Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 144

It didn't take a genius to figure out who he was trying to keep out.

Summer leaned over the second-floor railing and shouted, "Xavier! The study password."

Xavier didn't even look up. "What for?"

"To get a book."

"Didn't you pack all your books?"

"I missed one."

Xavier stood up, walked upstairs, and entered the code.

Summer caught a glimpse of the numbers and thought they looked familiar. As the door clicked open, it hit her—it was Lily's birthday.

He was using his mistress's birthday as the password in her own house.

She was hit with another wave of intense disgust!

Summer started searching for the book. Leo had asked for the title earlier and was helping her look.

Xavier just leaned casually against the doorframe, checking his phone. Was he afraid she would snoop through his computer or steal his precious corporate secrets?

He really was guarding against her like a hawk.

Summer's voice was frigid. "You don't have to babysit me. I'm not going to touch your computer or your files."

Xavier gave a low hum but didn't move an inch. He stayed leaning against the desk, looking down and replying to Lily's texts.

He was reassuring Lily that Summer was only here to grab a book and would leave as soon as she found it, promising she wouldn't ruin their weekend.

Summer and Leo combed through the bookshelves three times. Half an hour passed, and there was still no sign of the book.

"Why isn't it here? Where could it be?"

Last night, while drafting her summit notes, Summer had needed to double-check a reference from that specific book. But after scouring her new apartment's shelves three times, she came up empty.

She figured she had accidentally left it behind at South Bay Manor, but now, after checking here three times, it was nowhere to be found.

"Are you sure it's in the house?" Xavier pocketed his phone after texting Lily and looked at Summer, who was clearly stumped.

Summer stared at the empty shelf and nodded. "Positive."

She then narrowed her eyes at Xavier. "Did you take my book?"

When the Sterling Group first ventured into AI tech, Xavier had suffered massive losses due to his lack of technical expertise. After taking that hard hit, he began reading specialized material whenever he had the time.

Anything he didn't understand, he would ask Summer.

Had the maid put it away while cleaning?

Xavier asked the new maid they had hired. The maid pointed toward Hunter in the living room. "Sir, the young boy has it."

While the maid was cleaning the living room earlier, Lily had casually mentioned that Xavier and the others were looking for a book and asked if the maid had seen it.

The maid remembered seeing a book on Xavier's nightstand that morning and nodded.

But the moment she brought the book out of the bedroom, Hunter snatched it away and immediately ripped out several pages.

Terrified of being blamed, the maid hadn't dared to say a word.

Hearing this, Summer whipped her head around. Hunter was holding the book in his hands, viciously ripping it apart page by page, folding them into paper airplanes, and launching them all over the living room.

It was the exact book her mentor had given her!

An out-of-print edition, signed by the legendary author, containing not only Harrison Banks' handwritten notes but also her own bursts of inspiration jotted down in the margins!

Summer's blood boiled. She shook with sheer, unadulterated rage.

In that moment, she deeply, profoundly empathized with anyone who ever had the urge to strangle an out-of-control brat.

She genuinely wanted to beat Hunter into the ground!!