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.

from his luxury car and scooped the boy up in a fatherly

with

a secret love child

checked the scene and nodded,

values, consistently favoring sons over daughters. Whitney vividly remembered the

to her that, under such watchful eyes, her father

countryside to recover her health. In reality, she’d been

had never approved of Whitney or

captivated by her he could silence his mother even

one upper Yvonne by secretly introducing a new

observed the drama with detached

the ladder, but turns out the man’s already got a

narrowed thoughtfully. “We should thank her for this discovery. Tiana, can you find out where Violet’s staying with the

nodded, understanding the assignment,

bush in the

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

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

neighbors talking about the Valentine Corporation’s shares plummeting. Monica’s made a mess with her scandal. What’s going on? I always said

annoyed by his

only said a few words about her, so what?” she 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…” She

an unexpected ‘bonus‘ to us, and even though she

Preston shouted; his face

he stormed off to his car and drove

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

mother, a woman he could never have, who

the diner, Whitney glanced at the clock and realized

villa where Taryn was, to

“So what’s

L. If he shows up at Imperial Gem Corporation’s tower claiming to ‘work‘, he’ll be in hot

swiftly switched their ride, trailing the Bentley that had rolled