Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 321

Elaine leapt into his arms, her voice weak, "My family won't get their hands dirty for me, and neither can I. You're the only man I can turn to now, West."

"Of course, you're my woman. It's your own fault for throwing yourself at Ludwik. I care for you, so I'll have to help," Jarvis sighed, resigned.

A sly smile crossed Elaine's face as she whispered into Jarvis's ear, "So you'll do it... you understand?"

He looked at her meaningfully, "You're ruthless and smart. Fine, I'll make sure this doesn't come back to you. Seeing Ludwik taken down a peg would make my day!" His laugh was sinister and cold.

Elaine felt a shiver down her spine. Jarvis was Jason's adopted son, and Ludwik was Jason's biological son. Despite the tangled web of their powerful family, Jarvis had clearly set his sights on Ludwik, knowing full well the influence Jason wielded and that he had no other sons.

But she had to use whatever means necessary to get what she wanted.

-

By dawn, Elaine returned to the Everwood Villa Estate.

Ludwik, always busy with work, was out after his routine 5 AM workout and an early start at the office.

Elaine didn't run into him and heaved a sigh of relief.

After freshening up, she tasked Lyra with keeping an eye on the children's room.

That morning, Daniel kept to himself, visiting the guest house as per Sammy's request to check on Grandma Natalie's health.

After chatting with Taryn, he returned to the main house.

Elaine, sitting at the dining table, cheerfully called him to eat.

The meal was unavoidable. Ignoring Elaine, Daniel climbed onto his chair.

Suddenly, Elaine's soup spilled over Danny's hand-

"Ah, sorry, Danny, did that burn you?" Elaine rushed over, pretending to care as she wiped his hand with a napkin.

Daniel, having a cleanliness obsession even stronger than his father's, detested Elaine's theatrics.

"Don't touch me, you're filthy!"

Though unintended, Elaine's lips twisted in anger, yet she managed to keep her composure, eyeing the smartwatch on Danny's wrist.

After a furious push from Danny, he ran towards the bathroom.

Elaine didn't follow, instead signaling Lyra with her eyes after noticing the smartwatch fall to the floor.

Lyra immediately went to corner the young master in the washroom.

Elaine picked up the smartwatch, browsed through it, and quickly typed a message to a saved number before placing the watch back where it fell and heading upstairs.

After washing his hands, Danny realized his smartwatch was missing. He found it under the table, checked it for any damage, and put it back on.

He finished his meal, and then Elaine, now dressed elegantly, announced from the top of the stairs, "Danny, next month your dad and I are getting married. I'm going to look at wedding dresses today, and your dad suggested you come along to get fitted for a new suit." "I'm not interested. Whether your wedding happens or not is still up in the air," Daniel retorted sharply.

Elaine, inwardly fuming at his jinx, suspected Whitney had put him up to this.

Two little troublemakers, probably plotting to ruin her wedding.

Hiding her chill, Elaine approached him with a smile, "I know you don't like shopping with mommy, but once we're there, you're free to do as you like. Just make it easy for me with your dad, okay?"

Freedom? That meant he could sneak off to talk to Sammy. At home, he was always worried about being caught.

After some consideration, Daniel coldly got into the car.

They stopped at a secluded bridal shop, not the bustling city center one Daniel expected.

"Danny, I'll have a bodyguard follow you. Don't wander off too far, mommy needs to talk to the designer for a while."

Leaving a bodyguard to watch him, Elaine entered the shop.

Outside, the plaza and its complicated glass structures offered plenty of hiding spots.

Daniel easily ditched the bodyguard and sat in a hidden corner, lifting his wrist with a smirk, "Calling Sammy!"

"Calling Danny!"

As Danny prepared to check if Sammy's mom was home, he was startled by a tap on his shoulder.

Turning around, he was shocked to see Sammy so close. Quickly standing up, he asked, "How are you here, Sammy? Where's your mom?"

"Didn't you text me to meet here? You said it was important. Mom's busy, so I snuck out."

What?

Confused, Danny immediately denied sending any message.

"But your message said... isn't this our secret code?"

Both boys realized something was off.

Quickly showing the text, they pieced together the morning's events and suspected Elaine's involvement. Suspecting a trap, they decided to leave immediately but were confronted by several menacing figures. Sammy, protective of Danny, tried to fend them off with firecrackers, but to no avail.

As they were on the second-floor bridge, enclosed by dark glass, their plight was invisible from the outside. "Help, someone help us-"

The shrieks of a child were swiftly muffled by the kidnapper's hand before they both vanished into a black van.

Two minutes later, Elaine burst out of the house in a panic, chasing after the speeding black van, pounding and screaming.

The van halted briefly, and then, a kidnapper wearing a dark hood jumped out, dragging Elaine inside as well.

-

Skyfaith Group, Presidential Office.

Ludwik had been in meetings until the evening and only then did he check his phone.

Intending to review a document, a Facebook message popped up instead. It was from Elaine, and with his slender fingers, he casually tapped to open it. It was a voice message from Elaine. "Ludwik, save me and Danny... Ah!"

The woman's scream and the sound of a phone crashing to the ground echoed and then silence.

Ludwik's expression froze, and he scrolled up to the previous message where Elaine mentioned going to look at wedding dresses and getting Danny fitted for a little tuxedo.

He had been in a morning meeting at the time and had replied with a simple "Hmm."

"Danny..."

His brow furrowed, and with his arms bracing against the desk, he quickly called the villa, only to replace out that both Elaine and the young master hadn't returned.

He then tried calling Elaine's phone, which went unanswered.

"Felix!" Ludwik's voice turned icy.

Felix rushed in, as Ludwik grabbed his coat and strode out, "Get me the address of the bridal shop Elaine went to, they might be in danger!" "What?"

-

Skye Gem Ltd. Headquarters.

Whitney was in a meeting with department managers when her phone rang. It was Bryce, "Whitney, I've got bad news."

Whitney paused, her pen stopping mid-air, "What's the bad news?"