Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 479

Whitney's assistant suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth in shock, but Whitney seemed not to hear her. However, once Whitney got into her car and drove off, the vehicle quickly picked up speed, causing Sandy to worry immensely. Under the cover of night, Whitney's car pulled up in front of a bar.

"Whitney?"

"Yeah, I need a drink. You shouldn't drink; head on back," Whitney said, forcing a strained smile though she looked pale.

Sandy glanced at her own burn injury and shook her head, "It's okay, I'll drink less. I'll keep you company!"

Together, they walked into the dimly lit booth of the bar.

-

At the airport, Florence arrived at the VIP lounge and sneaked into the restroom to send Holly a text, "Mom, Ludwik is leaving Emperor City for at least two days. Whitney's vulnerable now, maybe tonight's the time to tell Uncle about it..." After sending the text, she methodically deleted the message, her eyes narrowing fiercely.

-

Soon, the outside sky was pitch black. The bar was alight with dazzling lights, and Whitney, after two cocktails, was still relatively sober. She leaned half over the table, the dim lighting hiding her tears which she shed unabashedly. Sandy remained silent for a while before finally asking, "Whitney, do you and Ludwik have some sort of private issue?"

ask that?" Whitney

you crying in the restroom, and Ludwik wasn't at the banquet. Plus, today,

drank and

Sandy's eyes widened in

"It must be Florence playing the other woman, wedging herself between you two. I know her type; she's scheming, probably after Ludwik's influence. So, you're back in the Sheldon family to compete for the inheritance of the Sheldon Group, and

really do understand

cut off last time. Today, tell me more about how cunning Florence is,

"I just happened to see her involved in some lab stuff. She's very secretive, and no one in the Sheldon family has caught on. I think she's pretending to be sick, researching some

into hypnosis?" Danny had once barged into Florence's

a guy named Drew. She used to travel abroad often, supposedly for treatment, but who knows what she was really up to. Moreover, she's got everyone in the Sheldon family wrapped around

pondered; Florence even had a lab? Was she versed in medicine,

point is, she's using her supposed illness to center herself within the Sheldon family,

family, with an impeccable reputation in Emperor City. She appears uninterested on the surface but desires everything behind the scenes. Sienna may be known for her jealousy and tyranny, but she's nothing compared to Florence, who's more subtle and manipulative,

sounds like Ludwik, completely enchanted by Florence, compromising his principles for her! Returning to her initial point, Whitney downed her drink

Sandy said, her tongue burnt by the strong alcohol, staggering toward the restroom. Whitney, slow to react initially, remembered they were in a bar and followed, concerned for

call her when she spotted two figures intertwined on the terrace. One, a short-haired girl who was Sandy, was turned towards Whitney, her head tilted back, being kissed on the neck by a man! And that man was Shane! Shane, tall and imposing, pressed Sandy against the wall, lingering on her lips and neck with a dark expression, entirely different from his sunny demeanor around Whitney. His gaze at Sandy was deep and cold, as if viewing a

be entangled like this? Whitney had asked Sandy about Shane before, and Sandy had seemed unfamiliar with him. As an illegitimate daughter, it seemed unlikely she'd have connections with someone like Shane, a top-tier heir. What was going on? In Whitney's confused mind, a wave of