Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 540

Whitney's eyes shimmered with tears that slowly soaked her heart. Choking up, she said, "That morning, I tossed your breakfast away. I thought I made myself clear. Unless it's about Sammy, don't come looking for me. We can't just be friends! Ludwik, you're smothering me." She turned, pulling Danny inside, barely giving him a chance to say goodbye to his father before she sharply closed the door, leaving Ludwik outside.

Danny, with tears in his eyes, tried to explain, "Mom, I couldn't find you, so I called Dad when you disappeared in the afternoon. You hate how he tries to control everything. He even pulled Uncle Parker's bodyguards off you and stopped sending over meals, worried it would upset you. Can't you just not be mad at him for tonight?"

Whitney looked at her son, silent for a moment, "I'm not mad at him. I just want him to stop making all the decisions for me. I can take care of myself. I'm really tired, let's go upstairs."

Ludwik stood under the porch light, his brows furrowed, overhearing her weak voice from behind the door. The light cast a long, cold shadow behind him, making him look like a sculpture of solitude. Perhaps, he had indeed pushed her too far. She felt suffocated by him? Ludwik retraced his steps with a bitter smile upon hearing her say she was tired... He abandoned the idea of forcibly taking her to the hospital.

The child should be fine, right?

He'd wait a couple of days until she calmed down, then have Parker figure out a way to coax her into getting checked at the hospital...

His heart was a tumultuous sea of unease.

Lost in his thoughts, his phone suddenly rang. Ludwik, slipping his hand into his trouser pocket, walked down the steps to his car as he answered the call.

It was Felix, sounding unusually urgent, "Mr. Lippert, we've got a major problem."

Ludwik paused, his slender fingers opening the car door as he sat inside, steadying his breath, as if expecting the news, "Go on."

"Jarvis's major project in Beloria has suffered a catastrophic accident; there was a railway explosion. Beloria's government has already announced they'll be investigating all foreign investments in their railway infrastructure, and the Lippert Group is at the top of their list! This might be a setup by Jarvis, but it's the Lippert Group they'll be coming after, not him. You need to go to Beloria personally to calm the waters and handle this.

I've booked you on a flight tonight..."

Clutching the steering wheel, Ludwik's gaze hardened as he looked at the villa, its windows aglow. He couldn't see which room Whitney was in, knowing this trip wouldn't just be a short one.

Whitney had a stomach bug today, and he was worried.

a man

on my way to

called Parker to delegate

-

café near the

to a secluded corner where a

scanning the

Florence won't suspect I'm working for you. Everything they've done to Whitney,

mask, the woman

woman handed Dr. Bill a hefty bank card, asking cryptically, "Is

Dr. Bill nodded subtly.

up and left the café, her eyes sparkling

plotting against Whitney

าวเ

Dr. Bill, onceza student at the Bartels Pharmaceutical, was now an ally against her. Despite the downfall of the Bartels family,

on the run ever since Ludwik had her cornered in Banyan City-a

classic case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; Florence and Whitney were locked in a fierce battle, yet it might be Elaine who reaps the benefits in the end. Elaine suppressed her grin

-

nanny for brewing, Whitney administered acupuncture to herself and drank a bowl of medicinal soup,

received a message

on Facebook: "Don't

it! It must have

check on that hotel's catering service. Would've been better off eating the Chinese food Ludwik sent over.

sick too?

and Nyx had also suffered from food poisoning, confirming Whitney's suspicions