Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 234

Elaine could not allow Whitney to turn the tables. She had to keep her secrets from being unearthed–

secrets that could crumble her house of cards. Secrets like the truth about Natalie’s accident or the fact

that she had never actually donated a kidney.

Jaxon, however, had been scouring the city for the elusive girl since dawn, but as dusk approached,

there was still no sign of her. Tiana had hidden her too well.

Frustrated, Elaine decided to take matters into her own hands. She changed into something less

conspicuous and headed to the Skyfaith Electronic Tech building.

Ludwik was working late in his office. Elaine peered inside, her breath catching in her throat, then

turned away and casually asked the secretary, “Has anyone come to see the CEO this afternoon?”

“Just a manager from a partner company. Mr. Lippert hasn’t met anyone else,” replied the secretary

earnestly.

Tiana had not brought the girl directly to Ludwik to expose everything? Did that mean Tiana thought

Ludwik would not believe her? Or were they still lacking proof?

Elaine’s thoughts darkened as she twisted her fingernails anxiously. She had to find a way to get

Ludwik out of Banyan City before Tiana seized her chance.

Taking advantage of the dinner hour, when the secretarial office emptied, Elaine fiddled with the

schedule.

She then slipped out to a secluded terrace and made several phone calls, orchestrating a crisis at the

manufacturing plant.

When Felix received a call from the chip manufacturer, he stepped into the CEO’s office. “Mr. Lippert,

there’s been a glitch in the production line, and their top engineer can’t fix it. They suggest you, as a

co–developer of the Auric Chip, go down there tonight?”

Ludwik’s brow furrowed. “How did such a major issue arise so suddenly? Wasn’t there any quality

control?”

“I’ve got people looking into it, but the volume of chip orders is so high that even an hour’s delay could

cost us fifty million,” Felix explained, concerned.

“If you could reset the program, we could be back on track quickly.”

Ludwik glanced out at the darkening evening sky, his expression pensive. He thought about the woman

in the sanatorium who was stubbornly refusing treatment, heavily pregnant, and due any moment. He

was angry and had decided not to visit her for a while, but he did not want to be too far from her either.

If he went to the southern factory, he’d be away for three or four days, and he was worried about her

safety.

“Let’s deal with it tomorrow,” he said finally.

16.33

Elaine was desperate when she heard this. She immediately contacted her father, Zane to sabotage a

few chip–seeking companies.

Within the hour, the secretarial office was bombarded with calls. “I heard Auric Chip’s manufacturer is

having problems. Will Mr. Lippert personally handle it? Can we expect our chips on time? My

autonomous car launch can’t be delayed!”

Felix understood Mr. Lippert’s reluctance to leave Banyan City.

“Mr. Lippert, Skyfaith Electronic Tech needs these big orders to hold its ground. You’ve already shrunk

Imperial Gem Corporation’s market value by billions and stopped Orion’s vehicle project from being

launched. We can’t afford any mishaps now.”

The issue was not critical, but every step Skyfaith took had to be surefooted.

“Mr. Lippert, I heard there’s a problem with the manufacturer. Maybe you should go?” Elaine walked in,

feigning concern. “If you’re worried about Ms. Valentine’s child, I’ll keep an eye on the sanatorium for

you. Besides, you can monitor her room from the road.”

Ludwik stood up. “Elaine, come with me; we can solve the problem faster together.”

Elaine’s face fell at the suggestion, and she suddenly clutched her stomach, feigning frailty. “I’d like to,

but I ate something bad today; it might have taxed my kidneys. I wouldn’t want to cause a delay in

flight.”

Ludwik did not think twice, just eager to return sooner. Seeing her like this, he did not press and patted

her shoulder. “Have the villa’s doctor take a good look at you.”

“Mr. Lippert, another partner’s on the line about the chip issue!” the secretary interrupted.

Ludwik massaged his temple, realizing the urgency of the situation. Grabbing his coat, he instructed

Felix to ready his private jet and could not help but worry about his unborn children and their mother,

who was in ill health. “Felix, link my computer to the sanatorium’s surveillance!”

He could keep an eye on her; everything should be fine. Yet, for some reason, his mind just was not at

ease tonight.

…

Having finally gotten Ludwik on the plane, Elaine turned in the darkness and headed back to her

car.

She dialed Jaxon, but still no word on the girl!

Frustration seethed within her. “Can’t you find Tiana either? A bunch of incompetents!”

She paused, a sudden idea flashing across her mind. Whitney was the mastermind behind the scenes.

Tiana had found the girl but was keeping her hidden. What would be her next move?

Elaine’s eyes glinted with a cold light as she abruptly ended the call and ordered her driver, “To the

sanatorium in the mountains!”

Before she even reached the sanatorium, the bribed director called. “Elaine, Mr. Lippert’s office is

demanding Whitney’s room surveillance feed immediately. Should I send it or not?”

She glanced at the time. Ludwik would be on the plane without internet access.

“Delay it. Later, edit out anything inconvenient. What’s Whitney doing now?”

“She’s been in the bathroom for quite a while,” reported the director, but he was suddenly interrupted

by commotion on the line.

Panicked, the head nurse exclaimed, “Director, someone’s opened Whitney’s room! Several nurses are

knocked out cold, and Whitney is gone!”

Elaine heard it all on the other end of the line, her face turning ashen. “It must be Tiana’s doing. Find

them quickly!”

She was right on the money. Damn it, how had they managed to communicate?

Whitney had been biding her time in the bathroom, keeping in touch with Tiana.

Tiana had narrowed down the search by morning, and now, with a precise location, she had infiltrated

the sanatorium disguised as a nurse. There was not much time. Whitney instructed her to gather

several medications and then follow the nurses on their rounds to her room.

In the dead of night, Tiana slipped a concoction into the water, and while the nurses were oblivious, she

dabbed it under their nostrils.

One by one, dozens of nurses collapsed.

With no time to waste, Tiana threw a loose–fitting white lab coat over Whitney’s shoulders, and they

made their way to the stairwell, fleeing into the night.

Elaine hurried to the sanatorium, her heart pounding with urgency.

Surveying the nurses sprawled out in a deep slumber, she clenched her teeth in fury, Whitney, that

wretched woman, had some tricks up her sleeve even in her final moments!

“Which way did they go? How long ago?”

“Over half an hour now. Seven o’clock is the nurses‘ shift change; there were bound to be gaps in the

hallways and offices!”

The director wiped his brow in panic. “If she’s gone, how on earth are we going to explain this to Mr.

Lippert?”

“What are you looking at me for? Get moving! How far can a clumsy pregnant woman get?”

Although Elaine barked orders, her mind was racing with calculations. A sly grin flickered across her

lips. Tiana had broken her out, a crisis indeed, but it could lead her to the root of the issue. It was not

all bad.

3/4

16:33

Their next move would likely be to find that girl.

Did they hold all the evidence?

It seemed tonight’s events called for a new strategy- to pull the rug from under them and catch them all

in one fell swoop.

A pregnant woman and Tiana, alone and outmatched, they would not get far.

A sinister gleam crossed Elaine’s eyes, and she stepped away to make a call. “Mom, I managed to

send Ludwik off. Now that Whitney has escaped, I intend to make the most of this situation. Success or

failure hinges on tonight. Send more people immediately!”

“They secured evidence on that kidney donation matter. Only the dead can keep secrets. That little

bitch Whitney must die!” Delphine responded coolly.