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

who carefully observed Tiana and the small

the Melford family once had. Tiana had

from Whitney’s eyes as she looked at the pair, her voice hoarse. “I’m sorry, Tiana, I

Bryce got out… He managed to get word to me, and I knew you were alive. These three years, Whitney, you must have suffered

did not dare reach out; she feared giving herself away, her wings not yet fully grown. She clenched her fists as she looked at Tiana. “My biggest regret is dragging you down with me!

these three years,” Tiana replied with

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

I can to back you up,

“Whitney, you don’t understand the power of Ludwik Lippert, the influence of the

and all the subsequent horrors that ensued like a flood of wild beasts, causing her to shake her head almost immediately.

have ended up like this all

worse,” Tíana tried

her eyes, insisted. “We’ve been cowards for three years because of Elaine’s tyranny. How long will you keep hiding

yourself but also of Cherry and your parents. The Melford.Group was brought to its knees by a single word from Ludwik, and with Elaine manipulating

countless wrongs, and I refuse to believe that no one

self–reproach, Valerie continued, “Whitney, that night three years ago, Tiana was humiliated. The next day, her photos 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

Chapter 251

Elaine quietly ran them into the ground, not

with a massive debt. Tiana was so vilified that no man would consider

she might have taken her own life by then. What’s more despicable is that she

was no choice but to have the child, and to this day, after so many men that night, we don’t know who the father

tremble, her face turning a ghastly

them off. Anytime Nolan Fuller and I tried to help Tiana, Elaine would whisper in Ludwik’s ear, and

threatening me, too.

desperate, somehow found work, only to be

minions.

the Melford family

see me. I could

friends were living such stifled lives,

was a tyrant; her misdeeds

Banyan City. All ruined, a scandal, an unwed mother, three years of ridicule,

Ludwik had destroyed Tiana’s family and

was fixed on a specific

baby’s cry emerged from the

mommy…” The infant girl’s tender

why are you awake