Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride

Joseph Lancaster quietly raised his brows. You really couldn’t tell—this Aunt Avery turned out to be so "loyal." He’d already expected she wouldn’t admit anything, so the four of them had come up with a foolproof plan in advance.

Michael Lancaster looked at the nanny kneeling in front of Violet Zimmerman, his face expressionless.

His wife Catherine Taylor was the same. Callum Lancaster stood behind the two of them; he’d been standing so long his legs were getting sore, bored out of his mind, his hands resting on his parents’ shoulders.

Gabriel Lancaster showed a few hints of surprise on his face; he seemed not to have expected Aunt Avery to protect his eldest brother like this. Even Daemon Lancaster himself hadn’t expected it, his expression just as astonished.

But this was fine too—sacrifice the pawn to save the king, play the "deny till you die" card. They didn’t have any evidence anyway.

At least this woman knew her place, much smarter than that pig of a wife he had.

His aunt Aurora Lancaster’s face had already gone livid. Since Victoria Thornton had already ripped the lid off, it shouldn’t be a lie. Honestly, if a woman isn’t furious to the extreme, which one would expose her own husband?

Violet Zimmerman suddenly became detached, let out a helpless sigh, and said, "Enough, you don’t need to explain any further. Even if you were passing messages for someone, it’s not that big a deal. I’m a single woman; it’s not like I’ve done anything shameful."

"Thank you, Madam, thank you for believing me..." Aunt Avery kept kowtowing to Violet. When she finally raised her head, her face was downright miserable to look at.

"No need to thank me." Impatience showed on Violet’s face; she turned her head to the side, obviously unwilling to look at her.

"With something like this happening, I can’t keep you on working in the house."

"I understand, Madam. I’ll leave, I’ll leave right away." Aunt Avery said in a fluster. Right now, she couldn’t wait to leave immediately; if Madam kept questioning her, she was afraid she’d slip up.

"Wait, Aunt Avery!" Violet called Avery Stuart back. The latter froze mid-rise, one knee still on the floor, looking at Violet in confusion. "Madam, is there something else?"

Violet turned back to her and said seriously, "You’ve worked in this house for over ten years. Seeing you leave injured today is something I’d rather not see happen."

At this point, Violet turned to her son Robert Lancaster. "Robert, go call Aunt Avery’s husband, have him come pick her up. That way there won’t be any misunderstandings after she goes home."

Aunt Avery...

She stared blankly at Violet, her lips trembling.

"Madam, there’s no need to trouble him. My injuries aren’t serious, I can go home by myself."

"How could that be okay!" Violet refused to budge, her delicate brows knitting slightly, her tone brooking no argument.

"Aunt Avery, with what happened today, the Lancaster Family has to explain things clearly to your husband. We can’t let outsiders misunderstand."

Having said that, Violet turned again to her eldest son Robert Lancaster. "Robert, go make the call."

Seeing Robert get up and head for the door, Aunt Avery finally panicked. She dropped to her knees again and kept kowtowing to Violet.

"Madam, I know I was wrong. I beg you, don’t call my husband. Please, I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything..."

Her son was a college graduate; even if he didn’t work at Daemon Lancaster’s company, he could still go to some other company and find an ordinary office job. But if her husband learned that she’d had an affair with her employer, given his temper, he’d definitely refuse to stay married to her.

And if her son found out, there would be a wall between them too. For the sake of her family, Aunt Avery could only give up on Daemon Lancaster.

"Aunt Avery, what more is there to say? Isn’t everything already clear?" Violet said, feigning impatience. Avery Stuart raised her head to look at her and told them from beginning to end how Daemon had called her in and questioned her...

Listening to Avery’s accusations, Michael Lancaster finally showed a trace of reaction, turning his head aside in speechless disgust.

This big brother of his had never behaved himself, always trying to snatch things that didn’t belong to him. When he was young, he fought to become Family Head; now that he’s old, he’s still the same. And now look at this—he got bitten by the very dog he bought off, ending up despised by everyone inside and out!

Gabriel Lancaster glared at Avery Stuart, hating iron for not becoming steel. He’d just been admiring her "loyalty," and now he wished he could rush over and strangle this utterly clueless woman!

In a room full of Lancasters, young and old, apart from Daemon himself, no one knew that he’d been drugged.

"Use his own tricks against him"—that lousy idea had been from Evander Lancaster, and he hadn’t expected it to work so spectacularly well.

To be fair, Avery Stuart was pretty smart. She only laid out how Daemon had told her to keep an eye on Violet and report her movements regularly, and purposely left out that she’d seen Violet and Second Master Joseph Lancaster wrestling on the sofa.

After listening to Avery sob her way through the story, Violet turned her face and looked severely at Daemon.

"Big Brother, everyone in the Lancaster Family is here today. Say something and explain yourself!"

"Hmph! Explain? What’s there to explain!" Now that everything was exposed, Daemon Lancaster clearly meant to let the pot shatter where it may.

Anyway, the Lancaster Family was already split up; he had nothing left to worry about.

"Big Brother, I’m respecting you when I call you Big Brother. But is what you’ve done the way an uncle should behave toward his sister‑in‑law?" Violet fired back, aggressive and sharp.

"Tell me, what kind of uncle goes out of his way to ’care’ so much about his sister‑in‑law? Bribing the household nanny to have her report his sister‑in‑law’s every move on a regular basis!"

Violet let out a cold laugh at this, her lips curling in obvious mockery.

"Big Brother, I really can’t figure out what you mean by all this. Did Daxton specifically ask you to look after me when he left? Or!"

At this, Violet’s gaze suddenly turned sharp, and her tone hardened as well. She lashed out with a harsh question at Daemon.

"What exactly are you plotting against our little widow and orphan?"

"Sister‑in‑law, don’t go making wild guesses. What could Big Brother possibly be plotting against you?"

Gabriel Lancaster cut in with a yin‑yang tone, face full of sarcasm.

Violet snapped her head toward him, her gaze slicing through him as she rebuked him.

"Gabriel Lancaster! Right now it’s me and Big Brother sorting things out. It’s not your place as the younger uncle to butt in!"

In just a few years, this was the first time Violet had ever been this stern. Gabriel froze; though resentment simmered in his heart, he still obediently shut his mouth.

"Big Brother, please give our little widow and orphan a reasonable explanation!" Violet turned back to Daemon, pressing him aggressively.

"Explain what? What’s there to explain!" Before Daemon could speak, the ever‑slack Callum Lancaster jumped in on his father’s behalf.

"You’re the one who said you haven’t done anything shameful. If you really haven’t done anything, what are you so bothered about Aunt Avery passing things on to my dad for? Unless you’ve got a guilty conscience and that’s why you’re so scared!"

Callum’s behavior had already crossed the Lancaster Family’s rules. Back in the day, this kind of insubordination toward a senior would have been punished by family discipline.

He knew perfectly well Violet had abolished the family punishments and that she was a woman with no backing, so he dared to be this presumptuous.

Joseph Lancaster’s phoenix eyes narrowed, a dangerous light flashing through them. He’d originally planned to step in, but he was worried Daemon’s whole family would make a big fuss out of it, so he could only swallow it down for now.

"Callum! That’s enough!" His cousin being disrespectful to his mother, Robert Lancaster, fiercely protective of her, snapped in displeasure on the spot.