Vincent Grant pinched the bridge of his nose, his tone flat. "I only brought Joanna here to discuss work. Nothing more."

"What are your plans?"

Vincent Grant was a bit puzzled but answered anyway. "Work is work, and family is family. I can keep them separate. Once this busy period is over, I’ll make time for Sophia Shaw and the kids. I’ll take them abroad for a vacation to unwind."

Miles Grant: "..."

’Going on a vacation together after a divorce?’

A thought suddenly struck him. "Vincent, don’t tell me you don’t even..." ’...know that you’re already divorced.’

Miles Grant couldn’t bring himself to say it.

The very idea was too absurd!

In the end, he just said, "By now, I’m afraid Sophia Shaw’s heart has grown completely cold. It’s unlikely she’d go on a vacation with you."

Vincent Grant closed his eyes, recalling Sophia Shaw’s recent coldness toward him.

But he wasn’t too worried. "Don’t worry, Brother. It’s just a little tantrum. Sophia Shaw is pragmatic."

"The adopted child at home can’t be without a complete family, and her uncle’s company needs financial backing. Only I can provide these things for her."

"So, even if she’s genuinely upset about something, she’ll get over it in time."

No matter how composed Miles Grant usually was, his eyes widened in astonishment at that.

’His own daughter has been around for so long, and he still thinks she’s adopted?’

’And he’s still indulging in the pipe dream that Sophia Shaw will just come around after a while?’

Miles Grant suddenly fell silent.

"Still, Brother, I hope you can persuade Grandfather. Sophia Shaw is being too reckless. Launching the satellite with Lead Aerospace is bad for her and for the military family!"

"That’s enough. You should leave!"

Unable to listen anymore, Miles Grant turned and walked away, furious.

...

「The Sherman Residence.」

Joanna Sherman had just gotten home when Yvonne Sherman pulled her into her room.

"How did it go? Did you see Old Master Grant? What did he say?"

Yvonne Sherman knew that Joanna Sherman and Vincent Grant had gone to visit the Grant family.

For Joanna Sherman, visiting at this particular time held extraordinary significance.

Yvonne Sherman was eager to know the outcome.

Joanna Sherman expressionlessly tossed her bag onto the bed. "What do you think? He didn’t say anything!"

"Not only did he say nothing, they didn’t even have us stay for a meal."

The hopeful expression on Yvonne Sherman’s face was completely washed away. "How could that happen?"

Yvonne Sherman’s question only made Joanna Sherman more irritated.

’How could that happen?’

’It’s simple. They’re just unwilling to accept me!’

She sat on the edge of the bed, her hands pressing down hard on the mattress. The memory of seeing Sophia Shaw being doted on by the Grants as she was leaving—like the moon surrounded by stars—made her stomach churn.

"The Grants obviously already knew Sophia Shaw’s true identity. That’s why Old Master Grant wouldn’t agree to let Zenith launch the satellite," Yvonne Sherman analyzed.

Joanna Sherman hadn’t really gone to persuade Old Master Grant to let Zenith handle the launch. Rather, she wanted him to step in and stop Sophia Shaw from launching five satellites at once.

If the military family had proposed delaying the launch of two of the satellites, then regardless of her success, Sophia Shaw would only be able to send up three.

The gap between them wouldn’t seem so large then!

Outsiders would see it as only natural for the experienced Sophia Shaw to launch three satellites successfully.

Meanwhile, for Joanna Sherman, who had never attempted such a thing, her own launch would be seen as a huge breakthrough.

In that comparison, she would even come out ahead!

Yvonne Sherman had known about this plan for a while and had fully supported her maneuvering.

The fact that Sophia Shaw was Old Master Sloan’s star pupil couldn’t be changed, so the most urgent matter now was to protect Joanna Sherman’s reputation.

This failure was a huge blow to both Yvonne Sherman and Joanna Sherman.

Yvonne Sherman didn’t understand the industry and had no idea how to scheme within it, so she could only look to Joanna Sherman. "What do we do now?"

A cold glint flashed in Joanna Sherman’s eyes as she pursed her lips tightly.

A moment later, she picked up a cup from the table, walked to the window, and simply let go.

CRACK.

The glass shattered on the ground below!

"Breaking news!"

As Sophia Shaw walked into Lead Aerospace, she saw several engineers in discussion.

"Zenith just announced they’re launching their satellite on the same day as us!"

Sophia Shaw froze.

Zenith had already moved its launch date up significantly. Launching on the same day as Lead Aerospace would mean compressing their timeline even further.

Sophia Shaw strode into her office, opened her laptop, and quickly began running calculations.

When she finished, she shook her head.

’It won’t work.’

’No matter how they approach it, this reckless rush is impossible.’

’It will be a massive disaster!’

’Zenith has so many consultants on staff. Why would they let Joanna Sherman make a decision like this?’

Sophia Shaw closed her laptop, trying to convince herself: this had nothing to do with her. It was Vincent Grant and Joanna Sherman’s own choice.

’They’ve done plenty of disgusting things to me, anyway. A launch failure would serve them right and let me blow off some steam.’

But a part of her still felt uneasy.

Knowing there would be a terrible outcome and just sitting back to watch the show had never been her style.

This launch wasn’t just about Vincent Grant and Joanna Sherman; it involved thousands upon thousands of staff members.

They were innocent.

In short, call her a bleeding heart, say she never learns her lesson—Sophia Shaw truly couldn’t bear to watch a Cathanian satellite fall from the sky over Cathan’s own soil.

In the end, Sophia Shaw picked up her phone and dialed Vincent Grant’s number.

Not wanting to waste words, she got straight to the point the moment he answered. "Vincent Grant, have you run precise calculations and repeated verifications for moving your launch date up? Don’t do something irresponsible—"

Before she could finish, a cold female voice cut in. "Why are you so anxious about us launching early? Are you afraid I’ll steal your thunder?"

It was Joanna Sherman who had answered.

Sophia Shaw had called Vincent Grant precisely because she didn’t want to talk to Joanna Sherman, yet she ended up speaking to her anyway.

"You’re incompetent, yet you still want to pull rank and meddle in other people’s projects. What’s the point?"

Joanna Sherman’s tone toward Sophia Shaw was usually dismissive, but this time it was exceptionally harsh.

Sophia Shaw was speechless.

"Joanna Sherman, you’ve studied and worked in this field for so long. Did you learn absolutely nothing? If you don’t even understand the most basic procedures, go find Elder Hawthorne and have him teach you all over again!"

When it came to professional matters, Sophia Shaw never held back.

Especially not with someone like Joanna Sherman, who wasn’t even willing to perform the most basic verifications.

"Joanna Sherman, you’d better find your consultants—"

BEEP—

Joanna Sherman had hung up.

Though she felt it was a shame, Sophia Shaw didn’t call back.

Putting aside their personal grudges to offer a well-intentioned warning was already the absolute limit for her.

All that mattered was having a clear conscience.

Sophia Shaw quickly immersed herself in her work.

「Time flew, and soon it was July 8th, the day of the satellite launch.」

In the pre-dawn hours, a massive carrier rocket emblazoned with the Lead Aerospace logo stood tall on the launch tower, poised and ready for takeoff.

Inside the rocket’s payload bay, five satellites were installed, ready to be deployed at different times to begin their journey through the cosmos.

Lights glimmered on the launchpad.

Below the launch tower, all the engineers from Lead Aerospace’s engineering department stood ramrod straight, silent and solemn.

Further away, on the observation deck, representatives from the satellite’s client companies wore hard hats, their heads tilted up in anticipation.

Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere, they too remained silent.

The only sound was the THUMP-THUMP of countless hearts pounding powerfully in their chests.

The command vehicle slowly drove onto the tarmac.

Sophia Shaw and Old Master Sloan stepped out of the vehicle at the same time.

"Are you ready?" Old Master Sloan asked, his stern face softening slightly as he looked at Sophia Shaw.

"I’m ready."

Her voice was soft, but exceptionally firm.

Old Master Sloan nodded in satisfaction, and the two of them walked side by side toward the command console.