Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 167

Afterward, she made one last trip up the hill to Edward's grave.

Tessa stayed at the house to watch over Maeve and Leo.

Summer had explicitly warned Tessa to keep a close eye on Leo. If the four bodyguards tried to take him by force, she was to have the village chief rally the locals.

Summer had just donated a substantial amount of money to the village the day before. Her problems were now their problems; one shout, and everyone would rush over to help.

After paying her final respects to Edward, Summer dialed Silas's number once more.

Thank God, this time the call went through.

It only rang once before it was answered. Silas's deep, magnetic voice came through the receiver.

"Summer. Is something wrong?"

Summer let out a breath of relief. "Mr. Sinclair, is this a good time? I have an idea that will make Xavier absolutely miserable. Are you interested in hearing it?"

Silas glanced at the massive extended family swarming behind him. Today was the Sinclair family's designated gathering day; anyone who was available was legally obligated to show up.

As luck would have it, he had just returned from an overseas business trip. His flight had landed at 3 a.m., and his schedule was completely clear today.

Every time he returned, he was subjected to the same relentless interrogation: when was he getting married, and when was he having kids?

Right when Summer called, a few of his aunts were aggressively analyzing his itinerary, trying to wedge blind dates into his next two weeks.

Summer's phone call had literally saved his life.

"Tell me."

"Mr. Sinclair, would you be interested in taking in Xavier's son?"

Silas paused. "Hmm?"

"Mr. Sinclair, he..."

After ending the call with Silas, Summer bowed her head respectfully at the gravestone. "Dad, I'm taking Mom to Empire City. If you miss us, come visit us in our dreams."

Summer walked back down the hill and began loading their belongings. All the heavy items were loaded into Tessa's car.

Maeve rode with Tessa.

Summer took Leo.

The bodyguards immediately objected. "Ma'am, Mr. Sterling ordered us to escort the young master back to the estate."

Summer nodded calmly. "I'll drive him back myself."

The bodyguards clearly didn't trust her, but glancing out of the corners of their eyes at the massive crowd of villagers who had come to see them off, they had no choice but to keep their mouths shut.

Summer tossed him the keys and told him to drive laps around Empire City before parking the car at a specified location.

Once the decoy driver sped off, Summer carried Leo toward a low-profile luxury SUV parked on the street.

The door opened from the inside, revealing Silas's face—handsome enough to put a movie star to shame.

Summer paused, clearly not expecting him to come in person.

Silas's gaze flicked over Leo for a fraction of a second before landing on Summer. A very faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

He teased, "What, forgot what I look like? Get in."

Summer snapped back to reality. "Right, okay."

Carrying Leo made getting in difficult, so Silas reached out and took the boy from her arms, settling him onto his lap.

"Thank you, Mr. Sinclair," Summer said as she climbed in, immediately prompting Leo to say hello.

Leo greeted him politely, "Hello, Mr. Sinclair."

"Are you sick?" Silas picked up on the boy's nasal voice. He pulled out a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to him. "Drink some water."

When Leo had woken up that morning, his congestion had returned and his voice was a bit hoarse.