Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 570

It was late at night.

In Ryan's home, Ludwik's towering silhouette materialized in the living room. He stood against the backlight, his handsome profile appearing as cold and intimidating as a specter amidst the chaos. His fingers, buried in the pockets of his tailored trousers, crackled softly. Ryan, clutching a small box containing his daughter's severed finger, was sobbing uncontrollably. Suddenly, his cries came to an abrupt halt.

Parker, Ludwik's right-hand man, tilted his head and motioned for his subordinates to step back. He glanced at Ludwik and then walked toward Ryan, a smile playing at the corners of his eyes. "Ludwik is simply a man of his word. He has been more than fair, giving you two weeks' time. But Dr. Ryan, you chose to ignore his demands. You need to understand, it is your actions that have harmed your own daughter. Ludwik is not heartless."

"Ludwik, you monster!" Ryan screamed. His daughter's bloodied little finger had driven him to the edge of sanity.

"My little girl was already on a plane, about to leave Harmonia Country. She's only six years old. How could you be so cruel to a child?"

"And what about you, Dr. Ryan? What did you and Florence do to my son, Sammy? When you sided with her, did you ever think about retribution?"

Ludwik turned slightly, looking at his expensive wristwatch, his patience wearing thin. "You have ten minutes to tell me where Sammy is. One minute for each of your daughter's fingers. Though she's left with only nine now." "You'll never get away with this!" Ryan shouted, more terrified of Ludwik's inhumanity than the evidence of his illegal research that Florence held over him.

For the past two weeks, Ryan had been trying to move his family and secure a passport for his daughter. They were on the verge of escaping when Ludwik's men silently hijacked the plane and kidnapped his daughter.

After 24 hours of despair, Ryan finally succumbed and had no choice but to lie to Florence, claiming that the hospital where Sammy was hidden was compromised and that they needed to move him immediately. Florence, already planning to cut Ryan out, decided not to disclose Sammy's new location to him.

hellish voice snapped

Sammy was moved from the hospital

"You're saying Sammy was at

"With all your resources and power, Harmonia City is too vast. Florence took a gamble hiding your son in plain sight, where you'd least expect." Ludwik's

the hospital - a place teeming with life and visibility - was the

he being taken now?" Ludwik demanded, pressing down

his head. "I don't know. Florence has cut me out. But... I slipped a tracker into Sammy's pocket before he

his inner pocket.

prompt Florence's men

phone and dragged Ryan along. "You're coming

can't openly betray Ms. Sheldon yet. Unlike you, I can't just storm in to

dragging Ryan out like trash and tossing him

heart raced, his thoughts consumed

because of this vendetta.

suggested by Ryan, Ludwik caught on to the implications

because you've been