Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 800

"There's someone behind you!" The woman's voice was icy as she quickly hung up the video call.

Phineas frowned instantly, slamming his laptop shut and whipping around, his sharp gaze landing on Bryce. "Mr. Lutz, why the comeback?"

Bryce calmed the turmoil inside him, putting on a scholarly smile as though he hadn't seen anything alarming. "Oh, Mr. Wilson, nothing much. Are you still busy? I just remembered a detail in the contract and thought I'd come back and ask you about it." Phineas immediately closed his laptop, his expression displeased. "Ask."

Bryce posed a trivial question and then politely made his exit.

Once out of the business hotel, the face of the woman from the video call haunted him. Rubbing his chin, he recalled how Phineas had treated her with great respect, even calling her the chairman. He had heard rumors about a big boss behind Inko Group. Could it be this mysterious woman?

And she seemed to be living abroad?

"She's the spitting image." The spitting image of Whitney...

Bryce's eyes narrowed in thought, a plan forming in his mind. "Check out Keegan's villa!"

Soon, he arrived at Delight Mansion.

Bryce had the driver stop, and from behind the gates, he saw Keegan pushing a wheelchair out.

That face... The more Bryce looked, the more he saw the resemblance to the woman in the video call.

He always remembered Whitney saying her mother had died long ago.

Including the time Keegan came back for revenge against Ludwik, believing Ludwik had caused the deaths of Whitney's grandfather and mother.

But the appearance of that woman was too shocking for Bryce.

Phineas had called that woman Parisa?

Bryce's gaze lingered on Keegan, suspecting he knew about the incident with Whitney. Recently, whenever Bryce had called Keegan to check in, Keegan would just hang up.

Approaching him now to ask about Whitney's mother would only arouse suspicion and lead to Keegan revealing nothing.

His lips pressed into a thin line, Bryce felt the urgency for information gnawing at him like ants.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he quickly made a call.

On the other end, Florence picked up swiftly. "Mr. Lutz, ever since we tricked Hudson into signing the Sheldon Group's licensing contract, you've been MIA. I thought you'd found someone new and forgotten all about me." "Come over! I need to ask you about something, about Whitney's mother back in the day. It's important."

Florence paused, puzzled by Bryce's sudden interest.

"If it's as I suspect, then Whitney... she could be more useful than we imagined."

Next to the towering figure of the chairman behind Inko Group, the Sheldon Group seemed insignificant. Whitney hadn't let him down after all.

Bryce's lips curled into a cold smirk, full of deep schemes.

Florence gripped her phone tighter. What did Bryce mean by Whitney having more use?

-

After work.

Whitney received an unexpected call from Bryce, his voice soft and coaxing. "Whitney, are you picking up Sammy and the kids after work? Let's go together. It's been a while since I've spent time with the little ones. I think I might have scared Sammy and Danny last time. I've got some free time today and thought I could apologize, maybe take them out for dinner and a children's movie?"

Listening to him, Whitney felt a shiver of dread.

Just this noon he had been venting his frustrations, and now he was trying to win her over.

This side of Bryce, so duplicitous and unpredictable, was just too deceitful.

Even without Shane's warning, she knew better than to let the children anywhere near Bryce.

She managed a weak excuse, "I'm afraid that won't be possible, Bryce. Ludwik is taking the kids back to the Lippert family."

"Whitney," Bryce sighed, feigning hurt. "Do you really want the kids to get to know the Lippert family? I'm your husband, after all. And what has Ludwik done for Sammy since he was born?

He's done nothing, and yet he can just waltz back into their lives. That's hardly fair to me."

"But Sammy and the others want to go to the Lippert family. I can't stop them," Whitney said, pretending to be at her wit's end.

"Fine, I won't stop you. How about you and I go to the movies then? The dessert bar downtown is serving some delicious treats this afternoon." Bryce quickly switched gears, his tone warm once more.

Perhaps Whitney's visit to the Lutz Group earlier that day had given him the impression she wanted to reconcile.

Whitney's brows furrowed, but to keep up appearances, she agreed, "Alright."

After hanging up, Bryce leaned back in his car's leather seat, slowly loosening his tie, his thoughts running cold. A few seconds later, he dialed his henchman. "Ludwik is picking up the kids from daycare today. Teach him a lesson on the way back. I don't mind if things get messy."

The last time at Phineas's party, Jarvis didn't finish the job - Ludwik was just too lucky.

The police only managed to injure him superficially.

So this time, let's take away what's most important to Ludwik. After all, those little brats are nothing but obstacles. If we want Ludwik out of the picture, we need to strike at his heart. Will Whitney forgive him then?

Let's see if he dares to bother Whitney after this.

After learning from Florence that Whitney's mother was named 'Parisa Tennyson,' Bryce was elated. He was determined to make Ludwik pay, to clear any obstacles keeping Whitney from him.

He intended to secure his hold on Whitney...

As for those kids, if they couldn't be won over, then they shouldn't be surprised by his ruthlessness.

-

At 5:30 PM.

Ludwik drove to pick up his sons, unaware of the storm brewing on the horizon.

On the road, Danny was in high spirits, messing around with Sammy and their LEGO set when he realized a piece was missing. The little guy got a bit stubborn, spotting a toy store of the same brand on the sidewalk, he started fussing about going down to buy a new set. Ludwik furrowed his brows, his approach towards Danny was much stricter compared to Sammy, "It's tricky to park around here, I'll have Uncle Felix pick it up on his way home."

"Deadbeat dad! I've been suspecting you stopped loving me, ever since Sammy came back, you've been all about winning over the new favorite, forgetting your old pal, huh?

Yeah, that's me, the pitiful one, growing up without a mom, and after you charmed brother back, you even split what little love was left for me. Sammy, no offense to you, buddy, I'm just calling out our dad here."

Danny's eyes turned red as he spoke, not forgetting to clarify things with his dear brother.

Sammy was embarrassed.

Ludwik's handsome face turned even darker.

"If you had half of Sammy's way with words, you wouldn't be comparing yourself to some love affair.

I've been too lenient with you for the past three years, Daniel Lippert."

"So, what now? You gonna start throwing punches at me, the kid who spent half a year in an incubator because he was so frail?"

Danny's sharp tongue accused.

Ludwik's hand almost left the steering wheel, itching to spank his little backside.

The traffic light was about to change.

Danny muttered, "If you don't go buy that LEGO piece for me, it just means you don't love me."

Sammy couldn't stand it any longer. Lately, Ludwik indeed had been going overboard in trying to please him, inevitably causing Danny to feel a bit left out. He glanced over lightly, "Ludwik, I think you should just go buy it."