Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 682

"Ludwik, did you actually record it? Record us... you jerk!"

Whitney's mind was stuck on the video, her eyes red with fury, her body trembling uncontrollably, overwhelmed with humiliation. "You're such a scoundrel, this is too much. I will never forgive you for this, ever." Ludwik knew he had hurt her again.

He sneered coldly, "I don't care anymore. I knew you'd never forgive me.

But I didn't want you to be fooled. Bryce, making his mark in Emperor City, do you have any idea what kind of forces he's leaning on?

Don't be deceived by his lovestruck facade. How do you know he's not playing a long game, pretending to be all sweet and caring, but harboring ulterior motives?"

"Enough already. Bryce isn't like that.

Besides, he's doing pretty well for himself, what would he possibly want from me?"

"The Sheldon Group! No matter how his company grows, it needs the backing of a powerful dynasty.

He could also be after your affection, waiting for you to fall for him, and then, when you're vulnerable, he could strike back at you, tarnish you!"

Ludwik's words sent an inexplicable chill down Whitney's spine.

Still, she retorted, "Ludwik, you won't divide us."

Annoyed, she hung up the phone!

Standing on the balcony, the chilly night air made her shiver even more. Wrapping her arms around herself, Whitney returned to her room, where Danny was already soundly asleep. She walked out to the study, where Sammy was still tapping away.

Looking at her phone, Whitney couldn't calm down.

Finally, she retreated to the secluded bathroom, opened the video Ludwik had sent, and put on her headphones.

In just a few seconds, Whitney's face turned red, a wave of incredulity and rage washing over her.

The video was dark, illuminated only by moonlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, reflecting off the ocean, giving the room a romantic ambiance...

There she was with Ludwik, wrapped in a quilt, their silhouettes entwined like vines, passionately inseparable. Ludwik's perfect torso was exposed, while she hid in his embrace, her hands trembling as she clung to his neck. Her voice... sounded so tender... almost as if she was enjoying it.

Impossible!

She thought she was heartbroken and desperate that night.

But now, the video seemed to distort reality, or maybe not, but it made it seem like she and Ludwik were deeply in love, and she was relishing it. Bryce... had he seen this video?

At that moment, Whitney shivered violently, feeling mortified. But then she thought, any man seeing such a video couldn't possibly remain calm.

Yet upon her return, Bryce hadn't mentioned it, hadn't asked her about it.

The first thing he told her was how much he loved her, not caring about her past.

Thinking about it now, Bryce seemed too magnanimous, unsettlingly so.

If she were Bryce, witnessing his wife in such intimacy with another man on their wedding night, she wouldn't be able to stay calm; she'd be furious, even hateful.

Of course, it might also be due to a pitiful, blind love, a kind of self-delusion.

If Bryce fell into the latter category, then she was truly lucky.

But if it was the former...

Wrapped tightly in her quilt, Whitney felt an inexplicable chill.

Perhaps Ludwik's warning wasn't just an attempt to sow discord?

-

The next morning.

Whitney and Danny got up, while Sammy was still curled up in bed, sleeping in.

She ruffled her son's hair, "Sammy? Were you out thieving last night? You're usually not one to sleep in."

"Umm..." Sammy, rubbing his sleepy eyes, afraid that his mom would discover he hadn't slept at all, could only muster a tearful climb out of bed.

"What were you doing hiding in the study last night?" Whitney asked.

Sammy scratched his head; he had been tracking Florence.

Since seeing Florence cozying up to that scoundrel Jarvis last night, Sammy smelled trouble.

After hacking into the auction house's surveillance, he saw Florence and Jarvis in a private box, conspiring for hours.

Two villains together, definitely up to no good.

His mom had just managed to kick Florence out of the company, and he didn't want the wicked woman to make a comeback.

"You know, helping grandma..." Sammy fibbed, having gone to the study for his computer.

"Internet junkie," Danny commented.

Whitney rolled her eyes helplessly, "And whose idea was it to involve your brother in the auction?"

"Hey, I don't have his knack for computers, all of dad's smarts went to him," Danny grumbled.

Without further ado, Whitney took them downstairs.

In the living room, Bryce and Uncle Tim were deep in discussion about Bryce's company plans, both engrossed in the conversation.

For a moment, Whitney found herself staring at Bryce.

The sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow on his handsome, gentle face.

Yet Whitney's mind briefly clouded with doubt, until Bryce turned to call her.

"Whitney, why the stare? Time for breakfast."

"Probably just admiring how handsome Mr. Lutz is," Tiana joked, lightening the mood.

Bryce blushed, chuckling as he stood up to serve Whitney and Danny breakfast. Dressed in a sweater and casual black pants, he seemed harmless, even diligently picking out the onions for Danny. His considerate gesture left Whitney puzzled.

He was like the perfect husband...

But could a person really act as if nothing had happened, unaffected by that kind of video?

-

After breakfast, Whitney took both sons to the Sheldon Group.

On the way, Sammy nibbled on his breakfast while glued to his small laptop.

Suddenly, at a turn, Sammy closed his laptop and said to Whitney, "Mom, I just remembered, I want to buy a Barbie doll for Cherry, there's a store nearby."

"Really? Tiana didn't mention it."

Whitney was skeptical.

"Cherry's too shy to ask her mom for money, you know she clings to me!"

Convinced by the sight of the doll store to the left, Whitney opened the car door, "I'll have a bodyguard follow you, and remember to come to my office afterward." "Okay!"

Sammy ignored Danny's suspicious look and dashed out of the car.

After his mom's car was out of sight, he immediately pretended to have a stomachache, "Mr. Mike, the bodyguard, I kinda have a bellyache. I didn't want to worry mom, could you please grab me some medicine?" "You must stay right here, don't move, I'll be back in a jiffy."

No sooner had the bodyguard left than Sammy stuck out his tongue cheekily and hailed a cab to make his getaway.

He powered up his mini-laptop.

After staking out all night, Florence hadn't left the Sheldon castle.

And first thing this morning, she had popped over to Ryan's place!

He had to rush back now to keep up appearances.

At the same time, he needed to figure out what she was up to with Ryan.

An hour later-

Florence left Ryan's, donning sunglasses and a hat, and got into her car. After circling downtown a few times, the car finally stopped at a discreet private clinic.

Sammy, tracking the moving red dot on his map, sneakily followed her into the clinic.

Florence was heading to the Genetic Testing department!