Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 274

Seeing Maeve reduced to such a state left a pang of guilt in Xavier's chest. "Let me give you a ride."

Summer flatly refused, "No need."

"Summer, there's no need to—"

"Xavier!"

Lily's voice cut Xavier's words short.

He turned to look, his gaze instantly softening. "Lily, what are you doing here? It's freezing outside, didn't I tell you not to come to the airport?"

Lily pouted playfully, "I wanted to give you a surprise."

Summer tucked the thin blanket around Maeve, completely ignoring the couple's public display of affection. "Mom, let's go home."

Maeve patted Summer's hand affectionately and nodded.

It was only then that Lily acted as if she had just noticed Summer. "Summer, what happened to your mother?"

Lily was doing this on purpose. She knew exactly how much Summer cared about Maeve, yet deliberately rubbed salt in her wounds.

Summer gripped the wheelchair handles tightly and, without a moment's pause, pushed Maeve away with long, steady strides.

Lily let out a cold snort and intimately hooked her arm through his. "Xavier, let's go home."

Xavier pulled his gaze away from Summer's retreating figure. "Let's go."

...

Summer was locked into working at Sterling Group for the next year, so she bought a sprawling, multi-thousand-square-foot apartment nearby. It was just a few minutes' walk, allowing her to pop home during lunch to check on Maeve.

After getting Maeve settled, the groceries she had ordered online arrived.

She invited Gavin Loomis and Jude Montgomery over for dinner.

Gavin had always treated her with the indulgence of an older brother, but she still hadn't told him about her decision to work at Sterling Group.

Gavin brought her a bouquet of sunflowers, while Jude showed up loaded with premium nutritional supplements for Maeve's recovery.

Summer's guilt grew heavier. "Gavin, I'm sorry."

Gavin understood her predicament. Tossing a piece of meat into his mouth, he said, "I'll forgive you on account of this amazing food."

Jude suddenly had a brilliant idea. "Summer, you could join FutureTech Systems using your Pax identity. No one knows Pax is Summer Vance anyway."

Thinking of the astronomical string of zeros on the contract penalty clause, Summer shook her head. If the truth came out, Xavier would never let her off the hook.

And she still had Maeve and Leo Vance to take care of.

Summer replied, "I'll just invest as a shareholder. The divorce settlement came through."

Summer was now a bona fide wealthy woman.

Thus, Summer became the second-largest shareholder of FutureTech Systems, right behind Gavin.

After Gavin and Jude left, Summer called Silas Sinclair.

She had imposed on him for far too long, and now that the divorce was finalized, it wasn't appropriate for Leo to keep staying at Silas's place.

It was time to bring the boy home.

Summer arranged to meet Silas for a chat.

Leaving early, she stopped by a high-end mall to pick out a thank-you gift for Silas.

She selected a watch—a design that was bold yet elegantly simple, meticulously handcrafted, and exuded quality. More importantly, it was a one-of-a-kind piece globally.

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