Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 255

Elaine stood her ground, waiting for the woman to give way. In Banyan City, she was

pampered, a socialite whose path was never obstructed, a queen in her own right.

Yet the woman before her didn’t budge, almost as if she was intentionally blocking Elaine’s

way.

Impatient, Elaine nodded subtly to her side.

The female bodyguard, imposing and fierce, stepped forward. “Can’t you see Mrs. Lippert

is here? Scram!”

Whitney crossed her arms, a grin spreading across her face. “Well, if it isn’t Mrs. Lippert!”

That voice, slightly hoarse…

Elaine, stunned for a moment, felt a sense of familiarity. She sharply lifted her head.

When she saw the haunting visage behind the veil, Elaine’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Whitney?” she exclaimed, staring at Whitney as her phone clattered to the floor. She

stumbled backward, screaming, “Ghost! A ghost!”

“Elaine?” The bodyguard rushed to support her.

“How are you here? You’re supposed to be dead!” Elaine, gripping with fear and almost

wetting herself, stared at Whitney.

When she finally saw Whitney’s shadow, Elaine’s face turned ashen, and she murmured

with a mix of calm and trepidation, “You… You didn’t die?”

Impossible. Elaine had watched the destruction of a woman’s body that the rescue team

had retrieved years ago!

Whitney stepped closer, her cold laugh making her pale face even more chilling.

“Disappointed I’m not dead? You seem awfully sure. It’s as if you were there that night,

forcing me, a pregnant woman, to the brink, watching me plunge into the ocean depths!”

Elaine quickly regained her composure, her gaze turning sinister.

The bodyguard immediately blocked the two socialites trying to enter and closed the

restroom

door.

Elaine sized up Whitney, completely unharmed and now even more radiant than before,

her jealousy evident.

She smirked coldly. “So you survived the ocean? They say the wicked live long. Have you

been hiding these past three years, hoping to scare me today?

Whitney, wake up. Three years ago, I completely obliterated you. What makes you think

you can make a comeback?”

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“Bodyguard, dunk her in the toilet. If she drowns, just toss her out.”

Elaine watched disinterestedly as two bodyguards advanced toward Whitney.

In the dim light, something suddenly flashed, and the two female bodyguards instantly hit

the floor.

Elaine was appalled. She had no idea what had just happened.

The next moment, Whitney grabbed Elaine by the throat.

Elaine gasped, her nails trying to scratch Whitney’s face, her foot kicking fiercely.

“Ah!” Her scream was abrupt. As a distinguished socialite, she severely lacked physical

strength.

Whitney kicked Elaine to the ground, dragged her by the hair like a dead dog, and

slammed her head against the door three times before dragging her to the toilet.

“My nose! What are you doing, Whitney… When did you learn to fight?”

Blood spurted from her broken nose as Elaine stared in shock at the bloodstains on the

door,

trembling uncontrollably, not daring to underestimate Whitney anymore.

Then, Whitney shoved her head into the toilet and turned on the faucet. Elaine struggled

fiercely.

Whitney stepped on her delicate wrist and leaned down with a sinister smile. “I picked up

a few tricks. You mocked me for being helpless and pregnant three years ago, remember?

Now I’m light as a feather, and I can strike back at a wretch like you whenever I please.

How does it feel? You like it?”

“Let me go! Ludwik… Ludwik will make you pay for this!”

Elaine was on the verge of tears, the filthy water choking her as she screamed in panic.

“I don’t know how Ludwik ‘will make me pay‘, but right now, I certainly am going to make

you pay,” Whitney said with a soft laugh.

With a hard gaze filled with hatred, Whitney remembered the desperation of that night

three years ago as she fled towards the end of her life with her child, the agony of giving

birth alone,

and the humiliation Tiana suffered.

Whitney cackled as she repeatedly dunked Elaine’s head into the water, soaking her hair

through. She pulled Elaine up and, with a swish of her wet gown, tapped the droplets off

her hands.

Whitney reveled in Elaine’s disheveled appearance, her face twisted with a desire to tear

Whitney apart. “This is just the beginning. We have a long way to go, Elaine. You’ll pay for

everything you’ve done to us.”

Then, she walked out, leaving Elaine behind.

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Elaine clenched her fists in rage, her face smeared with grime. She ground her teeth in a

fury, her voice seeping through the door crack. “Whitney… Why won’t you die? You

couldn’t beat me three years ago. What makes you think you can now?”

Whitney’s lips curved in a cool smile as she rejoined Orion in the shadows.

Orion felt a chill and shivered, looking over. “Where have you been?”

Whitney ripped off the wet hem of her dress and asked, “What’s the bid at?”

“Uh… that son of a gun Ludwik bid 20 billion. I’m tapped out.”

Without wasting a word, Whitney stepped on Orion’s polished shoe.

“Ouch,” Orion yelped. “Whitney, don’t push it.”

“The value I’ll create for Imperial Gem Corporation is worth far more than 20 billion. Keep

going,” Whitney demanded.

Orion winced but raised his bidding paddle.

At the same time, Whitney’s phone buzzed with a message from Bryce on Facebook.

[Don’t worry, Whitney. I’ll protect the assets your grandfather left you. Why don’t you

come sit by me?]

Whitney looked up to find Bryce’s gaze warm and inviting from across the room.

She felt a surge of warmth and pocketed her phone.

Ludwik adjusted his tie, irritation bubbling as Bryce and Orion’s provocations stirred his

anger.

As he raised his bid to 20.2 billion, Elaine returned.

Her hair was slightly damp, and her makeup was carefully retouched, though the swelling

on her face was still evident.

Ludwik, who usually paid no mind to her appearance, paused at the sight of her injuries.

“Elaine, what happened?”

With a mix of fear and vulnerability, Elaine pursed her lips and soon began to weep softly.

“Ludwik…”

She looked up at him with a wistful gaze. “Did you know Whitney’s back?”

Three years ago, she had mistaken another woman’s body for Whitney’s but kept it from

Ludwik, simply telling him that Whitney had run off. It was logical for her to ask.

Her eyes were fixed on the man’s face, searching for a reaction.

Ludwik’s expression tensed for a split second, a telltale sign that Elaine caught, confirming

he might have known beforehand.

Her fingers clenched in silent fury, the alarms in her head ringing loud and clear! She

burst into

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tears. “I was just in the restroom when I bumped into her. I was surprised and happy to

see her, but she’s changed a lot. She attacked me without warning…”

At that moment, Ludwik was holding up his smartphone to the light, illuminating Elaine’s

face, which was swollen to the point of being unrecognizable.

Ludwik’s brow furrowed, and he spoke with simmering anger, “She dared to hit you? That

madwoman is out of control!”

Elaine looked up at him.

The female bodyguard eagerly added fuel to the fire, “She didn’t just hit Ms. Bartels. She

dunked her head in the toilet multiple times. Ms. Bartels nearly drowned! And the water in

there–disgusting. Mr. Lippert, you have to stand up for Elaine! She’s too kind, didn’t even

fight

back…”

In truth, Elaine had not had the chance to fight back. Her lips curled in a silent snarl.

But her eyes appealed to Ludwik with feigned helplessness. “Maybe Ms. Valentine

misunderstood our dealings with Skye Gem Ltd. She’s here to take the company back

tonight. She’s become so frightening, her methods too. Ludwik, I don’t want to put you in

a difficult position. Let’s just give Skye Gem Ltd. to her. As long as you’re with me, that’s

all I care about. I won’t feel aggrieved.”

Despite claiming she was not feeling aggrieved, she wept even harder.

To Ludwik, she was practically his fiancée, and Whitney’s assaulting her was akin to a slap

in his face.

That malicious woman–Skye Gem Ltd. faced auction because she had disappeared three

years ago, and now Elaine wanted the company. What was so wrong about that?

His anger flared, teeth clenched, a cold smile on his lips. “Why should I give it to her?

The company will be my gift to you, and she must apologize to you!”

Elaine’s crying ceased, and a sly smile spread inside her.

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