Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 349

"Liberty Rail Corp?"

As Whitney's footsteps approached from behind, Ludwik didn't bother to hide and switched his phone to speaker mode.

The voice from the police department said, "Yes, Mr. Lippert, the kidnapper with the missing limb we apprehended turned out not to be Mr. Percy's bodyguard from the auction house but a retired mercenary who previously worked at Liberty Rail Corp in Emperor City. This is our most solid lead so far."

A retired mercenary from Emperor City involved in Danny's kidnapping?

"If you're available now, Mr. Lippert, we'd like to invite you to the station."

As the officer finished speaking, Ludwik let out a grunt of agreement. The more he uncovered about the kidnapping, the more twisted it seemed. Worried sick about Danny, Ludwik was determined not to let the mastermind behind this get away.

Without further delay, he cast a meaningful glance at Whitney, who looked equally puzzled and curious.

"I need to stop by the station. I'll keep you posted on any developments."

"Sure. Danny can stay here tonight," Whitney said, her tone firm, practically showing Ludwik out the door without a hint of regret.

Ludwik pressed his lips together, his mood darkening. After giving her a long look, he coolly walked away.

---

After closing the door, Whitney frowned, pondering. Liberty Rail Corp in Emperor City?

She was well aware that behind Danny and Sammy's kidnapping was Elaine's scheming. But how could it be linked to something as distant as Emperor City? And what or who exactly was Liberty Rail Corp?

She decided to send the name 'Liberty Rail Corp' to Bryce, who had a wide network within the Banyan City business circles, hoping he might trace something valuable.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Danny was arguing with Sammy.

"Sammy, stop bringing up Bryce all the time. I know you're trying to provoke Dad, but I don't trust that man!"

Sammy shook his head, chuckling, "Danny, Bryce has helped Mom out a lot over these past three years. You have no idea."

"That's just his way of pursuing Mom, a roundabout rescue mission!" Danny retorted, crossing his arms. "That's not genuine help."

Sammy pondered, "Anyway, you're just biased towards our deadbeat dad. So, what's so bad about Bryce?"

"My gut feeling!" Danny declared, furrowing his brow. "He's always smiling and seems gentle on the outside, but people like that usually have deep, dark secrets. Remember, when we switched places, I confronted him in the kitchen once. I think he started suspecting we were two different kids!" Sammy fell silent, surprised and somewhat skeptical, "Really?"

"Trust me, my instincts are sharp."

But Sammy remembered Bryce's shocked expression when Mom eventually revealed they were twins. Was Danny being overly sensitive, or was Bryce...

"What are you two arguing about?" Whitney walked in, phone call finished, and heard their bickering.

Danny pouted, deciding not to mention his suspicions about Bryce to avoid upsetting Mom, especially without concrete evidence.

Catching Danny's cue, Sammy didn't bring up Bryce either, swiftly changing the subject, "We were talking about Dad's upcoming wedding next month."

His eyes searched Whitney's for a reaction, "Mom, Dad's marrying that awful woman. Does it bother you? Are you hurt?"

Whitney's expression faltered for a moment, a hint of vulnerability passing quickly, replaced by a cold glint in her eye.

"Why should it? We're divorced. And hurt? Not at all. Elaine is quite his match," she said, her voice light but with an underlying chill.

Danny looked down, regretting bringing it up.

Sammy sighed internally. Their father was still clueless about the consequences of his actions.

"Mom, aren't you planning to get back at them? Can you really just stand by and let their wedding happen? If it does, Danny won't have a good life with Elaine around."

Whitney clenched her fists, staring at Danny. Her desire for revenge had never waned.

This time, despite Elaine managing to keep the Bartels family affair under wraps and securing the wedding with Ludwik, whether the wedding would go smoothly was another matter.

Whitney wouldn't let Elaine have the last laugh. She smirked coldly, then sighed, wishing Natalie, still comatose, could speak the truth.

The kidnapping case might just be the key to exposing Elaine's crimes.

"Mom, we've got some good news," Sammy brought her back from her thoughts.

"What's the good news, you two?"

"The good news about Grandma, the one in a coma. When Danny and I switched places, we secretly brought your new medicine to Everwood Villa Estate. We gave it to Taryn, and she's been administering it to Grandma for almost a month now!" "What?"

Whitney was shocked. She'd been too busy to follow up on contacting Taryn.

"Sammy, did you say Grandma's hand moved?"

"Yes!" Danny chimed in, his face lighting up with joy. "But Dad and Elaine don't know. Taryn kept it a secret to avoid suspicion. Even the visiting doctors haven't noticed anything, but whenever I visit Grandma, I can see her fingers look much healthier." Whitney thought about the medicine's effect, feeling a flicker of hope. Perhaps, one day, Mrs. Natalie might wake up unexpectedly, though it was hard to predict when.

After all, three years of being in a vegetative state had likely made Elaine lower her guard.

Taking a deep breath, Whitney glimpsed a ray of hope amidst the chaos. The buried truth about the kidney donation, that scoundrel Ludwik, would one day come to light, wouldn't it?

---

Late at night, in the interrogation room of the police station.

Ludwik finally came face to face with the limb-chopping kidnapper. After applying some pressure, the kidnapper spilled the beans about his employer. The CEO of Liberty Rail Corp, Jarvis.

"Chief, I'd like the capture of the kidnapper to remain under wraps for now," Ludwik instructed.

To uncover the mastermind behind the scene, secrecy was essential, and the chief understood, nodding in agreement.

Ludwik left the police station, not heading back to Everwood Villa Estate, but instead, he made his way to Skyfaith Group.

The office was as silent as a graveyard at night. Standing before the panoramic window, it wasn't ten minutes before Felix delivered Jarvis's dossier to him. Ludwik pursed his lips as he reviewed the file.

Jarvis was somewhat familiar to him.

He was the adopted son of his great-uncle, Jason, reportedly valued and nurtured attentively.

That was the extent of Ludwik's knowledge.

He cared little to know more about the Lippert family of Emperor City, the dominant force in Harmonia Country, led by his great-uncle, wielding unmatched power.

Jarvis, a seemingly unrelated figure, why would he orchestrate the kidnapping of his son?

Ludwik was a man of keen intuition, his thoughts sharp as a knife.

"Find out where this Jarvis has been lately? What's his motive? I'd like to have a word with him."

Ludwik's gaze turned icy, his mind racing through possibilities, though certain shadows of doubt between him and Jason remained unaddressed. Nobody had come forth with the truth. Yet, Jarvis's unexpected involvement led Ludwik's suspicions about his murky origins in an intriguing direction.

Merely for a rivalry, to go as far as kidnapping his son? That seemed an overreach.

Tapping on the desk, Ludwik pondered-besides Jarvis, were there other conspirators in the kidnapping case? He sank into deep thought...