Substitute Bride: Utterly Pampered by Her Billionaire Husband-Chapter 980: Justin Xavier, Are You Afraid?

Laura’s pupils contracted, looking at Leah in shock and astonishment. She quickly flew into a rage, "Leah, what nonsense are you saying? How dare you bring up those events from back then? Are you afraid others won’t know that your mother was a home-wrecking vixen?"

That scandalous scene at the hotel all those years ago was a hurdle Laura could never overcome. She felt as if someone had stepped on her nerve, causing her entire body to tremble with emotion, her face contorting.

Laura forcefully pounded her legs, which had been useless for years, her eyes red, "Back then, it was your mother who seduced my husband into booking a hotel room. I got into an accident after that and became a cripple. The way I am now, neither human nor ghost, is all thanks to your mother, and now you dare to bite back?"

Leah tried to step forward, but a large, bony hand firmly clasped her delicate wrist. Justin Xavier looked at her with a hint of cold displeasure in his deep black eyes, "Leah, enough!"

Leah stopped in her tracks. She lifted her stunningly beautiful face to look at him, "Justin, are you... scared?"

Scared?

That word made Justin’s handsome eyebrows furrow.

"Isn’t it true?" Leah tilted her head slightly, blinking her eyelashes as she looked at him, "Wasn’t pushing me into hell merely an excuse? Once you find out... that the daughter of the guilty one is actually innocent, what reason would you have to keep holding onto me?"

Justin’s frigid black eyes quickly darkened with a thick, inky color, cold and dangerous.

At this moment, Leah gradually and firmly withdrew her wrist from his palm.

This dramatic scene left all the distinguished guests present in shock, and they began whispering amongst themselves,

"What on earth is happening here? It seems like there’s a lot of history between the Xavier and Thorne families."

"You didn’t know? More than twenty years ago, the Thorne family was a prominent political clan. Leah’s father, Quinn Thorne, and her brother, Mort Thorne, were big names in Bayside. Then, one night, the Thorne family met its downfall, and the business upstart Xavier family adopted Leah, the Thorne’s treasured daughter, Aurora."

Leah stepped off the stage and coldly looked at Hugh Xavier, her eyes dark, "Hugh Xavier, don’t you have anything to say to your crazy wife Laura?"

Anticipating this, Hugh Xavier quickly protested his innocence, "I didn’t do it. This is all a conspiracy. Justin, you have to believe me. Make sure to get a lawyer to bail me out quickly. I don’t want to stay inside that kind of place!"

Hugh was an incredibly selfish person. Even now, he felt no guilt or remorse.

Laura looked resentfully at Leah, "Leah, did you hear that? My husband said he’s innocent. This is defamation, a personal attack, and I’ll get a lawyer to sue you!"

Laura quickly turned the tables.

Leah curled her red lips into a faint smile, "Mrs. Xavier, I knew you wouldn’t believe me, so I brought someone here."

Who?

A man dressed in black stepped forward, removing his hat. "Madam, do you remember me?"

Laura looked at the man in black, startled, "You are... the driver, Barrett?"

Driver Barrett nodded, "Yes, madam."

"Barrett, where have you been all these years? After I lost my legs, I never saw you again. What happened to your hand?" Laura asked, looking at the empty sleeve.

Barrett was the exclusive driver for Hugh and Laura Xavier, known for his diligence and reliability. Laura had a deep impression of him, always riding in his car whenever she went out.

Though younger than Laura, Barrett had aged terribly over the years.

"Madam, I lost an arm. I’ve been hunted and suppressed all these years, and it’s all... Hugh Xavier’s doing!" Barrett angrily pointed at Hugh.

Hugh was quite wary of Barrett, avoiding his furious gaze by averting his eyes.

Hugh had dealt with most of the people from those days, except for the nanny, Nanny Diaz, who was hit and killed in an accident, and this Barrett, who was a loose end too.

Little did he know that Leah had found Barrett, and Hugh got nervous when the police came knocking.

Laura looked at Hugh, "Barrett, why would Hugh harm you? He... has no reason..."

"Because I was the one who bought the potent aphrodisiac from the black market, and I drugged Leah’s mother, sending her to the hotel. I was a direct witness and an accomplice in that adultery scandal," Barrett revealed.

Laura was stunned, looking at Hugh, then back to Barrett, "Barrett, what nonsense are you talking about? Were you paid off by Leah? How much did she give you, you..."

Barrett directly pulled out the evidence, "Madam, here is the recording from when Hugh had me buy the drugs, along with screenshots of my transactions at the black market. Back then, I had the wit to leave a trail to protect myself."

Laura quickly reached for the screenshots and recordings. Her hands trembled as she looked at the screenshots, but she refused to believe it until she played the recording.

In it, Hugh’s voice came through swiftly, "Barrett, go to the black market and buy some drugs."

Barrett, "Sir, what do you need drugs for?"

"Leah Thorne’s mother, the Thorne family lady, I’ve had my eye on her for years. I knew her first, but she ignored me and became a high-ranking official’s wife. I want you to drug her and send her to the hotel; I want to have her, haha," Hugh laughed lecherously.

"Sir, how can you do this? What if Mrs. Xavier finds out..."

"Why bring up Laura? If it weren’t for the arranged marriage, I wouldn’t have married her. I’m sick of her. Whenever I’m with her, I imagine myself pressing Mrs. Thorne under me."

With a "slap," Laura’s recorder fell to the ground, her pupils contracting and expanding, a buzzing almost audible in her mind.

All these years, she’d believed Leah’s mother was the homewrecker in her marriage, blaming her misfortune on the Thorne family. Now her deep-rooted hatred seemed more like a habit than anything else.

But everything was overturned now. It turned out the adultery scandal was nothing more than Hugh’s premeditated act of assault.

Hugh had trampled Laura, his wife, into the dirt.

With bloodshot eyes, Laura lifted her head, glaring at Hugh, "Hugh, is this true? You caused me so much pain. Why don’t you just die?!"

As she spoke, Laura pushed her wheelchair directly toward Hugh to crash into him.

But Hugh was no fool, swiftly and nimbly sidestepping out of the way.

With a crash, the wheelchair slammed into the wall, and Laura was thrown to the ground.

"Mrs. Xavier!" the crowd exclaimed in shock.