Love beyond the mask (Whitney)

 novelbin

Whitney abruptly ended the call, leaning heavily against the table, her breath coming in short, labored gasps as a layer of cold sweat formed on her forehead. Tiana's suggestion had failed. They could neither be strangers nor friends; peaceful coexistence was out of the question. So, they would be enemies. Whitney was no longer afraid of him.

"Mr. Lippert..."

Felix stood beside the man, who seemed to have turned into a statue of ice, clearly distraught. Mr. Lippert was in pain, and Felix could feel it. Gently shaking, Felix reminded him, "Ms. Valentine has hung up quite a while ago."

Ludwik, standing tall and unyielding, his heart had already fallen to pieces. His eyes drooped slightly, a flash of moisture quickly turning to a red blaze, as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. His gaze then shifted back to Sammy.

"Sammy's current state is uncooperative with the treatment; he only trusts the people from Florence's side. Under these circumstances, you can't get close to him," Felix said.

The man's brows furrowed deeply, his heart heavy with repression. He had wanted to tell Whitney that everything was about to get better, that he had found Sammy for her. But the boy was proving difficult, and she would likely be heartbroken and disappointed. Yet, she wouldn't even give him a chance to speak. All she wanted was to marry another, to escape her past and start anew!

Whitney.

Ludwik crushed the can in his hand, his mood utterly shattered, "Get Ryan to find a way to make Sammy talk, to recognize me, to remember me!" With that, Ludwik turned and left.

Sammy's gaze slowly shifted, his mother was going to marry Bryce. He had seen it in the news. His worthless father must be panicking, and rightly so, after all, he had gotten Florence pregnant. It wasn't that Sammy didn't want to deal with him... But now, he needed to gain Florence's trust, to find out what Florence and Ryan had really done to his mother. Sammy couldn't afford to mess up; he had to keep his distance from Ludwik. If his mom was truly going to marry Bryce, Sammy thought, perhaps it was time to secretly contact Danny, to find out his mother's true intentions?

---

The next day.

Whitney, carrying a bag of hair samples, made a deliberate appearance at Hudson Hospital. Under the watchful eyes of the public, she handed over the hair samples to the forensic department next door, requesting judicial preservation. The news spread like wildfire. Almost simultaneously, it reached Hugh's ears.

He sat in the chairman's seat of the Sheldon Group—a position that once belonged to Hudson. Hugh gazed greedily around the office, slamming his fist onto the desk, "Just as I thought, Ludwik gave the hair to Whitney!"

Holly, fuming with rage, squinted, “That woman, deliberately sending the hair to the hospital's forensic department, is just blatantly telling you not to lay a finger on Hudson, right?"

She suggested, "If she's applied for judicial preservation, it means she only has your hair, which isn't enough for a paternity test. Why don't we bribe the hospital, steal the hair back?"

Hugh shook his head, "Do you think the hair she brought is really mine? Whitney isn't that stupid. Even if it was my hair, she surely kept another sample. Stealing it back would be pointless."

"So we just sit back and watch Dr. Ivan perform surgery on Hudson, helping him wake up?" Holly clenched her fists, her nerves on edge. It had taken her and Hugh a great effort to get their hands on the Sheldon Group, and the company's wealth wasn't fully theirs yet!

Hugh's gaze cooled, "Patience. Big brother isn't going to be saved with just one surgery! Before Whitney gets Florence's hair, she'll be married. At the wedding, Ludwik might just ruin her. Maybe she won't even get the chance to do the paternity test."

Holly's anxiety eased slightly, "Hugh, you're right. Hudson won't wake up from just one surgery. Whitney doesn't have much time left. As soon as she's married, that will be her funeral!"

They both eagerly awaited the situation to develop in that direction.

At the hospital, in the ward.

Cody watched as Whitney carefully massaged the chairman's hands and feet, reporting in a low voice, "Hugh and Florence's hair samples are already at the forensic institution you arranged for paternity testing. The results should be out in about three days. Miss, do you plan to reveal these results immediately? If so, I'll prepare in advance, call the ousted elders and shareholders of the Sheldon Group, and drop hints at Jared's end as well."

Whitney shook her head, stopping him, "My aim is to ensure Dad gets through the first surgery safely. Exposing Hugh and Florence now would mean trying to take back the Sheldon Group from them. Rushing things could force them into a corner."

She had her priorities; the most important thing was to ensure Sammy's safe return. If Florence got desperate and refused to hand over Sammy, she'd be at a loss. One step at a time. Once Sammy was back, she would then help her dad take back the company and eliminate Hugh and Holly. “Let's wait. Let Hugh sit in the company's chair for now; after all, he won't have another chance later."

Deciding on her course of action, Whitney stood up to look for a nurse, “Is Dr. Ivan here yet?"

"Ms. Valentine, Dr. Ivan is currently in a meeting discussing the surgery plan. He'll be available to see you shortly."

Ten minutes later, Whitney met with Dr. Ivan.

"Mr. Sheldon has extensive contusions and nerve damage in his brain, which are the primary reasons for his comatose state. For the first surgery, I will stimulate and repair his nerves. If things go well, he might not need half a year, possibly just a month or two to wake up."

Dr. Ivan presented the surgery plan to Whitney. She understood it, though she couldn't perform the surgery herself. Her eyes sparkled with hope, "The nerve damage caused by the shooting is beyond the help of traditional medicine. Dr. Ivan, please, do your very best this time."

"When's the surgery scheduled?"

"As soon as Mr. Sheldon completes his battery of tests, ideally in two weeks."

Whitney felt that timeline worked for her. She was also worried that if they delayed, Hugh might hatch some new scheme against them.

Leaving the hospital, she rushed to the office building rented by Skye Gem Ltd. Nyx was wrapping up a debrief on the mall kiosk event from a couple of days ago. For Skye Ltd., launching into the heart of Emperor City was a battle

eln

hard fought but successfully won. Whitney's personal scandal had caused a stir, but it was quickly overshadowed by the

announcement of her engagement to Bryce, even helping to boost sales of their Lover's Jewel collection.

Nyx handed her the microphone, and Whitney began discussing future strategic plans for the company. "Our new factory and office building on the outskirts of the city are under construction. It'll take about a year to complete. During this time, Skye Gem Ltd. will work on fully integrating into Emperor City's jewelry market. We can't compete on brand recognition alone; Emperor City's elite have their pick of luxury brands. Our angle will be quality and design. Beautiful, themed collections that appeal to the younger crowd. Nyx, start recruiting some lead designers to collaborate with me."

After the meeting, she walked out with her documents. Bryce was waiting in her office. He presented her with several high-end jewelry orders, smiling. "Whitney, good news. The lady who tried to embarrass you at the mall has become one of our biggest fans. She's rallied her social circle and drummed up a $10 million order for us—ten pieces of jewelry, but she insists you design them personally. Any issues with that?"