Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 996

The cleaning lady nodded, "I saw you folks looking around with a photo, like you were searching for someone. When I saw this picture of the Asian girl, it clicked. She arrived that day, struggling with English, asking for directions with her baby bump looking like she was due any minute. It seemed pretty urgent, so I personally walked her to the exit and hailed her a cab to the hospital!"

Ludwik's sharp gaze suddenly tightened, "Which hospital did you send her to?"

Premature delivery? He knew it; his child in Florence's womb was in danger!

The cleaner pointed towards the third exit, "The cab I called for her was headed to Toruscare Hospital."

"Thank you."

Worried sick about the life and death of his child, Ludwik didn't bother to scrutinize the cleaner further. Any clue was worth following up on to avoid any mishaps.

He turned to his assistant, "I need to leave for a few hours. Head to Toruscare Hospital. You stay here and wait for the surveillance results from our special aide. Call me immediately if anything comes up!" He was covering all bases.

Ludwik strode out of the lobby, hailing a taxi, "To Toruscare Hospital, please."

The driver, an older man wearing a baseball cap covering his face, gave Ludwik a curious look before nodding and driving off.

Ludwik, his legs crossed, was lost in thought, staring out the window, his jaw clenched tight, lighting up a cigarette to calm his nerves.

Having been in Eurovoria for just a handful of days, he was already missing Whitney and worried sick about his twin boys under Bryce's watchful eye.

He hoped Parker and Ashton were keeping them safe.

All he wanted was to find Florence at Toruscare Hospital, take his child back, and put an end to this ordeal.

As he finished his cigarette, Ludwik's eyes half-closed. Exhaustion was catching up with him after days without proper sleep...

When he next opened his eyes, the taxi was still on the move, nowhere near Toruscare Hospital.

Peering out, Ludwik realized they weren't even in the city anymore but on a typical suburban road of Germinia.

His gaze darkened, turning to the driver, he demanded in fluent German, "Where is Toruscare Hospital?"

The driver twitched, not turning around, replying in German, "Almost there."

Ludwik's eyes narrowed, "You're not from Germinia, are you?" The accent was off, and he was a polyglot; it was easy for him to tell.

The tension in the driver's shoulders gave him away.

Ludwik, now alert, watched the man's back, his mind racing. He had fallen into a trap due to his urgency.

And now, in unfamiliar territory, the realization hit him hard.

This was Bryce's doing, stretching his reach too far in his machinations.

Staying calm, Ludwik waited for the right moment. As the car approached a fork in the road, he commanded, "Stop the car!"

Instead, the driver sped up, aiming straight for a forest across the street.

Ludwik sprang into action, wrestling the steering wheel from the driver.

In the ensuing struggle, the driver, laughing menacingly, pulled a gun, pointing it right at Ludwik's face-

The car swerved wildly as Ludwik fought off the driver, finally managing to steer the vehicle off the road, down a steep embankment into the forest below. "You're insane; we'll both die!" the driver screamed, not used to Ludwik's fierce resolve and strength.

In the midst of the chaos, Ludwik managed to snatch the gun, and as the car tumbled down, he leaped out, shooting the driver in the process.

The car crashed with a loud bang, the echo reverberating through the forest.

Ludwik, caught by the car window, was dragged down several meters. When he finally came to a halt, gasping for air, he realized he was covered in blood. Wiping his forehead, the strong scent of blood was unmistakable.

His right arm was definitely broken.

"Darn it." The man cursed under his breath, tossing aside the gun in his left hand as he tried to stand.

But his body was too heavy, too injured to even get up.

The sun was setting fast, and he had come alone, without any backup, making it impossible to return anytime soon.

Bryce had people waiting for him at the airport, all to delay his search for Florence and possibly to end his life in a foreign land?

Wishful thinking.

But damn it, Florence surely wasn't at Toruscare Hospital anymore.

Ludwik leaned against a tree branch, grimacing as he slowly got to his feet, walking a few meters before he found his phone. Just as he was about to dial his secretary, a series of incoming call tones rang out.

He answered immediately, "Assistant, what's the word on the airport surveillance?"

"Your secretary told me you went to Toruscare Hospital. But Mr. Lippert, the surveillance showed Florence didn't take a cab. She got into a car that came to pick her up, heading not towards Toruscare Hospital but towards the northern part of Germinia. She's up north!"