Love beyond the mask (Whitney)



"Sammy, where are you?!" Panic clawed its way up Whitney's face in an instant.

Just as she was about to dash out in search, the wardrobe door creaked embarrassingly open, revealing a defiant little head. "Mommy... I'm here."

Whitney stared at the double-tiered wardrobe, baffled as to how her child had managed to climb up there. Why on earth would he hide so high up due to fear?Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Her face darkened slightly as she grabbed a chair to stand on, lifting her son down. Her mouth twitched as she said, "Buddy, how did you get up there?"

Daniel glanced at the towering wardrobe, a flash of embarrassment crossing his little face. It was Ludwik's bellowing outside that had scared him. He'd only been reunited with his mom for a few hours and hadn't even had his fill of hugs. He didn't want to be dragged back!

But when his old man showed up and then left without even noticing his lost little treasure, he could only pout slightly and cling to Whitney's legs, resorting to a little white lie, "I got scared because you weren't in the room!"

Whitney paused, Sammy usually wasn't this timid. He was often the first to run to her side and protect her. Could it be he was still adjusting to being back home?

Sensing his mommy's questioning gaze, Danny straightened up and huffed, "Is that guy gone? Do you want me to handle him?"

Whitney was momentarily speechless - you were hiding way up there. She smiled and laid her son back on the bed, "I've already handled him. Let's get back to sleep."

"Who is he, anyway?" If daddy came to see mommy alone, that meant they weren't completely out of touch. Danny was curious.

"Just a garbage man," Whitney lied without a hint of courtesy.

At seven o'clock, Whitney was up early. She had arranged to meet with Bryce, the lawyer her uncle had hired.

"Kelvin, please come in," Whitney invited him into her home to discuss the case. "I've had a look at the case, and the judgment against my uncle was made too hastily; there are clearly many doubts."

"Ms. Valentine, you're right."

Kelvin opened the case files and began explaining, "Keegan has been in prison for three years. I've investigated, and he's always followed the rules, participated in rehabilitation programs, and got along well with others. A month ago, the victim, Lyle, was sentenced to five years and was placed in the same cell as your uncle. The crime took place in the prison shower room. Other inmates said there was serious friction between Keegan and Lyle. One night, they suddenly heard fighting and cries for help from the showers! When they ran over, they found Keegan holding a sharpened toothbrush, while Lyle's carotid artery was punctured, and he had bled out, dead on arrival. Subsequently, several witnesses testified, and your uncle was convicted of premeditated murder, changing his life sentence to a death sentence."

Whitney shook her head, dripping sarcasm, "A man who suddenly gets jailed and then 'killed' by my uncle? It doesn't add up."

"Lyle was fifty, fit, and healthy. As I understand, your uncle had an amputation and wasn't in good health, regularly visiting the prison hospital. If they fought, Keegan couldn't be the aggressor."

"That makes it even more suspicious. Three years ago, I told my uncle to serve his time positively, and I would get him out. It makes no sense for him to start trouble in prison."

Whitney frowned deeply, "A sharpened toothbrush? My uncle is a scholarly man; how would he craft such a weapon? And why was Lyle his cellmate all of a sudden?"

"The prison's explanation was that the original cellmate was in solitary confinement, and Lyle got transferred to Keegan's cell because there were no other rooms available."

Whitney scoffed. It seemed like someone was pulling strings behind the scenes. For three years, as her uncle served his sentence without any family on the outside, it would have been easy for Elaine to stage a setup from within the prison walls.

"Our immediate priority is to see Keegan. The prison is a force in this case; Keegan's testimony might be tampered with. We need to interview him personally to break through the details, which could be the turning point of the case," Kelvin urged.

Whitney furrowed her brow. Unfortunately, she couldn't see her uncle right now. The Bartels family had too much influence. If there was anyone who could stand up to the Bartels family, it was...

Whitney didn't want to think about that option. She clenched her fists, "I'll figure something out to see my uncle as soon as possible. For the case, I'll need you to delay things."

Kelvin nodded and left.

Whitney went to the kitchen and made two breakfasts: sunny-side-up eggs on toast. Turning around, she saw the little guy standing barefoot in the bedroom doorway, rubbing his eyes in confusion.

"You're up this early, kiddo?" Her son was notorious for sleeping in when abroad.

Caught off guard, Danny wondered if he'd given himself away. Under Ludwik's strict upbringing, Danny had rarely slept in past sunrise since he was three.

"You're barefoot! And you didn't think to put on clothes?" Whitney scooped him up and settled him on her knee with a sigh. Used to being pampered, Danny stretched out his arms, expecting to be dressed as his maids usually did.

Whitney blinked but quickly dressed him and pointed to the bathroom, "Brush your teeth, use the potty, and then we'll have breakfast."

What normally took three minutes stretched into ten today. The little one sat down for breakfast, eyeing the two plain servings of eggs on toast. Back in the mansion, he wouldn't even glance at such a breakfast. Yet here it was, surprisingly delicious!

Danny's little stomach, which rarely saw such action, was suddenly ravenous, and he finished not only his egg but also Whitney's.

"That good, huh?" Whitney smiled.

"Not bad," Danny said coolly with his cheeks full.

The woman blinked. Why did his tone sound just like a young heartbreaker's?

She headed for the bathroom and stopped dead in her tracks. There was toothpaste splattered everywhere, and the little stool by the toilet was askew. It was clear some effort had been made to 'tidy' up.

With a hand to her forehead, Whitney resigned herself to the fact that her son, in the throes of adjustment, was not only aloof but his self-care skills had degraded dramatically.

Dressed in her business suit, Whitney tried to negotiate with her son, "Mommy has to step out for a bit and I'll be back around noon. Can my Sammy stay home and be good for a few hours?"

Usually, when she had to go to the hospital and Yael was working, Sammy would stay put and mind his own business in their small house. Sometimes, he could manage on his own for a whole day.

Just as she was about to step out the door and slip into her sneakers, a pair of tiny hands clung tightly to her thighs.

Danny, the little clingy bugger, didn't have Sammy's understanding nature. He declared with all the assertiveness of a toddler, "No way, I'm sticking with you wherever you go!"

It took some doing to get to Mommy's side, and he wasn't about to miss his chance to snoop around her business.

"Uh..." Whitney's temples throbbed as she tried to reason with him, "Sweetie, it's not convenient for Mommy to take you along."

"Well, I miss you too much, what about that?" Danny fumbled with his words, clearly unaccustomed to using 'miss' in this context. He'd picked it up from the TV, never having thrown such sentimental words at that Ludwik dude.

Watching her little man's cheeks turn crimson as he struggled to get those words out, Whitney's heart melted like butter on a hot stove. Why was he being so uncharacteristically reserved? Usually, he was a chatterbox.

She sighed, defeated and unable to refuse him any longer, and scooped him up. "Alright, you can come, but we need to be very careful. We've got to stay hidden from some people, okay?"

Stay hidden from Daddy, huh. Danny got it. With a satisfied smirk, he snuggled closer to Mommy's neck.

The car swiftly pulled into the parking lot of Skye Gem Ltd. That's when Bryce's call came in out of the blue, "Whitney, the auction house returned the 50 million to Orion and me. They suddenly called off the auction for Skye Gem Ltd. Where are you?"

“Called off the auction?" Whitney let out a cold laugh, narrowing her eyes at the undeniably unsealed Skye Gem Ltd. building. “I'm right outside the company. The building is fully accessible today. I'm about to head up and see for myself what this 'temporary suspension' is all about."