Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 489

Florence felt his gaze, cold as a winter storm, and knew she couldn't help but fear him in his presence. Yet, she was determined to make him regret underestimating her, to remind him who really had the upper hand in their deal.

On the surface, she played the part of the vulnerable damsel, her voice quivering, "Ludwik, it's not like I didn't want to donate blood. I was feeling terribly under the weather last night, so I couldn't. I thought we could discuss it when you arrived." "And what? You decide to bail on my mom at the last minute?" Ludwik's voice was frosty.

"It's not like that," Florence replied, her eyes welling up with tears. "You left me alone last night, and I was scared to go to the hospital by myself. Now that you're here, we can figure it out together."

The accusation and the veiled threat in her words were crystal clear.

"What do you want? An apology?" His laugh was as cold as ice.

Florence shivered slightly, her lips pursed thoughtfully. "I want you, Ludwik, to act more like a boyfriend. Not just someone who's always there, but never really there. You've never even held me when I was sick. That's not what you promised when you agreed to be the perfect boyfriend."

Ludwik sneered, "You think this deal is not worth it anymore?"

His words were sharp as knives.

Florence couldn't feel a shred of affection from him. Indeed, she was right; he'd sacrifice everything for Whitney, but couldn't spare a bit of love for her!

So, her previous strategy of being docile and compliant seemed pointless. If she couldn't touch his heart, how could she ever secure her place as Ludwik's wife? Florence looked pitifully at him, "Ask yourself, Ludwik, have you ever really cared for me? I'm offering my blood and bone marrow, my very life, for your mother." "But you said it was voluntary, didn't you? Is your generosity so fickle? Or did I misjudge you from the start, Florence?"

His words were loaded, and the chill in his demeanor was palpable.

"When did you start snooping on my calls and deleting records? When did you replace out about Whitney and me?"

Suddenly, Ludwik recalled Whitney's words, suggesting Florence's acquaintance with him wasn't mere coincidence. Perhaps she had known about Ludwik all along.

But back then, Ludwik dismissed Whitney's accusations of Florence being a gold-digger, especially after Florence called off their engagement claiming she was terminally ill. Yet, her ambition became evident, particularly during the S-T Group competition, making Ludwik tolerate her only to ensure his mother's blood transfusion.

But his patience didn't make Florence any less ambitious.

Ludwik waited for her response, simultaneously voicing his speculation, "The day you brought me back to the Sheldon family, you lied about not knowing Whitney? You targeted her in the competition to win?"

Florence knew she couldn't hide under his piercing gaze, but she certainly wouldn't admit the truth. Her tears fell, "Ludwik, why would you think so poorly of me? I only found out about you and your sister recently. I didn't mean to pick on her; I just felt betrayed because you lied about knowing her. I accidentally hung up her call last night because I didn't want her contacting you..."

Ludwik remained expressionless at her response. His icy gaze didn't waver. Whether the call went through or not wasn't his immediate concern. But Whitney had told him that he wouldn't save her - words that must have come from Florence, proving her deceit and duplicity.

Ludwik's eyes were cold, "Now that you know about my past with Whitney, will you save my mother or not?"

Florence had pushed him, hoping to change his behavior, but now found herself cornered by his assertiveness. She knew the blood transfusion must proceed. Without the deal, how could she possibly hope to control a man like him?

"Ludwik, I'll donate blood for Natalie, but only if you start treating me better, really see me, and cut ties with your past."

Ludwik rarely tolerated threats, his patience wearing thin. Yet, thinking of his mother relying on Florence's blood, he restrained himself, "If you're willing, then let's go. We'll discuss everything else after the transfusion."

Florence didn't want their discussion to end in a fallout. She coughed softly, nodding, "Go ahead. I need to change." As he left the room, his presence still felt like a storm passing through. Florence took a deep breath, her friend Myra equally shaken, "Controlling Ludwik is a tall order."

"It's tough, but his mother's life is in my hands. No matter how proud he is, he has no choice," Florence said, her eyes narrowing in determination.

Then, her phone rang. It was Holly.

Florence quickly picked up, "Mother, about those men who kidnapped Whitney..."

"I was about to tell you, there's trouble. Your father returned from the hospital in good spirits, saying Whitney identified the kidnappers. They're drawing sketches and launching a manhunt. Those men were from your uncle and the Blue Gang. We need to deal with them." Florence's expression darkened. "Stay calm. Don't get involved directly, in case Whitney is bluffing. Let uncle handle it. Pay off Blake to eliminate those thugs. Then the police will have no leads."

Holly, sweating, agreed, "Okay..."

She hung up and paced nervously, dialing her brother Hank Walker, "The kidnappers have been spotted. We need money to handle this."

"I'm strapped for cash, sis. Business hasn't been great, and I'm tight on funds."

Holly was fuming, "You blew it all in Vegas again, didn't you?!"

At the Sheldon Mansion.

Hudson lounged on the living room sofa, his icy gaze fixated on the master bedroom upstairs. Since he brought Danny back, and after Holly returned home in the afternoon, he deliberately mentioned Whitney's scheme. Holly had barricaded herself in the bedroom ever since.

His expression grew colder by the minute, instructing his assistant to monitor Holly's credit card activity and, moreover, to sneak a peek at her call logs. By six in the evening, the bank sent over a notification. Holly had transferred a whopping three million dollars to her brother Hank's wife.

Hudson frowned; the Walker family's business hadn't been doing too well over the years, mostly propped up by the Sheldon family. Holly secretly funneling money to her family was nothing new. But he couldn't jump to conclusions... Turning, he ordered the servants to keep a close eye on Danny.

Then he stepped out of the mansion, instructing his assistant to hack into Holly's call logs, discovering that she had spoken to Florence and Hank that afternoon. The transfer had been made right after her call with Hank.

Hudson commanded his assistant, "Check up on that good-for-nothing Hank, see who he's been cozying up to lately."