The Substitute Bride and the CEO's Forbidden Passion

Claire Wentworth furrowed her brows and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Don't play dumb with me! The bank loan we applied for was rejected, and they clearly stated that it was on the orders of Young Master Montfort."

"If it was Young Master Montfort's order, then go to him. What good does it do to come to me?"

"Claire Wentworth, you're his wife now. If you didn't agree, why would he target our family?"

"Do you think he would treat me as a real wife? I'm just a substitute bride forced on him by the Wentworth family."

Antoine Wentworth was left speechless for a moment. Before he could say anything more, Claire Wentworth hung up the phone.

Antoine Wentworth was so angry that his eyes widened in fury. He turned around and glared at Simone Lefort.

"It's all your fault, coming up with this substitute - marriage idea! Now look, Claire doesn't recognize us, and Young Master Montfort has taken us as enemies! You're good at nothing but causing trouble!"

"I'm telling you, if you can't solve the loan problem, you and Victoire Wentworth get out of the Wentworth family. After all, it's you two that Young Master Montfort hates!"

Simone Lefort was stunned on the spot. She immediately called Victoire Wentworth.

"Victoire, what should we do? Your father is going to..."

Victoire Wentworth glanced at Lucas Moreau, who was working on the computer beside her, and replied in a hushed tone, "Mom, don't worry. I'll talk to you when I go out. Lucas is working. I'm afraid of disturbing him."

After that, she quietly got out of bed, walked into the bathroom, and closed the door.

Lucas Moreau noticed her actions and smiled with satisfaction. He felt incredibly lucky to have met such a beautiful, cute, and considerate girl.

After listening to Simone Lefort, Victoire Wentworth chuckled. "Mom, tell Dad not to worry. I can handle this."

"How are you going to handle it?"

"You'll know later."

Only then did Simone Lefort relax. She turned to glare at Antoine Wentworth. "Victoire said she has a way. Just put your mind at ease. When has Victoire ever let you down?"

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, Jocelyn drove the car to the front of the bank building.

Claire Wentworth pushed the car door open and got out. She looked up at the towering bank building and slightly narrowed her eyes.

Her mother had left a safe - deposit box for her in this bank.

In her previous life, in order to force her to reveal the password, Antoine Wentworth and the bank manager had tied her to a chair. They kicked her, hit her, slapped her, and finally, they inserted needles one by one into her fingernails...

The pain was excruciating. But what she remembered most clearly was the almost manic excitement on Antoine Wentworth's face when he got the contents of the safe - deposit box.

And until her death, she never knew what her mother had put in the safe - deposit box.

Claire Wentworth lowered her head and silently said in her heart, "Mom, I'm sorry! This time, I won't lose the safe - deposit box again."

Jocelyn, who had parked the car and walked over, saw the young mistress standing on the steps in front of the bank, exuding an icy aura like an ice sculpture. She couldn't help but shiver.

She called out hesitantly, "Young mistress?"

Claire Wentworth turned her head. "How good are you at fighting?"

Jocelyn immediately straightened her chest and said with pride, "If it's ordinary people, I can handle ten of them without a problem. But if they're martial - arts practitioners, it depends on their level. However, don't worry, young mistress. Even if the opponent is highly skilled, I can still protect you well."

"I want to know, what if you kill someone..."

Jocelyn blinked her big eyes twice and answered seriously, "If it's self - defense, then it's okay. But in Metropolis, no one has ever dared to lay a hand on the members of the Montfort family."

Claire Wentworth nodded and stepped onto the stairs. "Later, we'll meet a fat guy. Beat him severely, but don't kill him."

After all, she had promised Alexandre Montfort not to cause trouble, so not killing someone shouldn't be considered causing trouble.

Jocelyn replied with an "Oh" and followed her up the stairs.

As soon as they entered the bank lobby, a staff member greeted them. Learning that Claire Wentworth was here to retrieve a safe - deposit box, the staff member led them upstairs.

After getting out of the elevator, they turned left, and the second room was the manager's office.

Jocelyn reached out and pushed the door open. Claire Wentworth walked in.

The fat manager, who was sitting behind the desk watching short videos, didn't even look up when he heard the noise. He shouted impatiently, "Get out!"

The next second, Jocelyn grabbed him by the collar. "Who are you telling to get out?"

Although Jocelyn looked like a cute little girl, the aura around her made the fat manager feel like he was about to wet his pants.

The fat manager immediately put on a big smile. "Nobody, nobody. Miss, could you let go of me first?"

Jocelyn looked at Claire Wentworth. After receiving a nod from her, she let go of the manager. But she stood right next to the fat manager, ready to beat him at any moment.

After being released, the manager turned to face Claire Wentworth with an even more beaming smile. "Miss, may I ask, how can I help you?"

Claire Wentworth took out the relevant documents and placed them on his desk. "I want to retrieve the contents of my safe - deposit box!"

The fat manager reached out to take the documents and pretended to look through them carefully. Then he furrowed his brows. "Miss Wentworth, this safe - deposit box can only be retrieved in a year... Aaaah... It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jocelyn grabbed his ear, and the fat manager howled in pain.

Claire Wentworth ignored his screams. Her voice was cold and terrifying. "In a year? My mother's will states that as long as I get married, I can come to take the contents of the safe - deposit box at any time. But you're telling me it's in a year? Was it Mr. Antoine who told you to say this? Tell me, when did you collude with him?"

The fat manager, enduring the pain in his ear, denied it. "I don't know Mr. Antoine. Our bank only follows the customer's instructions."

Claire Wentworth questioned, "Mr. Antoine? How did you know it was Mr. Antoine? Couldn't it be Miss Antoine or Mrs. Antoine?"

The fat manager was left speechless. With a bitter face, he said, "Antoine is such a masculine name. Anyone would..."

Claire Wentworth raised her hand and slapped the fat manager across the face with a resounding "slap". It was hard to tell how much force she used, but the fat manager's corner of the mouth immediately bled. His chubby face looked even fatter.

Claire Wentworth took a tissue and carefully wiped her fingers, as if she had touched something disgustingly dirty with that slap.

"Do you think I came to talk to you without any evidence? You're wrong. I know exactly when you colluded with Mr. Antoine and what kind of benefits you exchanged. The reason you're still sitting here as the manager is that I thought you'd make the right choice between me and Mr. Antoine. After all, the benefits Mr. Antoine promised you might not be fulfilled at all, but I can take your... life right now!"

At the same time, Jocelyn let go of the fat manager's ear and, very cooperatively, picked up the fruit knife on the table and started playing with it right in front of the fat manager's eyes.

The knife flipped up and down in her hands, coming perilously close to stabbing the fat manager in the face several times. And he couldn't even dodge. Jocelyn was stepping on his chair, leaving him no room to back away.

But the most terrifying thing was Claire Wentworth.

She was clearly a beautiful young girl, but she exuded a menacing aura from within. The way she looked at him was like looking at the murderer of her father.

It seemed that if he dared to say no, he would be shot in the head the next second.

"I... I... I'll take you to retrieve it. Right now." The fat manager made a decision instantly.

Compared with life, no amount of benefits was worth it.

They arrived at the safe - deposit box room. Claire Wentworth took out her key, and the fat manager took out the bank's key. With their combined efforts, the first door of the safe - deposit box was quickly opened.

Behind it was a password keypad.

"Miss Wentworth, just enter the password, and it will open."

Claire Wentworth gave an "mm - hmm". After watching the fat manager leave, she turned to look at Jocelyn.

Jocelyn understood and turned to walk out.

After making sure there was no one else around, Claire Wentworth placed her hand over the keypad. Then the safe - deposit box door opened, and Claire Wentworth saw an iron box.

When she opened the iron box, the first thing she saw were five gold bars.

Claire Wentworth took them out, and underneath were some documents.

She flipped through them one by one: real - estate deeds, land titles, shop - related papers, stocks, and some national - bond certificates. At the very bottom, there were two notebooks.

One was labeled "Medicine", and the other was labeled "Medical".

When she opened the one labeled "Medicine", it was filled with various formulas. And the one labeled "Medical" contained some experimental surgical data and so on.

As Claire Wentworth continued to flip through the pages, her heart beat faster and faster. This was...