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.

emerged from his luxury car and scooped the boy up in

Preston greeted her with a hug and

a secret love child of your dad!”

the scene and nodded,

traditional values, consistently favoring sons over daughters. Whitney vividly remembered the strictly management imposed by Yvonne when she

a surprise to her that, under such watchful eyes, her father had managed to father a secret

was none other than Violet, Preston’s mother and Whitney’s grandmother, who had supposedly retreated to the countryside to recover her health. In reality, she’d been hiding away, raising her grandson- a woman known for

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

utterly captivated by her he could silence his mother even if

secretly introducing a new woman to her son’s life, bearing him the male

drama

Tiana chuckled. “She wanted to climb the ladder, but turns out

“We should thank her for this discovery. Tiana, can you

the assignment, and

in the villa compound,

unexpected discovery; however, this love child could be the downfall of

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

about stocks, but I heard the neighbors talking about the Valentine Corporation’s shares plummeting. Monica’s made a mess

Mom,” Preston snapped, annoyed by his

that woman since you were young! You’re my son, and I know you. We owe our fortune to your father’s beginnings

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

Preston shouted; his face contorted

he stormed off

Roselyn didn’t catch the whole conversation, but through the car window, she saw Preston pull out a pocket watch. Inside was

could never have, who met her end through

the clock and

called the villa where Taryn was,

what’s

he shows up at Imperial Gem Corporation’s

two transformed into detectives, fully armed, and swiftly switched their ride, trailing the Bentley that had rolled out of