Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 323

Whitney stood there, her face a mask of frustration and worry, side by side with Ludwik, as they both waited for news from the chief. It felt like an eternity, but it was only ten minutes before the chief hurried out, his eyes darting towards Whitney before addressing Ludwik. "We believe the kidnappers might have ties to the auction house owned by Mr. Percy. One of the suspects used to work as a security guard for him. I need you both to think hard-have you had any recent run-ins with Mr. Percy or anyone connected to him?" The color drained from Ludwik's face as he turned to Whitney, his gaze sharp enough to cut through steel. "Did the police get it all wrong?" Whitney muttered under her breath, puzzled. She had indeed had a falling out with Mr. Percy, but...

"It's all your fault. Offending the wrong people, and now, our son is paying the price," Ludwik hissed, moving closer to Whitney, his eyes cold as ice.

"And you think you're any better? You threatened Mr. Percy for Elaine's sake. You don't love our son. You've never acted like a father should. And you dare blame me?"

"What did you just say?" Ludwik was livid, his voice rising with every word. He couldn't believe her audacity-after everything he'd done for Danny.

"Enough! Both of you, stop it!" Tiana jumped in, trying to defuse the tension. "Isn't replaceing the kids the most important thing right now?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, I want a city-wide search, now! Follow that van's trail and leave no stone unturned. I want those kidnappers found and brought to justice!" Ludwik's voice boomed through the station.

The chief immediately went to work, combing through surveillance footage. Whitney, feeling utterly powerless, glanced at her phone-it beeped twice. She saw a moving red dot on the screen, heading south from Banyan City. Within seconds, the dot vanished. "That must be Sammy trying to tell me where he is!" she realized, recalling the tracking device they'd joked about as being an 'infallible' link between them.

"I know where my son is!" Whitney exclaimed, but before she could elaborate, Ludwik was already barking orders, convinced the kidnappers had taken Elaine north.

"You're missing the point! Sammy's signal came from the south!" Whitney protested, but Ludwik, blinded by his own assumptions and the urgency to replace Elaine, didn't listen.

In a fit of rage, Whitney called him out, "You only care about Elaine! What about our son?"

Her cries were lost in the roar of the engines as the police cars sped away. Ludwik, torn between duty and a gnawing doubt instilled by Whitney's desperate plea, ordered his team to double their speed.

Left with no other choice, Whitney turned to the only person she thought could help-Bryce. With tears in her eyes, she pleaded for assistance. But Bryce, already on another trail at the city's edge, couldn't offer immediate help. His resources were stretched thin, and he had his own agenda.

Feeling defeated, Whitney realized the harsh truth-despite believing she'd grown stronger over the years, she was still vulnerable when it mattered most. Her network was insufficient, her resources too few.

Determined, she wiped away her tears, her mind racing. "The van was seen heading north, but Sammy's signal came from the south. Could this be a diversion?" she pondered aloud.

Tiana, following Whitney's line of thought, frowned. "You think Elaine has something to do with this?"

Clutching her fists, Whitney felt a surge of anger. It didn't matter that Ludwik wouldn't believe her; she knew she had to act fast. Time was running out for Sammy.

"Don't cry, we got this. We're going to rescue Sammy together. Let's focus and figure out where he might be," Tiana said, her voice steady and determined.

---

In the undeveloped, winding caves of Banyan City's Southern Suburb, the scene was straight out of a horror movie. The caves stretched deep and dark, dozens of meters into the earth, with stalactites and stalagmites creating an eerie, damp atmosphere. It was the kind of place you wouldn't be caught dead in - quite literally, for Sammy and Danny.

The two boys had been crudely lowered into the cave, their bodies bound and left in the middle of a shallow, filthy pool of water. The icy chill of the water seeped into their bones, making them shiver uncontrollably, defenseless against the cold. Danny, normally fiery and quick to anger, struggled futilely against his bonds.

Sammy, on the other hand, signaled to him to conserve his energy, a look of despair in his eyes. He realized the necklace with the tiny GPS tracker he'd tried to use to send a distress signal to his mom had been discovered by their captors and tossed out of the car window.

After a series of confusing turns, even if their mom had received the signal, replaceing their exact location would be near impossible.

Suddenly, a slap landed across Sammy's face, sending him tumbling into the water.

With his mouth sealed with duct tape, Danny's eyes widened in horror and anger as he stared at Elaine, who had just appeared like a ghost from the shadows. She looked every bit the villain from a child's nightmare.

"Well, well," Elaine sneered, loosening the rope around her wrist and stepping closer to the boys. "Let me guess, this one," she said, grabbing Sammy out of the water, "tried to be smart with me?" Her cruelty knew no bounds.

It was clear now - Elaine had faked her own kidnapping to ally with the kidnappers, aiming to harm Sammy and Danny.

"Sammy...," Danny's heart ached with worry and fear. Would their dad and mom realize they were missing and come to save them in time?