Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 58

Tiana flipped through the menu, her eyes darting up at the sound of Whitney’s phone buzzing.

It was a call from a director at Skye Gem Ltd.

Whitney squinted, excusing herself from the table to take the call.

When she returned. Tiana gestured to a headline flashing on her tablet. “Monica’s plagiarism scandal is blowing up, dragging down Skye Gem Ltd’s stocks. The Valentine family’s shares took a nosedive today. Are the shareholders getting restless?”

Whitney nodded with a wry smile. “Monica’s got the Valentines backing her, but with a scandal this big, the shareholders I know aren’t fools. With the Valentine family’s fall, Skye Gem Ltd. is in turmoil, and they’re worried about their stakes.”

“So, they’re reaching out to you, the former CEO of Skye Gem Ltd.? Typical.”

“Many shareholders are clueless. For years, Monica’s been riding on my coattails, and now they’re finally realizing who the real expert is.”

As if on cue, another Skye Gem Ltd. shareholder called.

It was a good sign, Whitney thought as she patiently answered, her eyes narrowing. This could be her chance to reclaim Skye Gem Ltd.

After hanging up, Tiana suddenly waved her laptop, calling out, “Holy smokes, Whitney! You had me tail Roselyn last night, and you won’t believe what she led us to!”

Whitney watched intently as Tiana excitedly booted up a surveillance feed, showing Roselyn’s movements exactly as Whitney had instructed to be monitored.

Roselyn, having successfully wormed her way into Preston’s favor, was bound to make a move. Whitney wanted to have leverage over Roselyn, turning her into the blade to slice into the Valentine family’s core.

However, the footage was also showing that Roselyn was tailing Preston?

She trailed Preston to the front of a villa, and Preston remained oblivious. Soon, a captivating scene played out.

An elderly lady, with a young boy in tow, stepped out of the villa. The boy was carefully shielded by a hat, his identity evidently meant to be kept secret.

clear, emerged from his luxury

the gate. Preston greeted her with a hug and a cheeky pat on the rear,

a secret love child of your dad!” Tiana gasped,

scene and nodded, “It seems

Whitney vividly remembered the strictly management imposed by Yvonne when she

to her that, under such watchful eyes, her father had managed to father a secret child, now around five or six years

none other than Violet, Preston’s mother and Whitney’s grandmother, who had supposedly retreated to the countryside to recover her health. In reality,

of Whitney or Monica, and even less so of Yvonne, her

couldn’t contend with Yerine, and when Preston was utterly captivated by her he could silence his mother even if she couldn’t give birth

and it seemed the old lady had finally one upper Yvonne by secretly

observed the drama with detached

“She wanted to climb the ladder, but turns out the man’s already got a son. What can she possibly achieve

thank her for this discovery. Tiana, can you find out where Violet’s staying with

nodded, understanding the assignment, and gave

a bush in the villa compound, trembling

led to an unexpected discovery; however, this love

watched. Let’s head back,” Preston said cautiously, urging the

Monica’s made a mess with her scandal. What’s going

by

retorted defensively. “You’ve been bewitched by that woman since you were young! You’re my son, and I know you. We owe our fortune to your father’s beginnings and everything else is…”

an unexpected ‘bonus‘ to us, and even though she is not really connected to you, you still shouldn’t take it out on her. I know you

shouted; his face contorted with

he stormed off to his car and drove

window, she saw Preston pull out a pocket watch. Inside was a photo of a woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to

a woman he could never have, who met her end

the diner, Whitney glanced at the clock and realized it was

where Taryn was, to find

“So what’s next on the

Imperial Gem Corporation’s tower claiming to ‘work‘, he’ll

and swiftly switched their ride, trailing the Bentley that had rolled