Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 474

"Nothing to worry about."

Whitney turned slightly, her hand clutching the warmth of the injury behind her, her face pale and expressionless as she eyed Ludwik and the woman he was protectively cradling.

Her icy stare stung Ludwik, and he finally noticed the corner of the desk, right where her back was.

"You..." His voice lost a measure of its calm.

Whitney replied with a mocking tone, "Mr. Lippert thinks we did something to your Nyx? Is it so hard to believe she barged into my office and fell all by herself? I didn't even touch her. And now I'm supposed to take the blame for this?"

"Sis... it was clearly a misunderstanding. You thought I was stealing your project, you got angry, and I got in the way... Let's just say I fell on my own, okay? Ludwik, please don't fight with her over me."

Florence, pale and clutching her chest, could hardly speak, her ankle trembling uncontrollably.

Ludwik, seeing the burn not only hadn't healed but had worsened, likely to cause an infection, clenched his heart in fear. "Breathe slowly, Florence, what exactly happened here?!"

His angry shout echoed through the office, silencing everyone.

Florence looked at him with pitiful eyes, biting her lip and shaking her head as if afraid to continue, especially with Whitney watching.

Whitney scoffed at her performance.

Sandy, unable to stand it any longer, stepped forward with courage, "Mr. Lippert! Nyx ran into the assistant manager's office, trying to steal our group's project. We caught her red-handed. I said I would notify the higher-ups, but Nyx, unable to cover it up any longer, played the victim. She fell on purpose, reopening her wound, trying to get your sympathy! But we won't let her get away with this. Without the talent, she resorts to theft, and even Mr. Lippert, in front of everyone, can't just cover for her, right?"

Ludwik pressed his lips tightly, his gaze sharp. "You say she stole the project, do you have proof?"

Sandy presented the project plan with a cold voice, "This is Ms. Valentine's plan! The surveillance will prove everything! Besides, we all saw Nyx secretly opening Ms. Valentine's file, trying to take it."

The assistant nodded eagerly, "I saw it too!"

"Hand it over."

Ludwik glanced at his secretary.

The secretary stepped forward and took the document from Sandy.

Ludwik helped Florence to a chair, taking care to make her comfortable. He then opened the document-

A smirk briefly crossed Florence's lips, not missed by Whitney, who sensed something amiss.

"Bang!"

Ludwik tossed the document onto the desk, his expression turning cold as he faced Whitney, "This is your project plan?"

Whitney flickered a glance.

Sandy and the assistant, peering over, saw Ludwik's finger pointing at the project's authorship: Florence!

Sandy gasped in disbelief, examining the sloppy and childish planning within. Even the jewelry designs looked like they were drawn by a child.

The room fell silent, as if all air had been sucked out.

Whitney, however, was piecing things together, her gaze on Florence turning icy.

The fragile Florence suddenly stood, injured and wronged, reaching for her own project plan, "Sis... is this enough? This is my project, mine alone! I know it's not great... I have no experience. But I worked hard on it, hoping to show you, maybe get some advice. But I was too shy, so I thought I'd leave it on your desk secretly... as a thank you, I even brought you breakfast. Ludwik... I didn't expect such a misunderstanding from my sister. Why? Just because I'm not as capable, must I be accused of theft?"

The mood shifted dramatically.

Whitney's eyes narrowed, understanding dawning.

And Ludwik, his gaze turned icy, glanced at Whitney's desk, where indeed a warm breakfast sat unnoticed.

"Ludwik, I came here truly wanting to learn from my sister, Maybe she's too busy with the competition to teach me, understandable, given it's about 4% of the Sheldon Group shares. I get why she'd want it. So she misunderstood, thinking I stole her project..." Her tears fell, her voice filled with sorrow and pity, subtly suggesting that Sandy and Whitney were intentionally slandering her.

The office erupted in murmurs.

Who would have thought Florence was just there to deliver her own project?

Seeing the blood still flowing from Florence's ankle, Ludwik's concern for her intensified.

His expression hardened, disappointment in his eyes as he looked at Whitney, then coldly at Sandy, "Do you have any explanation? You accuse her of theft with her own project? Why must you trouble her? Whitney, don't you realize how important she is to me now? Can't you just let her be? Yesterday, Sandy spilled coffee on her, causing a burn, and today, you bully her again? Enough is enough! Apologize to her! You owe her that much."

Otherwise, with Florence in this state, they might end up in the hospital again. He was exasperated!

Ludwik's furious gaze chilled Whitney to the core.

'Don't you realize how important she is to me now!'

'Can't you just let her be?'

Who was really troubling whom?

Whitney swept a cold look at the smug Florence, scoffing, "Mr. Lippert, may I ask, what are the basic rules and regulations of a company?"

"What are you trying to say?" Ludwik's voice was as cold as frost.

Whitney stood tall, her gaze steady on him, "This is my office. Nyx sneaked in early in the morning without my permission. The sales department's office involves confidential business information. It's one thing for Nyx not to understand her job, but isn't it common sense to at least know the basic rules? Shouldn't she apologize and explain herself for barging in unannounced?" Her stare was sharp as she locked eyes with Florence.

The room fell silent.

The company prided itself on its strict management policy. Every office was a private space, and even superiors were expected to knock and wait for permission before entering a subordinate's office.

Whitney raised her eyebrows, "Nyx disregarded company policy. She's clearly in the wrong here. She could have approached me openly with her proposal. Instead, she chose to sneak into my office to hand it over? If I misunderstood her intentions, that's understandable. In essence, this misunderstanding was caused by Nyx's own actions. If she hadn't sneaked into my office like a thief, there wouldn't have been any room for misunderstanding about plagiarism!"