Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 830

Hudson scoffed with disbelief, "Your family's on the brink of a scandal, and you're here spouting confidence?"

"Even if I have to turn my back on everything, even if I lose it all, I'll protect Whitney. I won't let her get hurt again," Ludwik said, his voice deep and serious, deliberately avoiding Whitney's gaze. Hudson's breathing grew heavy.

Whitney, caught off guard, slowly lifted her eyes to the striking profile of the man beside her, then quickly averted her gaze.

Her heart was in turmoil.

Desperate to change the subject, she said, "Dad, we need to get you checked out. That medication mix-up could have been serious."

She paused before adding, "This has really shown us Florence's true colors, hasn't it?

She's not the frail and innocent girl you thought she was... She's been deceiving you for a long time. I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't have believed me back then.

Now, all Florence cares about is using Bryce to take over the Sheldon Group and push me out.

Please, from now on, don't meet her alone. She's not... your daughter by blood."

Her emphasis on the last statement was a plea for Hudson to guard his heart.

Hudson knew the pain all too well, lamenting the years wasted raising a daughter who was not his, reflecting on the nature of betrayal within families.

"I've been too naïve," Hudson sighed, his voice heavy with regret. "If only I'd been more assertive in protecting Parisa and you. Parisa wouldn't have been driven out of Emperor City by Holly, wandering lost with your grandfather to Banyan City, only to die there." Whitney's eyes flashed with anger as she considered revealing the truth. "Dad, Mom didn't die of illness. She was drugged over a long period by a scheme involving Holly and the Bartels, and she died in a car accident when she was already near death." Hudson was shocked beyond words.

"Holly continued to harm her even after her death?" he asked, disbelief in his voice.

Whitney had pieced together the truth after confronting Elaine, who had hinted at the involvement of the Sheldon family's matriarch.

Determined to uncover the truth about her mother's death, Whitney had sought to reconnect with her roots in the Sheldon family.

"Holly!" Hudson exclaimed, his fist slamming down in anger. "When I'm gone, I don't know how I'll face your mother... Are her ashes in the cemetery in Banyan City?"

Whitney shook her head, uncertain. "The accident was so severe, we never found their remains."

She explained how Preston Valentine, manipulated by the Bartels, had overlooked her mother, treating their marriage as nothing more than a means to an end.

The details of the past were hazy to Whitney, who had been too young to remember clearly.

Ludwik, having listened quietly, finally spoke, "When I stumbled upon the accident and saved your grandfather, I only saw him in the car. Your uncle has held me responsible ever since, but I wonder..." Whitney's heart ached at the mention of their shared history, regretting the path that had led them here.

Ludwik's eyes met hers, both filled with a shared melancholy.

"You mean you didn't see my mom at the site of the accident?" Whitney asked, hope mingling with despair in her voice.

Ludwik admitted he couldn't be certain, "It's been thirteen years... The accident was devastating. It's possible she was lost in the explosion."

Tears filled Whitney's eyes at the thought of her mother's fate.

Hudson paled, "I had no idea Parisa's death was so tragic. I spent years thinking she had abandoned me, only to learn of Whitney's existence much later."

As they grappled with their pain, Whitney reassured her father, "You didn't know, Dad. Mom wouldn't blame you. Let's visit the cemetery in Banyan City when you're better."

"I know where it is. I've been there a few times," Hudson replied, his voice tinged with sadness.

"I wish she hadn't been in that car," he mused, clinging to a sliver of hope.

"How could that be?" Whitney pondered. If her mother had survived, her uncle surely would have known.

Pushing aside wishful thinking, Whitney prepared to take Hudson for his check-up, but Ludwik stepped in, eager to help. "Let me do this. You need to rest too."

Hudson's glare was sharp, and Whitney hesitated, unsure if Ludwik's involvement was appropriate.

Ludwik gently insisted, giving Whitney a reassuring wink, "Give me a chance to make things right."

"Who said you get a chance? There's no chance for you," Whitney retorted, her gaze cold.

Ludwik smiled wryly, undeterred, "Opportunities are made, not given. I'll face whatever comes without fighting back. Can't you trust me with that?"

"Do you all think I'm oblivious?" Hudson interjected angrily, his eyes fixed on Ludwik. "You'll get no such opportunity! I won't let my daughter be involved with you again!" "Let's just get to the specialist," Ludwik said, feigning ignorance as he pushed an unwilling Hudson forward, taking care of him despite the tension.

Whitney watched in disbelief as Hudson took charge without asking anyone, her temper flaring up like a bonfire in July.

Yet, when she saw Hudson swing his cane and land a solid thump on Ludwik, her anger turned into a mix of amusement and frustration.

A short distance away, the two kids watched their mom's mix of anger and helplessness towards their no-good dad, deep in thought.

Danny was practically jumping for joy, thrilled at the unfolding drama.

Sammy, on the other hand, was the one lost in thought.

He pulled out his tablet and started organizing the information he had gathered on Florence's recent whereabouts.

A major point of suspicion caught his eye: Florence had visited Bryce's private mansion twice.

Were these two keeping a secret from mom? Was there something scandalous going on?

What worried and puzzled him even more was Florence's frequent consultations about plastic surgery. Why would she want surgery? Surgery meant going under the knife.

Sammy's heart raced at the thought of the baby inside Florence. If she was considering surgery, did that mean she didn't want the baby?

That baby was his sibling, and he couldn't let anything happen to them!

Sammy was torn. He had been planning to keep everything under wraps, fearing the news would devastate his mom and possibly worsen her relationship with their dad, leaving the baby without a home. He had even plotted to bribe hospital staff to take his sibling as soon as they were born and then place them in an orphanage, planning each step carefully.

But now, Sammy was scared. Scared that Florence might not want the baby after all.

Seeing their dad, this time actually helping their mom and being so attentive at the hospital...

Sammy didn't know if he could muster the courage to trust him again.

If he told Ludwik the truth about the baby, he knew Ludwik would do everything to save the child.

But, would Ludwik use the baby as leverage to force their mom back into a relationship?

Sammy was holding onto a secret that was eating him up inside.