Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 482

When the traffic cops and detectives caught sight of Ludwik striding towards them, a visible tension crept into their expressions.

"This is Four Bridges in Emperor City, a secluded spot, so there's hardly any traffic. This turn is one-way, accidents are rare here, and there's no surveillance. The next camera is a mile away..."

"Pull the footage from cameras at both ends of this road, and do it fast. Find any suspicious vehicles. And before the accident, where did Whitney's car stop? I want every stop tracked!" Ludwik barked out the orders.

Parker frowned, "Ludwik, do you think the person who tampered with her car is the same as the one who pushed her off the bridge and kidnapped her?"

"I'm not sure," Ludwik's voice was laced with anxiety, "Saving her is what matters now!"

The traffic cop nodded and hurriedly got into the squad car to access the networked surveillance.

But then the officer received another call, this time from a senior official at the transportation department, "Captain, just help Ludwik with the post-accident surveillance. For the footage before the accident... the part where her car was parked at the bar's lot, erase that." Sweat beaded on the traffic captain's forehead, "Sir... You dare deceive Ludwik?"

"We have no choice, it's an internal struggle within the Lippert Group. Just do it!"

After hanging up, the official quickly called Thea back...

-

Ludwik stood in front of the squad car, and soon, the traffic captain brought over a segment of surveillance footage.

"We found a suspicious Volvo at the next intersection after the accident, weaving erratically on the road."

Ludwik immediately played the video.

In the blurry footage, the black Volvo zigzagged as if someone was fighting over the steering wheel. Ludwik paused the video and zoomed in, spotting a slender woman's hand briefly appearing out the window before being yanked back inside. "It's Whitney!" Ludwik didn't need to guess.

Parker was relieved, "Thank heavens she's smart, fighting for the steering wheel and showing her arm."

"She knew I would see it." Ludwik's lips curled up.

Parker scoffed, "She did it for me! You weren't supposed to come."

Ludwik sighed. He wasn't supposed to come? How could he not? The moment he knew she was in danger, his heart felt like it had lost a piece.

"Trace the Volvo's movements and send it to my phone." Ludwik swiftly got into his car, Parker following.

The Volvo was last seen near a distillery on the outskirts of Emperor City. There were two roads there; one led into the distillery estate, and the other bypassed it, speeding away.

Parker took the initiative, "I'll follow the road down; you check the distillery for Whitney."

Ludwik got out of the car, vaulted over the distillery's gate, and headed towards the hills and cellars, searching as he went.

An hour since her abduction was quickly passing, each second more dangerous than the last. His heart raced with urgency. The vast hills, the hidden entrances to the cellars, he found none until the moment he spotted a glinting object on the ground ahead. Ludwik picked it up with his phone's flashlight, discovering it to be a glow-in-the-dark earring. Such an item was only possessed by refined women, and here, at a secluded distillery. His heart warmed, Whitney was leaving clues! Thankfully, he found them.

He shone his light around and finally, behind a warehouse, found the missing black Volvo. Ludwik pursed his lips and immediately texted the police the distillery's address!

To avoid alerting the kidnappers, he moved silently, finally discovering an underground cellar entrance about 300 meters from where he found the earring. Ludwik stared at the locked iron door, his gaze intense, fists clenched.

-

Thump! Whitney, bound and gagged, was thrown into a vat, the stinging alcohol flooding her eyes and nose, choking her breath away. Just as she was about to suffocate, the thugs pulled her out.

"Who sent you? Help..." Her jaw was forced open, and a syringe was quickly injected deep into her throat. "Mmm... I won't drink, I won't drink...!" Colorless, tasteless - the most dangerous kind! Whitney's eyes widened in terror as she struggled futilely, the drug coursing through her.

"It works fast."

"Haha! The boss changed his mind, said to rough you up before we finish you off."

"We need to hurry." The thugs conversed, dunking the coughing Whitney back into the vat, her body drenched in alcohol. They dragged her out again, throwing her onto the ground nearby.

In mere minutes, Whitney felt her strength ebbing, her breathing unnaturally fast, as if her heart would burst out of her chest. The cold gleam of a blade pressed against her temple. Her blouse was yanked open by one of the thugs, swiftly tearing it down to her waist. "Don't touch me!... Mmmph!" A cloth was stuffed into her mouth. She was powerless to resist. Another thug poured a bucket of alcohol over her, and a torch was placed on the ground near her feet. The thug's face twisted in malice as he slapped her, "Stay still! We'll all have a turn. Move, and you know you're soaked in booze. One spark, and this whole cellar turns into a sea of flames that'll swallow you whole!"

Whitney's pupils dilated in sheer panic, surrounded by vats of alcohol, her body highly flammable. Her fingers clawed at the ground, nails breaking, her head swimming, unable to muster any strength. Was she to die here, so cruelly? Who wanted her dead this badly? As her blouse was torn, and her skirt cut to her waist, Whitney's eyes welled with tears of despair. Parker hadn't arrived, nor had the police! And that man... he was even less likely to come! She didn't want to die; her Danny, her Sammy, what would happen to them... "Mmm... Mmm!" As they advanced on her, her pupils dilated in distress, screaming for help.

"Touch her, and I'll kill you all!!" The chilling, menacing shout filled the air. Could it be... his voice? Whitney incredulously opened her bloodshot eyes, fearing it was all a hallucination-

The thug on top of her was suddenly kicked away by Ludwik. The room was almost pitch black, but when Whitney saw it was indeed Ludwik who had come, the blade's direction shifted. The thugs were trained and reacted swiftly!

Ludwik's eyes turned a bloodshot red as he crouched down, taking in the sight of Whitney, stripped of her dignity. He found himself gasping for air, his voice reduced to a raspy, unintelligible murmur. His hands, quivering, reached out to lift her up.

"Be careful!" Whitney's voice was muffled, her cries stifled. And then, as if in slow motion, a dagger was thrust into Ludwik's back, piercing him swiftly. The strong frame of the man shuddered, nailed in place by the sudden attack. Soon, a dark stain began to spread across the front of his crisp white shirt, right over his heart where the dagger had made its home.

"Ludwik! Ludwik!" Whitney's screams were trapped, turning into muffled sobs. She trembled like a leaf caught in a storm, utterly bewildered and lost...