Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 347

Xavier nodded, though his expression hardened almost instantly. "But I never want to see a repeat of what happened today. Can you promise me that?"

"I promise!" Hunter shouted back.

Lilith knew the crisis had been averted, and she secretly let out a sigh of relief. But her mind instantly flashed back to the earlier scene.

Summer shaking hands and chatting casually with a group of elite academics, looking exactly like old friends.

Lilith's heart painfully twisted into tight knots all over again.

On the drive back, Hunter fell asleep in the backseat. Lilith, sitting in the passenger seat, carefully probed, "Xavier, what exactly is the relationship between Professor Banks and Summer? Do you know?"

Even if it was just because of the corporate project, there was no logical reason for Professor Banks to treat Summer's son like royalty.

What did the bodyguard call Leo?

The little gentleman?

Professor Banks' affection for Leo was so undeniably genuine it practically radiated from him.

And the entire flock of elite professors behind him clearly adored the kid just as much.

There was no way a small child like Leo could independently forge connections with such powerhouses in the academic world.

It absolutely had to be because of Summer.

Summer actually had the entire upper echelon of the scientific community in the palm of her hand.

Those were the connections Lilith had desperately dreamed of possessing.

The realization that her ultimate goal—a status she had sacrificed everything to reach—was effortlessly held by the woman she loathed most felt like absolute torture.

Lilith's hands, resting on her lap, involuntarily clenched into tight fists, crushing the fabric of her skirt.

The toxic blend of jealousy and hatred roared inside her like a volatile volcano, threatening to erupt at any given second.

Xavier shook his head. "I have no idea." In their seven years of marriage, Summer had never once mentioned knowing Harrison Banks.

Had she been guarding against him all along?

Had she never truly trusted him?

Or perhaps she... had never actually loved him?

Just thinking about it ignited a suffocating, fiery rage in Xavier's chest, leaving him breathless and violently uneasy.

From the passenger seat, Lilith fought to suppress her swirling emotions and feigned a casual tone. "Leo seemed to be hanging out with Professor Banks' group. The professor treated him like his own flesh-and-blood grandson. He even assigned two bodyguards to shadow him."

Xavier's mind raced back. After the catastrophic scandal at their wedding, he had explicitly ordered his men to track down Maeve Vance and Leo.

They had vanished without a single trace.

If Leo had been under the direct protection of Professor Banks this whole time, it made perfect sense why his team hit a dead end.

Summer was so terrified he would take Leo away that she specifically planted him by Professor Banks' side for absolute security.

The only glaring question was why a titan like Harrison Banks would ever agree to Summer's request.

Could there really be some hidden, deeper connection between the two of them that he was entirely oblivious to?

Xavier narrowed his eyes. "I'll ask Wesley Whitmore about their relationship later."

...

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