At that moment, Hannah was sitting in her office. For several consecutive days, she had been receiving flowers-each bouquet different from the last. Curiously, not a single card bore a sender's name.

A subtle sense of unease began to take hold of her.

Suddenly, the hallway erupted in noise, and the next moment, someone stormed right into her office.

Daphne wasted no time making herself at home. "So this is how you treat your company's visitors, Hannah?Not even a proper greeting?" She perched herself on Hannah's desk, acting as if she owned the place.

Quickly sliding the bouquet of roses out of sight, Hannah offered her assistant at the door a silent nod.Catching on at once, the assistant slipped out and closed the door without a word.

No detail escaped Daphne's eye. Spotting the flowers stashed below, she slid off the desk, scooped them up with a smirk, and teased, "You really know how to reel men in, huh?"

Judgment colored her gaze, as if Hannah were the type of juggling admirers for sport.

Rather than getting worked up, Hannah steered the conversation back to business. "Why are you really here?"

Daphne's lips curled in a mischievous grin. "I came on behalf of my brother's firm. Someone has to check up on our star partner." Without warning, she sneezed onto the roses."Oh dear, hope I didn't ruin your bouquet. Totally accidental."

With a careless flick, she tossed the flowers aside, sending petals tumbling to the floor.

Unmoved, Hannah kept her voice steady."It's no trouble. I've been wondering what to do with those anyway, so thanks for the help." Turning to business, she continued, "If you're visiting on Mr. Whitaker's behalf, we'll have a team member show you around in just a bit."

Daphne didn't mask her intent to stir things up. "Forget anyone else. I want you to show me around today." Hannah reached for her laptop and checked the time on her watch. "Unfortunately, I have other pressing matters. There's no space in my schedule for this right now."

A thinly veiled threat followed. "Walk out on me and your company's getting a big, fat zero from me,"Daphne warned.

"That's your call. I won't stop you," Hannah replied, her calm unshaken. "But ask yourself-do you think Mr.Whitaker will cancel the collaboration merely due to a zero-point evaluation done out of personal spite?Knowing his standards, you might even end up getting scolded for not handling things professionally."

"You-" For a moment, Daphne seemed at a loss for words, her anger boiling over.

Stepping past Daphne, Hannah made for the door. Right then, Daphne threw out a bitter remark. "You look pretty pleased with yourself, don't you, Hannah?"

Direct as ever, Hannah replied, "Sealing a deal with VitraMind? I'd say I have every reason to be."

Daphne dismissed the answer with a scoff and closed the distance between them. "That's not what I meant.I'm talking about snatching up someone else's man-bet you're proud of that."

Hannah's demeanor never shifted. "Did you not listen to the last bidding session, or did you just choose to ignore it? Vincent stated, in front of everyone, that I'm his ex-wife. Not a mistress." For the sake of future business dealings, she made a point to spell it out.

A bitter scoff escaped Daphne, saying, "Spare me the speech. I already know what's really going on. You pushed Brinley into playing the other woman, and now you're divorced and still won't leave her man alone.Do you have any idea she tried to end her own life because of all this?" Agitation twisted her words tighter."You almost drove her to death!"

Hannah raised an eyebrow. Brinley attempted suicide? No one had ever told her this before. Ice crept into her features. "Were you there, Daphne? Did you see me force her to do anything? Did you see me put a blade in her hand? If she decided to hurt herself, how is that my fault?"

Outrage burned in Daphne's cheeks. "You're unbelievable! Someone nearly died because of you, and you act like you don't care!" Hannah replied calmly, "That's enough. If she refuses to value her own life, that isn't something I can fix.Why am I expected to carry the weight of her choices?" Her voice stayed steady, unwavering. "If you're so concerned for Brinley, shouldn't you be at her side instead of coming here just to pick a fight with me?"

Fuming, Daphne retorted, "You just wait! Cross me, and you cross my brother too. We'll see if your company can handle the consequences!"

Not so much as a flicker of concern crossed Hannah's face. "Childish," she responded simply.

Hannah walked straight out of the office, leaving Daphne stomping in frustration behind her.

Pausing in the hallway,Hannah checked her, phone for the date, piecing together her own silent countdown.The timing was just about right. Hearing about Brinley's suicide attempt only hardened her resolve.If Brinley thought this was rock bottom, then she had no idea what was still coming. The real chaos was set to hit in just a few days, and if she couldn't handle today, she would shatter under the pressure of what was next.

A string of days spent in the hospital brought Brinley no comfort. Eventually, she accepted that Vincent had no intention of visiting her. Back at Polaris Tech, she barely made it through the front door before being hit by a wave of setbacks and headaches waiting to be solved.