Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 303

Danny probably went to visit his grandma; he's always been fond of his mother.

Chuckling to himself, the man passed by Elaine's bedroom without stopping and headed straight for the study. Through the crack in the door, Elaine caught a glimpse of his indifferent profile, her eyes darkening with emotion.

"Alright, enough. I'm fine now. You all can leave," Elaine snapped at the doctors and nurses. Once everyone else had left, Lyra helped her up. "Miss, don't be so upset. Just play nice with the little brat for a few days. Mr. Lippert's anger will subside eventually. Then, pick a cozy evening to make your move and seal the deal! Once you've been intimate, he'll naturally be more protective of you."

Elaine gave Lyra a look, her expression softening slightly. Forget waiting; she wanted to drug him tonight! But the timing wasn't right; they were at odds. The pair went downstairs, Elaine's face clouded with anger. "Where's that little bastard?" Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a small backpack. She grabbed it, knowing well that a kindergartener's backpack is always empty; kids that age don't have homework. Pressing a spot on the bag, she recoiled in disgust.

Elaine unzipped the bag and pulled out an item. Her gaze fell on a familiar bottle of asthma medication, her eyes narrowing sharply! This medicine again? It had disappeared for two days, and now it was back! She remembered clearly questioning Danny; the kid denied needing such medication. So, who really needs to use this medicine?

Elaine's thoughts grew heavy as she narrowed her eyes in recollection, thinking about the vastly different behaviors of Danny these past few days. She had wondered if the child was sick, perhaps with a personality disorder? But then, thinking back to today, Danny had gotten into a fight with five other kids at kindergarten. He wasn't hurt, but he made the others bleed from their noses. Danny, frail and often ill, how could he have the strength for that? Even his taekwondo instructor said he was too weak, advising nurture over time. If it was the same child, even with a split personality, the physical capability wouldn't vary this much! Unless someone else was taking his place?

A tightness clutched at Elaine's heart, a chill of suspicion creeping up her spine. Her gaze rapidly changing, she immediately called out to Lyra, "Quick, go replace Danny for me. I need to take a closer look at his face!" Before Lyra could move, she hesitated, wary of disturbing Ludwik upstairs. Besides, she couldn't fathom the possibility of there being another child who looked exactly like Danny. If there was, that child was supposed to be dead, buried in the cemetery by Ludwik! What was this mystery?

Elaine grabbed Lyra again, placing the asthma medicine back in the backpack with a dark, ominous look. "I'll replace him myself. Leave the medicine and don't mention it to Mr. Lippert."

"Elaine, Fleur said the young master went towards the backyard."

To see his deceased grandmother? Elaine immediately headed towards the guesthouse, convinced of the oddity surrounding this 'Danny'. She had been outwitted by a child repeatedly, and it was high time to investigate!

In the guesthouse, within a room on the first floor, Sammy walked in with new medication, replaceing Taryn feeding their comatose grandmother nutritional fluids through a feeding tube.

"Little master, you have some time for us?" Taryn turned around with a bright smile. Pretending, Sammy returned a cold smile. While Taryn was distracted, he remotely closed all the windows.

After Taryn finished feeding and began to tidy up, Sammy whispered, "Taryn, didn't you say grandma's medication had run out?"

"Shh..." Taryn quickly checked their surroundings, stepping out to call upwards, "Turn off the surveillance for a moment; I need to change the old lady's clothes." Once the bodyguard turned off the cameras, Taryn closed the door, pulling Sammy aside with a serious tone. "We need to be careful. You mentioned the medicine was finished, but I can make more. It's Miss Valentine... she said we'd switch to a new medication in three years."

"Here, I've brought some!" Sammy produced a small bag of about thirty pills. Unsure about the dosage since he had stolen them from his mom without asking, he figured the potency should suffice. "Taryn, give one to grandma daily, let's start with a month. I'll bring more over time, quietly. Hopefully, she'll wake up one day, giving us a huge surprise."

Taryn, shocked, stared at the medication. After a moment, he skeptetically said, "Little master! Where did you get this? I can't give unknown medication to the old lady!"

Sammy smiled knowingly, coughing softly and gripping Taryn's hand. "Naturally, I took it from my mommy."

"Miss Valentine?" Taryn, astounded, pulled the youngster closer, excitedly asking, "You've seen your biological mother?"

"Yep, Taryn, I found mommy secretly. So, don't doubt the medication's origin. It's mommy's wish to feed it to grandma."

"Where is Miss Valentine now? She's finally back?"

Just then, light flashed outside the guesthouse. Sammy, alert, hushed Taryn, who immediately looked out the closed windows. Someone was coming!

"Hide the medication!" Sammy instructed. Taryn tucked it into his inner jacket pocket, and they quickly separated.

"Danny?" The door burst open, Elaine's searching gaze sweeping in. Sammy sat stoically on the couch, while the old lady's upper clothing was removed, and Taryn busied himself. "You came to see your grandma, huh? Time to go; mommy will give you a bath," Elaine said. Her sharp eyes scanned every corner of the room. Just then, a foul smell wafted through. "Oh, the old lady needs a change!" Taryn exclaimed, then apologetically looked at Elaine, "Elaine, sorry for the mess. I was about to offer you a seat, but I need to change her now."

"No need to sit, I'll visit my godmother another time." Elaine, disguising her disgust with a smile, glanced at the bedridden Natalie, surrounded by the stale smell of medicine. She considered Natalie practically a living corpse, given the monthly reports from her doctor, showing no signs of improvement. She disdainfully took Sammy away.

Outside, the backyard lights cast a dim glow, intensifying the sharp and sinister look in Elaine's eyes. Elaine suddenly stopped Sammy, grabbing his wrist and feeling for his pulse. From a young age, Sammy had been treated by his mom for any ailment, so the moment Elaine reached for him, he cleverly guessed what she was up to. She knew how to check a pulse too?

Sammy, ever so sharp, quickly slowed his breathing and suppressed his pulse, as well as his vitality. Elaine, with her mediocre medical skills, felt his pulse for a while but couldn't replace anything extraordinary. Sammy's pulse wasn't much stronger than Danny's, who was usually frail. She scrutinized him closely.

Sammy squinted and tilted his head lazily, "What are you staring at? Is there something on my face, Mom?"

"Daniel, how did you manage to beat up five kids today without getting hurt? You've never had that kind of stamina before."

"Maybe I just snapped after being bullied too much."

Elaine didn't buy it. She leaned in close to his face, a sinister smile breaking out as she suddenly said, "You know, Daniel never calls me 'Mom.' He's as stubborn as a mule!"

Sammy was momentarily taken aback, but he didn't panic. He knew there were differences between him and Danny that couldn't be perfectly masked. But their faces were identical, and as long as he was alone, no one could tell them apart.

He glared at Elaine, pretending to be distressed, "If I don't call you 'Mom,' you complain to Dad that I'm not behaving! And when I do, you suspect I have ulterior motives. You're really hard to please as a mom. Maybe you should just quit?"

His light, mocking laughter followed him as Elaine watched the boy walk away, her gaze darkening with fury. She was livid, almost to the point of sickness, her eyes sharpening. She had been outwitted by this kid time and again, and it wasn't by chance.

Elaine stood up, her mind racing with thoughts. She quickly changed her expression and dialed Lyra, "Jaxon's gone. Can you ask Mom to send someone I can trust to check something for me? See if there's a kid who looks like Danny hanging around Whitney!" If there was only one 'Danny,' then nothing was amiss. But if there were two... Elaine clenched her phone tightly, her anxiety growing. Ever since Whitney returned, it felt like everything was slipping out of her control...!