Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 708

"What the heck?"

"Oh my God, that's a lot of blood."

"Such a young lady, too."

Whitney peered over the crowd that had gathered outside the bakery, her heart skipping a beat at the mention of a young lady in distress...

Pushing through the onlookers, she darted to the railing to look down below.

There, lying in a pool of blood, was none other than Sandy!

She froze in shock. "Sandy...? Move! She's my friend, she's fallen, can somebody call 911..."

Whirling around, Whitney spotted the escalator and bolted down it.

Sandy was sprawled next to the observation elevator, her head cracked open on the sharp steps, blood gushing out. Her leg was bent at an unnatural angle, clearly broken. "Sandy, come on, wake up." Whitney crouched beside her, too scared to move her, instead fumbling with her phone to dial 911, her hands trembling too much to make the call. Suddenly, a strong hand reached over, steadying her shaky fingers to press the numbers, then checking Sandy's pupils, his voice deep and calm, "Stand back, let me hold her." Whitney turned, her eyes wide in surprise, "Ludwik..."

"The call's through," Ludwik handed her the phone.

A bit of calm returned to Whitney at his composed demeanor, and she quickly relayed their emergency to the hospital.

After grabbing a pair of disposable gloves from a nearby shop, Ludwik carefully lifted Sandy, preserving the scene as much as possible.

"Call the cops," he instructed.

"The cops?" Whitney was bewildered.

He nodded towards the upper level, "That's where she fell from. See, the railing's intact."

Whitney's gaze followed, and it clicked. The railing was undamaged.

Sandy, an adult, wouldn't just tumble over a railing without reason.

Whitney quickly caught on to Ludwik's implication.

Soon, the wailing of an ambulance approached, and Whitney, in a frenzy, rushed Sandy outside.

It wasn't until Sandy was safely on the stretcher that Whitney fully processed the evening's events, her eyes finally meeting the calm figure of Ludwik under the night sky, finding herself at a loss for words, "I...thank you, for earlier. But, how come you were in the mall?" She was genuinely puzzled.

Ludwik's gaze flickered, not daring to admit he had followed them from the Garcia Group event.

"Just passing by, wanted to pick something up for Danny," he said, his voice low.

Whitney averted her gaze, "Well, you don't have to stick around. This is all sorted, I better go."

As the paramedics closed the ambulance door, it cut off her uneasy expression from view. Ludwik watched the ambulance drive away, deep in thought, feeling it necessary to call Shane. Turning, he made his way back inside the mall, his brows furrowed as he examined the scene of the incident. Upstairs, a shadow darted into a hallway, dialing a number, "Ms. Sheldon, I pushed her from the second floor." "You idiot, the second floor? How's she supposed to die from that?" Florence's voice was fraught with irritation.

"I had it all lined up, thought she'd land on the steel rebar. Shame she didn't get impaled."

"I told you to wait for the right moment! I want Sandy gone for good. Nobody saw you, right? Did the mall security call the cops?"

"No one saw me. But a guy called the cops," the voice lowered.

"You useless fool, just get lost." Florence hung up, fuming.

Ever since she saw Shane defending Sandy at the auction, Florence had felt on edge.

Shane obviously recognized Sandy, his brief fling from years ago overseas!

Jealous of Sandy catching Shane's eye back then, Florence had sabotaged Sandy, leading to her expulsion from school and feeding her drugs to induce amnesia and a miscarriage.

If Shane ever discovered the truth, the fallout would be unimaginable.

Back then, it was mere jealousy, unable to bear seeing someone outperform her.

Now, already in a precarious situation, she couldn't afford another enemy.

Determined to cut the problem at its root, she realized her so-called trusted aides were incompetent.

Frustrated and feeling the strain, she glanced down at her belly, the unwanted pregnancy now obvious at three months. She had shown Jarvis the paternity test, yet he still hadn't acknowledged her as his girlfriend, even though she was seen with him at social events. Without official status, how could she reclaim her position?

Feeling played by Jarvis, she knew she had to find another way.

-

At the hospital, around 10 PM.

After emergency care and a thorough check-up, it was clear Sandy was out of danger and had been moved to a regular room. Coming around from anesthesia, Sandy woke up.

Whitney, seemingly everywhere at once, was settling bills, fetching water, dampening Sandy's lips, "Sandy, how are you feeling?" "Ugh...my head hurts, and I feel dizzy. My leg, is it broken?"

"You're lucky, just a dislocated ankle. The doctor's fixed it already.

The concussion and external injuries are causing the headache and dizziness, but it's nothing serious, don't worry."

Sandy managed a weak smile, "I've always been tough, like a cockroach that can't be squashed."

Hearing this, Whitney felt a twinge of sadness looking at Sandy's pallid face.

When the doctor asked for a family member to sign consent forms, Whitney realized she didn't know whom to call for Sandy?

The girl had a rough time, living with her dad in the Sheldon family, unloved by her stepmother and disliked by Emma and Florence. Checking Sandy's phone, Whitney found no trace of her father's contact.

In the end, she signed the forms as Sandy's cousin.

Still, Whitney asked, "Should we contact your dad?"

"He wouldn't care. As for Sienna Turner, her mom, and Florence, they'd probably be happier if something happened to me," Sandy said with a bitter laugh, her expression indifferent, "No need to bother them. Since I'm not in any danger, I'll just stay a few days and then leave."

"Alright, what do you feel like eating? I can go get you something..."

Whitney reached for her phone, about to step out, when a knock at the door interrupted them.

Ludwik stepped in, bathed in the sterile hospital light, looking refreshed in a change of clothes, probably having stopped by home-clad in a white T-shirt and dark casual trousers, looking even younger and more imposing than he had earlier in the day. Ever since she returned to the States three years ago, Whitney rarely caught sight of him dressed down.

She hadn't expected him to look so effortlessly distinguished and debonair, oozing masculinity.

Whitney scolded herself for being caught off guard, her eyebrows knitting together in annoyance. "Why do you keep showing up?"

"You're here alone with her, figured you'd be too swamped to sort out dinner. You guys probably haven't eaten yet, right?"

Ludwik, ever the epitome of grace, placed a few takeout boxes on the nearby cabinet, his voice cool and collected. "Got some gourmet soup from the five-star hotel downtown, and there's also some quail eggs, great for rejuvenation..." Whitney was speechless, "Thanks for the offer, but we can just order something online."

Sandy was utterly bewildered, her eyes flitting between Ludwik's handsome frame and Whitney's resistant demeanor.

She was actually quite famished. The mention of quail eggs made her swallow hard, but she declined, "Yeah, Ludwik, really, you shouldn't have gone through the trouble! Besides, we're not exactly close, are we?"