Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

When the Lippert family saw the infant incubator wheeled into the foyer-

Under the glass dome was a tiny, rosy little body, barely bigger than a bottle of Sprite, so thin and pale. Her tiny face was flushed with effort, as if she were straining to take in the world beyond the glass. Her wide, lonely eyes-round and dark-looked just like Whitney's.

The whole Lippert family fell silent, struck by how delicate and small she was.

Camilla gripped her cane tighter, her breathing uneven. She recalled what Ludwik had said about the child's difficult beginnings...

Suddenly, Camilla had no more doubts.

Her eyes, usually sharp with age, now glistened with tears. She didn't dare touch the incubator, but her voice trembled with emotion. "It's chilly outside-let's hurry and bring her in where it's warm.”

Natalie's gaze was complicated as she looked at the baby. She felt a rush of tenderness for the little one.

She stepped forward and, together with Riley Lippert's wife, carefully lifted the incubator. They didn't need the doctor's help; the two women carried the baby inside to the living room.

That's when Ludwik stepped out of the car.

A small, relieved smile played on his lips, the kind you wear after a long storm has passed. “Grandma, it's a heated incubator. The little one will be just fine."

his tone sweet and insistent. "My baby

feel the complicated mix of looks from the Lippert family-curiosity, concern, maybe suspicion-but she had no way to explain where the child had come

really, it wasn't her story to

now, and she'll start gaining

get some rest," Ludwik said, tapping the arm of the

turned and called back to Sandy, still in

door. He opened it for Sandy, then reached in and gently

annoyed at how rough

she scooped her daughter into her

tension thick in the air.

take care of Tina. Go do

on her long lashes, casting delicate shadows over her stubborn

softly, "Alright. I'll find you when I'm

need to find me." She took

his lips. "And how are we supposed to

friends might say her parents

and fell silent, clutching her daughter as she hurried after Whitney. Tina, just four, was delicate and clung to her, making it hard for Sandy to walk straight. Still, she refused