Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 405

Ash gently placed her on the bed, nodding as he shared his findings. "It was tough tracking her from just a silhouette, but I managed. The girl is Ms. Sheldon, heiress to the Sheldon Group in Emperor City."

Elaine froze at his words, her mind buzzing as pieces of information clicked together. Her mother had mentioned that Jason was planning to arrange a new alliance for Ludwik, with Florence being the chosen one. The kidnapping... the shadowy figure behind it? And now, Florence, making her moves on Ludwik.

A cold loathing surfaced in Elaine's eyes. She understood everything now; she had been played by Florence, turned into a mere pawn! This girl, despite her young age, harbored a ruthlessness that surpassed even Elaine's, silently sharpening her blade and striking at both her and Whitney, sweeping away the women around Ludwik. And then, she made her move...

Biting her lip in frustration, Elaine thought of Whitney's downfall with a twisted sense of satisfaction.

"Ash, how could he secretly meet with Florence?" Ashton wondered aloud, puzzled as he looked at Elaine. "Elaine, were you hoping to somehow win Ludwik back by asking me to look into this girl?"

Of course, that was Elaine's wish, but her expression softened as she shook her head. "After the way Ludwik has treated me, my heart has grown cold. This is what I've become, and only you, Ash, have stayed by my side, making me see who truly cares. I was merely curious about this girl, and also, it's a pity about Whitney. I heard she and Ludwik had a falling out. It seemed like she was so close to finally seeing the light."

Ash sighed, looking at her. "Elaine, you're too soft-hearted. Whitney was willing to cut you out of the picture for her gain, and here you are feeling sorry for her? You need to look after yourself."

Elaine replied innocently, "I've always been soft. I can't hold onto hatred like Valerie does. I tend to forget those who've wronged me quickly."

Ash's expression flickered at the mention of Valerie. Lately, he had been running back and forth to the hospital to take care of Elaine. Despite her mistakes, Ludwik's account was only one side of the story. Ash believed Elaine wasn't inherently bad; after all, she had saved him from drowning in the lake when they were kids. How bad could she be? Yet Valerie kept giving him the cold shoulder, which was getting on his nerves.

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master behind the scenes, her voice filled with vexation. "This Florence is no simple character! It must've been her who kidnapped Whitney's son. Well, Whitney had it coming. How did Florence manage to get so close to Ludwik

her home, innocent and uninvolved with the world. To think she's outmaneuvered both you and Whitney. It's no surprise though.

"Whitney," Elaine said bitterly.

he's headed to Banyan City today. It's the talk of Emperor City. If

empire? It was when Parisa broke up with Hudson, and Mrs. Sheldon rose to power. Do you think the Tennyson family's collapse was without Mrs. Sheldon's involvement? We, the Bartels family,

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by Mrs. Sheldon? Then even if

Ludwik returned home with a grave demeanor. Felix had packed the young master's belongings into a suitcase, ready for departure. Ludwik lit a cigarette, then turned to face his son, who stood coldly on the staircase. "Daddy's heading to Emperor City tomorrow. You'll stay with mommy for now." "Are you taking over the Lippert Group from grandpa?" Danny asked,

closing his eyes, Ludwik replied, "That's just one of the things. Daddy needs to find Sammy and sort out some other matters." "Sammy must be found! How long

turning somber. "You and grandma will stay put for the next half a month. With Sammy missing, I'm entrusting you to mommy to keep her from

clearly love mommy," Danny

except that woman, perhaps. Or

to the car. When they arrived at

to work today, refusing to let the recent troubles over Sammy keep her locked away at home anymore. Keeping busy did seem to make things better. After a long day, Nyx wanted to cheer her up, so he suggested they have a few drinks at the office. Whitney

stood out from her

He was completely ignored by Whitney. Ludwik glanced at the bedroom; Danny was asleep. Standing up with a cigarette between his lips, he quietly closed the bedroom door behind

turned his head, his gaze froze. Whitney had started undressing from the kitchen onwards. She was swaying, humming to herself, her brows furrowed as if she was uncomfortable. Her blouse had slipped down to her waist, the burgundy color making her waist look

gaze traveled up, following the curve of her back to the lace at her shoulders,