Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 68
Whitney returned to Banyan City the following day
The Valentine Corporation was in turmoil. Banks were clamoring for their loans, the stock price had hit rock” bottom, and
partners were causing chaos. The corporation was reeling from a massive blow.
Preston had yet to return home. His whereabouts were unknown, probably gallivanting around who–knows–where.
Yvonne was fuming. Her complexion was pale and haggard with frustration.
Meanwhile, the upheaval at Skye Gem Ltd. was even more severe.
Since Monica had taken the reins, her impatience for success had led to a flurry of jewelry orders in just two months, which
resulted in inconsistent quality. Her poor decision–making was bad enough, but now, as the chief designer, she was caught red–
handed for plagiarism and bribery. Numerous partners were pulling out of contracts, leaving Skye Gem Ltd. facing a gaping hole
of penalty fees.
Shareholders were furious at their losses and regretted siding with Monica over Whitney, not believing in Whitney’s ability to win
the competition.
Now they had no choice but to strip Monica of her position and kick her out of the company to distance themselves from the
plagiarism scandal!
This was previously unthinkable, as Monica was the second–largest shareholder. But during this critical meeting, Simon did
something unexpected: he allowed the shareholders to have their way.
Monica was in disbelief. She couldn’t stand being dismissed. If she lost her grip on Skye Gem Ltd., that meant her position as
the second largest shareholder would be nothing but an empty title.
She was enraged but unable to locate Simon.
He was dodging her by staying absent from the company.
After days of stalking, Monica finally caught sight of Simon.
He was on a date in an extremely posh French restaurant, being introduced to a debutante from a renowned Banyan City family!

Monica’s chest was ready to burst with anger. She stormed in and screamed, “Simon, you lowlife! What are you up to behind my
back? Flirting with other women and ready to discard me so soon? I, Monica, am not yet defeated, you...
Her fury wasn’t containable so she grabbed a bottle of wine, ready to douse the contemptible woman before her.
Simon’s eyes turned icy as he signaled his bodyguard.
Before Monica could make her move, she was floored by the guard.
Simon wouldn’t even dignify her with a response. He had the bodyguard carry her out of the upscale restaurant. Dumped at the
entrance, Monica was utterly humiliated. The restaurant’s patrons snickered at her.
The debutante looked at her with smug disdain.
Having endured days of cold treatment, she had forgotten about her image and looked haggard. A lot of passersby quickly
recognized her. They snapped unflattering photos and uploaded them online.
Some enraged ones even tried to strike her.
Monica, in a pitiable state, ducked and covered her head. Her heart was bleeding with fury, but she could only Scurry away like a
rat.
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Back at the Valentine Mansion, the atmosphere was grim. Monica, distraught, threw herself into Yvonne’s arms and seethed with
resentment, “Mom, Simon is courting a debutante behind my back. He doesn’t want me anymore! And the old fossils at Skye
Gem are dismissing me and siding with Whitney! I won’t allow it. The company is mine, help me, please. We can’t let Whitney
take it back. I can’t lose!

With the Valentine Corporation in such disarray, why hasn’t Dad come back?”
This was a mystery to Yvonne as well. In times like these, Preston would have sought her out for resources. long ago.
Yvonne’s heart was ached with rage as she watched her daughter cry. Her greatest wish was for Monica to marry into one of the
top families and trample Whitney from head to toe.
Now, all her dreams were shattered by Whitney.
Whitney received a formal letter from the shareholders of Skye Gem, which was sheepishly inviting her back to take a position at
the company. They had witnessed her ability to manage the company and were eager for her to help navigate Skye Gem Ltd.
through this crisis.
Curiously, Simon had signed the letter himself.
Simon had called Whitney numerous times, which she, of course, ignored.
He then sent a message, his tone enthusiastic: [Whitney, they sincerely ask you to return back to the position. Honestly, I’m
pleased and looking forward to your return too. If you’re willing to accept me and don’t want to give up on your grandfather’s
legacy, I’ll keep the general manager’s position open for you.]
Had he ousted Monica?
Whitney sneered internally. What a heartless man.
She was determined to reclaim Skye Gem and her grandfather’s shares, so she coldly typed a reply to Simon: [Of course I’ll
return. Consider when you’ll relinquish your shares!]

Simon paused and frowned, but felt an inexplicable joy within. He realized he still loved Whitney.
Meanwhile, Tiana congratulated her, “Whitney, congrats on getting what you wished for. No wonder you let me trash Skye Gem
Ltd. on Twitter. You were pressuring the shareholders into a corner, weren’t you? Clever fox. But the Valentine family’s house is
on fire. Why hasn’t Yvonne made a move?”
“She’s at odds with Preston. Over the years, she’s secured a lot of deals for him, which is why she’s stabilized her position as
Yvonne. She has some ‘special‘ methods to maintain her support.”
Whitney’s eyes narrowed with an amused smile, “We have to weed out. Let’s turn up the heat and force her to show her hand.
Once we know her depth, we can uproot her power completely.”
Whitney sent videos of Preston’s illegitimate child and Roselyn’s secret affair with Preston to the Valentine Mansion.
And she didn’t do that anonymously,
When Yvonne saw the videos, she was thunderstruck and almost passing out on the spot.
Monica was shattered, “Mom, Dad has been with Roselyn! He even has a love child on the outside! Whitney, that wretch, she
knew all this and she’s doing this to provoke you!”
Yvonne’s face contorted grotesquely.
Preston, the beast, had bedded that lowlife Roselyn. The betrayal made her blood boil.
The revelation of an illegitimate child was the final blow that shattered Yvonne’s world.
But she quickly regained her composure amid her rage. She sent her henchmen to drag Roselyn out from
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hapter 68
wherever she was hiding, beat her senseless, and then forced her to star in a lewd video that she promptly uploaded to the
internet for all to see.

She didn’t stop there, though.
Just as Preston was about to exploit the chaos at the Valentine Corporation to force Yvonne out and even contemplated
banishing the mother–daughter duo to obscurity to make way for his mistress and their love child, he received a call that turned
his blood to ice.
His precious son had been kidnapped!
By Yvonne, no less!
And in a twisted act of cruelty, she had chopped off one of the little boy’s pinky fingers!
His son was only six, and Preston’s face turned ashen with horror. Overcome with fury, he stormed back to the Valentine
Mansion and found Yvonne in the living room. He grabbed her throat with a shaking hand and slapped her hard across the face,
yelling, “You she–devil, release my boy at once!”
“If you don’t let go, I’ll cut off his second finger,” Yvonne spat back, her eyes boring holes into him with pure hatred.
She was unable to bear a son, and that’s what she hated most.
Yvonne was violently thrown to the floor, looking utterly defeated yet laughing maniacally, “Preston, don’t think that I can’t see
right through you. You want to use the turmoil at Valentine Corporation to kick me to the curb and bring back your mistress and
your love child? In your dreams!
All these years, I’ve been the one pulling in the deals for the Valentine Corporation! Do you have any idea what I’ve sacrificed for
you? And now you think you can just dispose of us when I’m no longer of use to you?”
Her laughter was laced with bitterness, “Did you forget I have an Auntie? My Uncle is on his way. Monica and I won’t fall so
easily. Better watch yourself and keep your bastard son out of my sight. And remember, I know the secrets that Whitney’s
grandfather left behind. Don’t forget Whitney has an uncle. You think you can get rid of me?!”
Preston’s anger was momentarily replaced by a wave of fear. As he carefully processed his thoughts, his disdain for her
momentarily faded.
This woman knew far too much.