Love beyond the mask (Whitney)



"You turn into a ghost when you're working, completely cut off from your phone like you're in some deserted island.

Didn't I remind you last night to sweet-talk Whitney a bit?

Your eyes seemed like you wanted to, but there was the whole deal with stabilizing Inko Group. Now that you have a moment, give her a call, for Pete's sake."

Ludwik picked up on this, already intending to do so, "No need for your nagging."

He hadn't touched his phone all night. Lifting his eyelids, he checked his messages.

Sammy had sent him a text: [Dad! Mom's back at Delight Mansion, so we decided to sneak over to see our sister today. I'll be extra careful! Remember to have Uncle Shane open the ICU for our sister, and send over the specialists. I want to know how her treatment's progressing.]

Ludwik furrowed his brow. Why had Whitney gone back to Delight Mansion?

Reading Sammy's message, his eyes darkened slightly. His long fingers typed back to his son, "Shane will handle it. But why did your mom go back?" Sammy replied: [...I might've ticked her off.]

Ludwik: [?]

[Sorry, Dad. Mom's been really on our case, and I think she didn't believe what I told her.]

Ludwik started to piece together his son's intent. Sammy cared deeply for his sister and wanted to be by her side.

His thick eyebrows knitted together. [If she's suspicious of something, don't make any rash moves! Have you set off already?]

[Yeah. I'll be careful, I have a plan.] Sammy responded confidently.

As the chat window closed, Ludwik's gaze drifted down, noticing a missed call in his contacts.

It was from Whitney!

His face changed slightly as he quickly checked the time-it was 11 PM last night.

What could she have wanted at such an hour?

A flash of regret crossed his eyes.

He had deliberately ignored her call that day, and he hadn't been home for days. She must've been frustrated. She finally reached out, and he missed it...

Lost in thought, he swiped to call her back immediately, his brow furrowed.

Whitney was driving when her phone suddenly rang. Glancing at the dashboard, she recognized the number instantly.

It was Ludwik...

Her expression paused, but a chill crept up her otherwise warm cheeks.

What was he doing last night, calling back a whole day later?

She didn't even know how to react to this man anymore.

She didn't want to answer.

She was busy tracking her son's location, and by accident, she ended up declining the call.

But soon enough, he called again.

Whitney pressed her lips together. She didn't have time to talk to him now, so she silently switched her phone to mute.

She was following her son, and if she accidentally gave herself away, he might notice and alert their son to join forces.

The more she imagined, the angrier she got.

Whitney turned the steering wheel, noting that the location was moving east. She opened the map and discovered that east was where the city's neurology hospital was located.

She felt puzzled.noveldrama

Could those little rascals be heading to the neurology hospital?

Suppressing her questions, Whitney drove in that direction.

Eventually, she found that the phone's location had indeed stopped at the neurology hospital.

Whitney pulled into the hospital parking lot, stepped out, and checked her phone tracker, seeing the target had stopped moving.

This meant that Sammy and Danny had already gotten out here.

Her mind flashed back to a piece of information: Fiana had mentioned that Phineas Wilson, a director at e2 Inko Group, had been attacked and sustained a brain injury. He was hospitalized here, and Sammy had brought it up that night too.

Yet... Whitney's brow furrowed deeply.

It made no sense for those two kids to rush over here first thing in the morning. Were they really visiting Phineas?

Or was Ludwik at the hospital, and they were meeting up with their dad?

It was strange, unlikely.

With no more location updates, Whitney entered the hospital, intending to inquire about Phineas's ward.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, the nurse warily 'invited' her to leave.

Whitney assumed that, given Phineas's status as chairman of Inko Group and now a comatose patient, security was understandably tight, and the Wilson family wouldn't allow any visitors.

She changed her approach, politely stating, "I'm actually a friend of Mr. Wilson's nephew, Mr. Doonan. My two kids came to see Mr. Doonan. Did you happen to see themTwo little four-year-old boys."

"No boys here, ma'am. No unauthorized persons allowed. Please leave immediately!" The nurse called over the Wilson family's security.

Whitney's brow arched, "You didn't see any children come in?"

"No idea, no idea! Please leave!" The security was firm in escorting her out.

Whitney had to step back, narrowing her eyes with growing suspicion. Did those two really come to the hospital?

Her phone was hidden in Ludwik's car. If they used Ludwik's car, then it must've been here.

Now, the car was here?

But they weren't?

Where did they go?

Why make a detour here?

Whitney leaned against the wall, the stark white hospital corridors adding a chill to the air. She pondered for a moment, then had a realization: Sammy was throwing her off the scent.

She knew her clever and cautious son all too well!

Sammy had inherited Ludwik's meticulous nature. That little rascal was being extra cautious... She thought she'd done a seamless job pretending to be angry last night.

But Sammy was ultra-careful, even taking a detour today, in case she was following, huh?

Whitney's cheeks flushed with frustration. That little scamp, playing spy games with her?

What were they up to, being so secretive?

Her eyes glinted with determination as she gripped her phone tightly. The location hadn't moved.

But clearly, her two kids were no longer at this neurology hospital.

Maybe they switched cars?

Leaving the Bentley here might just be a decoy.

Whitney even began to suspect that her sneaky son, Sammy, might've discovered the phone she hid.

The back of her head felt a chill as she stepped out of the hospital's main entrance, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

Emperor City was a place with clear

1

distinctions between districts. This was the old part of town, home to the top neurological hospital in Harmenta Country, as well as a children's hospital. In most cities,

hospitals were clustered together in

one area...

Wait a second, something clicked in Whitney's mind.

She instinctively pulled out her phone to check the map for the children's hospital's address.

She realized it was only a ten-minute walk from the neurology hospital, southwest.

Her mind raced with possibilities, and for some reason, her gaze was drawn to the children's hospital.

A strange suspicion bubbled up inside her. Could Sammy and the other kid have headed to the children's hospital?

After all, compared to going to the neurology hospital, visiting the children's hospital seemed slightly less bizarre.

But then again, her son wasn't sick. There was no reason for them to go there.

And yet, could it really be that two kids snuck off there all on their own?