Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 867

Sammy had always feared that his dad, Ludwik, might not want the baby that Florence was carrying. This fear kept him from confiding in the adults around him; adults were just too unpredictable.

At heart, Sammy was pure. He only wanted to protect his little sister.

Now, realizing he was powerless, he had no choice but to turn to Ludwik for help.

"My boy," Ludwik said, his voice heavy yet unable to hide a surge of emotion, as he shared a heartfelt truth with his son, "Sammy, listen. Whether I like it or not, the thought of this baby being your mom's child makes me want to ensure her safe arrival into this world. You say she's your sister, then she's your sister.

She will grow up to be as beautiful as your mom was.

Maybe her being in Florence's womb is a bit of a scandal, but nobody wanted things to turn out this way. Life is innocent, and I don't want to harm her!"

That child carried Whitney's blood, her DNA.

Ludwik couldn't bear the thought. It didn't matter whose womb she was in; he would raise her as his own daughter.

As for whether Whitney could accept this...

Ludwik lowered his eyes, "What's important now is bringing her into the world safely. If your mom can't accept her, then we'll just keep it between us guys for now. This child has nothing to do with Florence!

I'm afraid your mom might regret knowing the truth later. We can't do something she'll regret, what do you think?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Sammy felt a weight lift from his shoulders, getting the answer he had hoped for.

Ludwik was reliable. He wasn't going to let a dispute with mom lead to rejecting this innocent child.

"Thank you, Dad," Sammy said, clenching his fists.

Ludwik's gaze sharpened on him, "Since you chose tonight to tell me all this, Sammy, you must know where Florence is, right?" "Yeah, I know where she is!"

"What are we waiting for? We need to act fast, Sammy! We must find this woman and deal with her, damn it!"

Ludwik scooped up his son and hurried down the stairs with a tense expression.

Downstairs, Whitney was just coming back from setting off fireworks with Danny-

She looked up to see Ludwik and Sammy with grim expressions. Ludwik's handsome features turned ashen at the sight of her. What's going on?

Whitney sensed his gaze harden on her, a thousand unspoken words hiding in the depths of his eyes, heavy and seemingly sorrowful.

Her smile faded, "Ludwik... What's wrong with you guys?"

Ludwik's heart pounded, his gaze drifting to Whitney's flat belly.

He struggled to remain calm.

Seeing him about to lose control, Sammy quickly put a hand on his broad shoulder and forced a smile, turning to Whitney, "Dad's upset about something at Lippert Group. That's all." "The Lippert Group? What happened?" Whitney stepped forward, her brow relaxing a bit.

So it was just business troubles!

The way he looked at her earlier, though, was so heart-wrenching.

"Huh?" Whitney noticed Ludwik's tense profile and questioned further.

"...It's nothing! There's just been a hiccup with a new product launch, and I... I'm taking Sammy with me to sort it out. We might not be back tonight, so don't worry about us." Ludwik spoke tersely, rushing down with Sammy.

"But if it's just a product issue, why drag Sammy to the company in the middle of the night? He's so young and wouldn't understand..." Whitney was puzzled, noticing the secret looks exchanged between father and son. "Mom! That-handling this requires hacking into some systems, and Dad thinks I might be of help. Plus, I wanted to see the Lippert estate myself!"

Sammy quickly covered with a lie.

Danny, caught up in the excitement, ran over, "Then I want to see the Lippert estate too!"

"... You're not going!" Sammy glanced at Ludwik, biting his lip, his eyes deep.

"I don't wanna stay, Dad, I wanna go too."

"Daniel Lippert! Listen to your father!" Ludwik couldn't help but raise his voice at his son.

He looked at Whitney, then at his two sons, his mind and heart filled with thoughts of the daughter taken from them.

With emotions of bitterness swirling within him, he gently explained again, "I wasn't being harsh, Whitney. Just take Danny and get some rest early tonight. I'll take care of Sammy; we just need to step out for a bit." He picked up Sammy and walked away.

"Ludwik..."

Whitney couldn't stop them, filled with doubts. Did it have to be tonight?

She had a nagging feeling, as if they were hiding something else from her.

It didn't seem like just a business issue.

The car sped away from the house at a frightening pace.

Even Danny felt something was off, "Why's Dad driving so fast? Mom, should we follow them?"

Whitney glanced at the clock; it was nearly midnight.

Looking at Danny rubbing his eyes, she eventually shook her head, "Following them might just get in the way. Whatever it is, he seemed really anxious... Let's leave it be. Tomorrow, I'll ask your granddad if there's really something going on with the Lippert estate." "Yeah! That's a good idea," Sammy immediately defended his dad, "I was just worried you might not trust Dad, thinking he's out cheating."

Whitney chuckled, "Sweetie, Mom would never think Dad would cheat, especially not with Sammy in tow."

"Right! Let's go to bed, Mom."

Whitney led her son upstairs with the help of the house staff, but her gaze kept drifting back to the house's exterior. A sense of unease clutched at her heart, an inexplicable panic suggesting something was about to unfold.

-

The car raced through the silent night, Ludwik making a call to Parker and Ashton, instructing them to gather some men.

Sammy glared at his computer screen, the red dot on the map hadn't moved an inch. "Florence has been cooped up in that apartment up north since yesterday. She hasn't budged. I bet Bryce has her locked up there after whatever went down.

He's scared stiff that Florence might spill the beans to the Sheldon Group, and then you and mom would be on her tail in a heartbeat, ready to drag her back!

Bryce must be plotting to keep the baby Florence is carrying under his thumb!"

Ludwik's mood turned icy. From the moment Florence conspired with Bryce, Ludwik knew Bryce was setting up this play.

A child of his Ludwik's own flesh and blood - Bryce wouldn't hesitate to use it as his trump card.

He couldn't let Bryce control his life's narrative, nor could he allow his unborn child to be thrown into jeopardy!

"Dad, slow down!" Sammy's voice quivered as Ludwik's car zipped through the streets, fear of an accident looming over him. "The dot hasn't moved, Florence must still be in that apartment." "Sammy, you're telling me this now is already too late. I'm not afraid of the 99 times things go right; it's that one time when everything can go wrong that terrifies me."

The thought of what could happen if Bryce used the child as leverage against Florence, threatening her life to bend Ludwik to his will, was unbearable. Sammy hung his head, guilt seeping in for not sharing his findings sooner.

"Dad, it'll be okay. Once we have Florence, we can wait a couple of months and then have her undergo a C-section to safely bring our little sister into the world." It was a messy situation.

With a heavy heart, Ludwik slammed his fist against the steering wheel as the car sped towards the apartment where Florence was hidden away.