Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 251

After parting ways with Orion, Whitney hopped into her car and immediately opened her text messages, eagerly awaiting Tiana’s current address.

But there was no text. Tiana had backed out.

Whitney sighed. The once fearless Tiana had now become so cautious.

She had no choice but to seek help from Bryce, asking him to dig up some information.

Bryce quickly provided her with a precise address.

After thanking him, Whitney drove off.

As the GPS guided her past the bustling downtown area, the neighborhoods grew shabbier, and she finally pulled up in front of a narrow, dilapidated old building.

Staring at the worn alley and the squalid surroundings, Whitney could not believe Tiana and her parents were hiding in a place like this.

What on earth had happened in the past three years to bring the Melford family to such a state? Taking a deep breath, Whitney got out of the car and slowly entered the building.

Just as she was about to knock, the door swung open, and she came face–to–face with the last person she expected.

Valerie, holding an empty can of baby formula, looked up, and her eyes widened in shock.

The two friends stood there, tears glistening in their eyes.

“Valerie,” Whitney called softly.

“Whit… Whitney?” Valerie dropped the can, her voice trailing off as she turned and called back into the apartment, “Tiana! It’s Whitney! She’s here!”

Footsteps echoed from inside.

Tiana appeared behind the door, her formerly round cheeks now slender, her long hair cut to a bob that brushed her pale shoulders.

The sweet, brash girl Whitney remembered from three years ago had transformed into a quiet, slick woman.

Her features were soft, with a hint of motherly allure, but her eyes lacked sparkle. She looked at Whitney in shock, tears welling up.

Whitney took another deep breath, her lips trembling as she stepped inside without a word.

“Whitney… What are you doing here?”

Tiana quickly wiped her eyes and cautiously glanced outside before swiftly shutting the door.

Chapter 251

carefully observed Tiana and the small

from the spacious villa the Melford

“I’m sorry, Tiana, I

good that you’re back!” Valerie finally snapped out of her daze and embraced Whitney, breaking down. “We thought you were dead! Thank God Bryce got out… He managed to get word to me, and I knew you were alive. These

clenched her fists as she looked

say that. I’ve been okay these three years,” Tiana replied with a placating smile, her gaze evasive.

down and afraid, and it made Whitney’s heart feel as if it

I can to back you up, to restore the Melford family’s glory,” Whitney said with

understand the power of Ludwik Lippert, the influence of

ago and all the subsequent horrors that ensued like a flood of wild beasts, causing

her with sorrow and anger. “Tiana, the three of us have ended up like this all because of Elaine Bartels. You need to tell Whitney

don’t make her feel worse,” Tíana tried to interject.

“We’ve been cowards for three years because of Elaine’s tyranny. How

and your parents. The Melford.Group was brought to its knees by a single

wrongs, and I refuse to believe that no

spread throughout Banyan City, destroying her reputation overnight. Elaine twisted the story of Tiana’s visit to the sanitarium to save you, accusing you both of trying to slander her with a fake kidney donation, saying you deliberately went into early labor to spite Ludwik. That jerk

Chapter 251

and Elaine quietly ran them into the ground,

with a massive debt. Tiana was so vilified that no

not needed to care for her parents, she might have taken her own life by then. What’s more despicable is that she soon discovered she

to this day, after so many men that night,

tremble, her face turning a ghastly

them off. Anytime Nolan Fuller and I tried to

threatening me, too. I’ve been useless!

somehow found work, only to be suppressed by

minions.

this, Tiana’s will was broken, and the Melford family ended

giving birth to her child, Tiana became increasingly wary, to the point where she wouldn’t even see

fiery red. Her friends were living such stifled lives, tormented

that woman was a tyrant; her misdeeds were absolute.

have had her pick of the most eligible bachelors in Banyan City. All ruined, a

Elaine. However, now that she found out about how Ludwik had destroyed Tiana’s family and how he completely ignored Elaine’s sins, Whitney’s hatred for Ludwik and Elaine soared through the roof.

gaze was fixed on

then, a baby’s cry emerged

The infant girl’s tender cries

immediately rushed in. “Sweetheart, why