Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 59

"Just a trophy?" A smile touched Summer's eyes, but it was a smile far more agonizing to witness than tears.

Xavier didn't register her pain at all. To him, Summer was just being hysterical and entirely unreasonable.

"Is it not?" he demanded.

Was it not?

Was this really just about a piece of glass?

Leo stepped out from behind Summer, tilting his head to look up at Xavier. "It wasn't just the trophy. He also hit my mom."

Xavier looked down at the boy. "He's a little kid. How much strength could he possibly have? Where exactly did he hurt your mother?"

"It hurts her heart!"

After screaming the words at Xavier, the fierce light in Leo's eyes slowly faded away, replaced by the dull, hollow emptiness of stagnant water.

Xavier fell silent, staring down at his son for a long moment until Hunter's wailing dragged him back to reality.

He rushed Hunter out the door toward the hospital. The roar of the engine faded into the distance. The manor, which had been engulfed in chaos just seconds before, was suddenly plunged into a suffocating, heavy silence.

Leo's eyes slowly turned red. He threw his arms around Summer, his voice cracking. "Mom, I don't like Dad anymore."

Summer rubbed his back gently, her heart shattering for him. "Mom doesn't like him either."

Watching the mother and son embrace, a sharp pang of sorrow pierced Mrs. Gable's chest.

The movers Summer had hired arrived shortly after, loading everything onto the truck.

She walked through the house one last time, checking every room. Anything she had bought but couldn't take with her was dumped straight into the trash.

Then, there was the family portrait by the entryway.

It was taken on Leo's fourth birthday.

The three of them were wearing matching outfits. Leo had a little birthday hat on, sitting on Summer's lap in an armchair.

Xavier stood behind them, his hands resting on the back of the chair in a protective, encompassing embrace.

Everyone in the photo was smiling brightly. There was even a tiny dab of white frosting on the tip of Leo's nose.

Looking at it, Summer felt as though she was standing right back in that moment.

Now, all that sweetness had morphed into a poisoned blade, twisting viciously in her heart.

Summer asked Mrs. Gable for a pair of scissors. Methodically, she cut Xavier entirely out of the picture and dropped his severed image into the trash.

Fang wagged his tail furiously, looking up at her with pleading eyes and letting out a string of obsequious whines.

Several passersby nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard the noise, taking massive detours around them and whispering frantically.

"Was that a wolf howl? Am I hearing things? Someone in our complex actually owns a wolf?!"

"Wait, is it even legal to keep a wolf as a pet? That's so badass, I want one too."

"Okay, fine, keep a wolf, but no leash and no muzzle? What happens if it bites someone?"

Staring down at the animal, Summer pulled out her phone and called Xavier.

Perfect. He hung up on her.

She tried again. She was completely blocked.

Since she didn't have Lily's number, she tried calling Julian Hawthorne instead.

Julian didn't answer either. Just like Xavier, the second call went straight to a blocked signal.

Summer glared at the wolf. It had followed her of its own volition, but if she ignored it and it ended up mauling someone, it would be a disaster.