Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 326

Danny's injuries were so severe that he couldn't afford to think about his son's words. Without hesitation, he ordered the SWAT team to tie the boy to him and pull them up together. Whitney's eyes followed 'Sammy,' but all she saw was her unconscious son, his little hand still stiffly pointing at the ground.

She couldn't understand why she felt so panicked. Sammy had been rescued, hadn't he? She chalked up her unease to the possibility that her child might be seriously hurt. So, she quickened her pace, wanting to catch up. "Wait a sec, Whitney!"

Tiana suddenly called out to her, having also heard 'Sammy's' words.

What else? What could it mean? 'Sammy's' hand was pointing at the ground. Tiana knew that Ludwik had an identical twin to Sammy. It hit her like a lightning bolt, and she suddenly felt slow on the uptake. Whitney and Ludwik discovering their son's kidnapping and reporting it wasn't just a coincidence. It was very likely that the child with Ludwik had also been kidnapped. That's why Ludwik was in such a hurry. Both of them?

Tiana took a deep breath and her eyes darted around the cave. "Tiana, what's wrong?"

Whitney, clutching her chest, felt an intense palpitation but didn't understand why.

"Come with me!" Tiana said decisively, ignoring the SWAT's calls from above and instead led Whitney deeper into the cave. "Let's keep looking; there might be something else hidden here..." "What do you mean?" Whitney was utterly confused.

"Another child!" Tiana stamped her foot in frustration.

"...What?" Whitney was baffled.

But as they moved further into the darkness, Whitney's sense of dread grew stronger. Until they found a small hole in a pile of rocks, leading to what seemed like a deeper, dead end of the cave. From inside came the feeble voice of a child on the brink of life, "Mommy...is that you?"

Whitney stared at the hole, dumbstruck, then suddenly covered her mouth. Had she heard wrong? Why did it sound like Sammy's voice? So gentle, so helpless, he was crying.

"Sammy..." she couldn't believe it, kneeling down with Tiana to frantically move the pile of rocks to the side. But how could it be? Sammy had just been taken away by Ludwik.

Whitney's heart raced as she squeezed into the hole until the light from her phone illuminated a bruised little face. She was stunned, shocked. Was this an illusion? Why was there a child who looked exactly like Sammy? Inexpressible trembling and tears enveloped her. Whitney crawled over and hugged the little one tightly, her chest quivering with heartbreak, "An asthma attack, you...you're Sammy! Then who was..."

"It's Danny, Mommy, you finally came." Sammy's voice was barely a whisper as tears fell. He thought he'd been abandoned by his mommy and daddy. After all, no one knew he existed.

"Whitney!" Tiana sighed deeply, her eyes slightly red, "Hurry, take the child to the hospital!"

Whitney clumsily got up...

---

Late at night. At the hospital at the foothills of Southern Suburb, in the ICU.

Whitney watched as Sammy was wheeled out of the operating room, the bright lights making her face pale as snow.

The surgeon was relieved, saying, "It's a good thing you got him here in time and performed the right emergency procedures on the way. A second later and this poor child might not have made it! Long-term asthma, confined spaces, and signs of near-drowning, I can't imagine how he survived two hours. How do you parents even take care of your children? Before you, there was another child who was urgently admitted..."

Whitney barely lifted her head as if waking from a trance.

Tiana quietly came in, waiting for the doctor to leave before she hesitantly said, worried, "Ludwik chose this hospital too. I just went to ask around. They're in a private suite downstairs, and he's got bodyguards everywhere. Though he won't come up here, Whitney..." Whitney clenched Sammy's hand, her heart aching, "He just had surgery; it's not safe to move him."

"We'll have to lay low then," Tiana said cautiously, then quietly watched her.

In the eerily quiet room, Whitney still felt dazed, "Tiana, how is this possible? The child Ludwik took away tonight...wasn't my hallucination, was it?"

It was unbelievable. Her mind was a blank, chaotic mess.

"I'm sure of it, Ludwik was holding a boy when he left." Tiana patted her hand gently, her eyes twinkling with a hint of laughter!

---

"Are you sure it's just a mild concussion?"

Ludwik had all the pediatricians summoned, his expression dark and intense, "Then why hasn't my son woken up?"

The doctors were somewhat speechless, nervously facing the imposing CEO, "Mr. Lippert, your son is only three years old. He's suffered multiple injuries and shock, on top of his frail condition; he might be unconscious for a few hours. Rest assured, there's no life threat." "Mr. Lippert, the doctors stressed, you need to have Valerie's heart. You're too tired, too wound up." Felix whispered beside him.

The tall man furrowed his brows, unable to bear the thought of losing his son. But with Danny right there, why was his heart still in turmoil? This odd feeling...

He rubbed his temples, then Lyra came over again, "Mr. Lippert, Elaine's room is just next door, she's crying in pain, could you please check on her?"

Ludwik squeezed his son's small hand before letting go, his brows tightly knit as he walked away, "Keep a close eye on the young master, notify me the moment he wakes up."

As the door to the room opened and closed, nurses came in to change dressings, respectfully nodding to the man.

"Elaine, how are you feeling..."

Daniel, lying on the bed beginning to wake, heard his daddy's deep voice, knowing he went to see the bad woman.

He was so angry he wanted to stop him, but the two nurses by his side looked at him in surprise.

"Am I hallucinating? Did I just see a kid upstairs in the ICU looking just as handsome?"

"You've been working too many shifts," chuckled another nurse.

"With such a memorable, handsome face, I couldn't possibly be mistaken. Could they be twins..."

Muttering to herself, the nurse began to change Danny's IV bag, unaware that Danny's heart rate began to spike dramatically.

Tears nearly spilled from his eyes... Oh my God, Sammy was saved too, he's upstairs, he didn't die!!

Holding onto this piece of news tightly, Danny guessed it wasn't dad who saved Sammy; otherwise, he wouldn't be in this state, nor would he have the mood to visit Elaine. So, it must have been mom who saved Sammy; she had been there too... Just at this thought, Danny felt as if he had been revived. His weak eyes darted around, staring at the room's servant-

---

"Sammy, are you awake? Look at mommy."

Whitney noticed her son waking up from anesthesia and immediately stood up to moisten his lips with a cotton swab, her heart aching for him.

Sammy opened his eyes but said nothing, as if by telepathy, he suddenly raised his hand towards the door.

It was nearly dawn, the darkest time before the light, and the room was unlit. Following Sammy's direction, Whitney turned her head and for a second, her breath stopped.

She stared blankly at the door where a little boy quietly entered. He wore a hospital gown too small for him, with a frame just like Sammy's but even more slender. That face was the spitting image of Sammy's.

Feeling her intense gaze, the little guy stiffened, looking somewhat lost and uneasy standing there. Yet, his gaze met with Sammy's on the bed, warm and intertwined.

Whitney gasped, only at this moment did she confirm that what she saw in the cave tonight was not a dream. Truly, there were two little treasures. Were they both hers?

"Mommy..." Danny's small mouth opened, bravely and shyly uttering the term he had dreamed of countless times...