Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 322

Bryce blurted out, "Jaxon has escaped."

"What?" Whitney stood up abruptly, causing every executive in the room to turn their gaze towards her.

Whitney's face went through a quick succession of changes, making it clear the meeting couldn't proceed. She gestured dismissively, effectively adjourning the meeting, and headed straight back to her office. "How could we let him escape? The bodyguards..." "He took off when the guards were switching shifts. It's my oversight; I only assigned two of them to watch him. I thought, given his severe lung injury, and considering he was under investigation for manslaughter, he wouldn't run!" "...," Whitney was taken aback.

She squinted her eyes in thought, piecing it together-Jaxon saw her as a lifeline, a way to get out of the Bartels family's clutches only to ditch her when he saw fit!

She had overlooked something crucial: If Jaxon testified against the Bartels family and admitted his guilt, securing her uncle's release from prison, he'd still face a harsh sentence or even life imprisonment. People can be so cunning and treacherous. Jaxon wanted to escape scot-free, to save his own skin.

Damn it!

Fury and frustration swirled in her mind as she thought about her uncle still languishing in jail. Without Jaxon coming forward, her uncle's chance for a retrial was slim to none.

He would face the death penalty, while the Bartels family continued to roam free...

Whitney's eyes reddened with emotion, "Bryce, we have to find him, no matter what!"

"I'll have people search the city discreetly right away."

Whitney nodded, her brow furrowed in worry, "Now that he's out, he's a wanted man. With his ID, there's no way he could leave the country, unless he plans to blackmail the Bartels family..."

"If that fool tries to approach the Bartels, it's as good as signing his own death warrant. They'll make sure he doesn't see the courtroom!"

"My fear is that he's not thinking straight, trying to extort both of us for a quick payout. Playing both sides to escape justice."

Whitney spoke coldly, enveloped in anxiety. She felt powerless as she dashed out, "I'm on my way now. Let's try to pick up his trail. I hope he tries to blackmail me first within these three days..."

-

It was 8 PM by the time Whitney dragged her exhausted body back to her apartment.

door and was about to kick off her shoes, the nanny rushed

seeing Whitney, the nanny's expression shifted, becoming evasive, "Ms. Valentine, it's

Whitney glanced towards the

usual playful figure was nowhere to

paused, turning to the

he... he..." the nanny blocked her

was wrong from her tone. She searched the master bedroom and the study but found no sign of

isn't

Ms. Valentine... Sammy

reveal the truth, "He gave me a glass of water, and after drinking it, I felt incredibly sleepy. When I was napping, the little guy told me he was going out to a bridal boutique in the suburbs? I tried to stop him, but I couldn't get up. That's when I realized the water must've had sleeping pills

like this, he always came back early on

be back before

answering his smartwatch.

was nearly 9 PM, and her three-and-a-half-year-old

the bedroom to check her drawer, noticing

Had he been sneaking out while she was busy these

secretive plans could a child

the nanny, "Split up and look for him. He might have run

that Ludwik saw him sneak out and took

of the nanny's hesitant

to help Whitney care for her

instructed the nanny not to strictly prevent Sammy from going out

Mr. Lutz's reasoning but chose to

-

for her son and made countless calls to his smartwatch, all to no

local police station, she overheard officers discussing, "This afternoon, a child abduction case occurred at a bridal boutique in the suburbs. We've

my God, could it

bridal boutique, she hailed a cab and

of the police station. Tiana speculated, "Could Mr. Lippert have staged the abduction to

this possibility on her way. If that were the case, and Sammy wasn't