Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 661

At the crossroads between the bustling downtown and the quiet residential areas, the afternoon sun was blazing, leaving the streets relatively deserted.

Whitney darted into an alley, quickly sharing her location with Tiana via Facebook.

She soon spotted Tiana in a corner of a flower shop, looking utterly exhausted with red, sleep-deprived eyes - a clear sign she hadn't slept in days while searching for Parker. "Tiana, over here," Whitney whispered.

Tiana hopped down from a stack of flower pots, grasping her hand, and peered around. "Barclay's guys just ran past this street."

"Then we head the opposite way."

"Okay."

But no sooner had the two women rounded the corner than they were abruptly stopped by a towering man.

Whitney looked up, getting her first clear view of Barclay - his features harsh, his gaze roaming over Whitney with a chilling sneer. "Tiana, your friend's quite a looker. Here to help, sweetheart? Don't worry, you two together still wouldn't stand a chance against me!" Tiana, with a mix of disgust and fear, retorted, "Barclay, I'm not going anywhere with you. I've told you, I haven't found Parker either. I've given you his last known location!"

"Endora said you never tell the truth! Whether your info is real or not, let's talk about us, Tiana. I've known for a while that it was me you slept with three years ago at that club, and I heard you had my daughter. Endora showed me the pictures. You've been ducking and weaving through Banyan City, playing cat and mouse with me, but now that I've caught you in Emperor City, you're not getting away! I deserve to see my daughter! You think I'd let you and my brother run off with her under my nose?"

Spitting venomously, Barclay's menace was palpable.

Whitney, observing him coldly, thought how some men, even brothers, could be worlds apart. Parker's aura, though menacing, was founded on justice. At first glance, he seemed scholarly with his glasses; at a second, strikingly sharp. But Barclay? Likely the black sheep of the Doonan family, not just brutish but also foul-mouthed.

Feeling Tiana trembling beside her, Whitney realized the extent of Barclay's harassment back in Banyan City. "Barclay, is it? Tiana's daughter has nothing to do with you. You never raised her; what right do you have to see her? We've told you all we know about Parker. Now let Tiana go."

And who might you be

her phone, seeing a message from Cody and calmed down, pulling Tiana back. "Barclay, maybe you should inquire who Tiana's best friend, the heiress

not trying to claim you're

charged forward with disdain,

of bodyguards swiftly approached from the street corner, positioning themselves

yourself, Barclay. I am indeed the Sheldon heiress. Tiana is my dearest friend. You mess with her, you answer to me. Are you sure the Doonan family

Barclay attempted to grab Tiana's hair. Whitney,

glowered, "So you're Whitney, the Sheldon family's

glanced down, "Bodyguards, take

side had the numbers,

on here? Stop!" commanded the

himself. This was Emperor City, not Banyan City; he couldn't afford to

you? You have no idea the power his mother wields. You think the Sheldons can protect you? I could go to the President and have your whole

sense of relief, scornfully dismissing Barclay, "He thinks he can go to the President? The man's delusional. Whitney,

Ludwik's potential peril, shook off the thought and drove off, turning to Tiana with concern, "You weren't hurt by

to pick up some flowers to cheer up Cherry on my way

handful of hair in

hurt

checked by a doctor when we get home." "Yeah..." Tiana gazed out of the window, her exhaustion palpable. Suddenly, she added, "Whitney, I have

whole day and night with Ludwik, searching the area where Parker went missing. We covered hundreds of miles, but found

where he disappeared? It's

the factory. No bodies, but there was

Parker's. I heard he got