Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 105

The assistant peered down at the photograph of Whitney, and her hands trembled ever so slightly. She lifted her eyes to Elaine, knowing this was no laughing matter.

Clearly, Elaine had been plotting this for a long time. Despite her young age, it was terrifying how cunning and

malicious she was

Elaine leaned back into her leather chair, gazing out the window at the cars scurrying like ants below. A sly smirk crept across her face. “Time to spring Whitney from her gilded cage,” she said.

“Check on the schedule for the doctor who’s attending to Mr. Lippert’s mother in her cottage retreat. Find out when he’s off–duty,” Elaine commanded.

The assistant quickly responded, flipping through her notes with practiced ease.

Elaine chuckled lowly, a sinister plan clearly forming in her mind. “And get me a burner phone,” she added.

As per routine, Taryn delivered meals to Whitney on the sixth day. Natalie’s villa was nestled behind the golf course, a fair distance from the main manor.

It was a considerate gesture from Mr. Lippert, who wanted his mother to convalesce in peace, the forest air rich with oxygen.

But now, with Whitney confined by Ludwik and Natalie oblivious to her plight, the help from both households remained unaware of each other’s affairs.

Today, the day the doctor was off–duty, Xandra had been reassigned to fill in.

Around noon, with her health seemingly stable, Natalie retired upstairs and received an unexpected call from an unknown number that reeked of telemarketing.

She answered the phone with her usual warmth. “Hello?”

“Natalie!” The sing–song voice of Elaine carried through the line, its sweetness veiling malice.

In a flash, it ignited something in Natalie’s memory–a warning signal, an echo of danger, telling her that this was the voice of a venomous snake and that she should stay away from it. She stiffened. “Elaine, what can I do for you?”

Elaine’s voice was dripping with feigned innocence. “Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to ask why you dislike me so. Why have you made Ludwik hold off marrying me? He’s indifferent to everyone else; he could marry anyone. You’re quite the thorn in my side, you know? Why are you afraid of me? Could it be because of the time I pushed the girl who liked Ludwik…”

“Ah!” Natalie could not grasp the details, only that this girl was a source of terror. No, she was no girl. She was a scorpion. What had she done? Natalie could not remember, but her head throbbed with pain and fear, an urgent need to escape this conversation…

tight, her complexion fading to

as the old lady fell ill, then hung up the phone with a cruel twist of her

“Natálie is going to have an episode. Keep an eye on

disarray. Xandra scrambled to contact Ludwik, but his phone went unanswered–likely tied up

been improving and eating every meal well. Why this sudden epileptic relapse? Xandra

housemaid rushed to the main

15:51

Chapter 105

when the landline shrilled from below. She dashed to answer it,

out of her room, overhearing Taryn’s panicked voice.

Whitney’s eyes narrowed with concern.

spun around. “Madam, I must check on the situation at the cottage. Please stay

see her. If Mom’s foaming at the mouth, it’s no small matter.” Whitney swiftly pocketed a needle kit from her

e–bike without a second thought and drove

This was her second visit, and she was

Whitney ordered everyone out. “Stay outside. I

to shut the door behind them.

Whitney, recalling some basic emergency procedures, swiftly administered the needle, targeting the acupuncture points. Then, she carefully fed Natalie a

hour, Natalie’s spasms

specific medical details. She continued with the acupuncture, coupling it with a respirator, until Natalie drifted into a

was sure the crisis was averted, she called the nurse back in.

the doctor

notified. Should be here in

relief and stepped outside. The lawn was deserted,

lay a path leading to an exit, the keys still in the e–bike’s

of confinement, perhaps longing for fresh air or perhaps driven by an

jumped onto

get out, to go anywhere, just to escape the

the security detail inside

It was clear Whitney had fled through the back exit. Taryn, ashen–faced, immediately redialed

just concluded a lengthy meeting and was on the way

phone hit him like a one–two punch: his mother was ill, and his wife had taken advantage of the commotion to escape. His gaze turned to