Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 234
Elaine could not allow Whitney to turn the tables. She had to keep her secrets from being unearthed–secrets that could crumble
her house of cards. Secrets like the truth about Natalie’s accident or the fact that she had never actually donated a kidney.
Jaxon, however, had been scouring the city for the elusive girl since dawn, but as dusk approached, there was still no sign of her.
Tiana had hidden her too well.
Frustrated, Elaine decided to take matters into her own hands. She changed into something less conspicuous and headed to the
Skyfaith Electronic Tech building.
Ludwik was working late in his office. Elaine peered inside, her breath catching in her throat, then turned away and casually
asked the secretary, “Has anyone come to see the CEO this afternoon?”
“Just a manager from a partner company. Mr. Lippert hasn’t met anyone else,” replied the secretary earnestly.
Tiana had not brought the girl directly to Ludwik to expose everything? Did that mean Tiana thought Ludwik would not believe
her? Or were they still lacking proof?
Elaine’s thoughts darkened as she twisted her fingernails anxiously. She had to find a way to get Ludwik out of Banyan City
before Tiana seized her chance.
Taking advantage of the dinner hour, when the secretarial office emptied, Elaine fiddled with the schedule.
She then slipped out to a secluded terrace and made several phone calls, orchestrating a crisis at the manufacturing plant.
When Felix received a call from the chip manufacturer, he stepped into the CEO’s office. “Mr. Lippert, there’s been a glitch in the
production line, and their top engineer can’t fix it. They suggest you, as a co–developer of the Auric Chip, go down there
tonight?”
Ludwik’s brow furrowed. “How did such a major issue arise so suddenly? Wasn’t there any quality control?”
“I’ve got people looking into it, but the volume of chip orders is so high that even an hour’s delay could cost us fifty million,” Felix
explained, concerned.
“If you could reset the program, we could be back on track quickly.”

Ludwik glanced out at the darkening evening sky, his expression pensive. He thought about the woman in the sanatorium who
was stubbornly refusing treatment, heavily pregnant, and due any moment. He was angry and had decided not to visit her for a
while, but he did not want to be too far from her either. If he went to the southern factory, he’d be away for three or four days, and
he was worried about her safety.
“Let’s deal with it tomorrow,” he said finally.
16.33
Elaine was desperate when she heard this. She immediately contacted her father, Zane to sabotage a few chip–seeking
companies.
Within the hour, the secretarial office was bombarded with calls. “I heard Auric Chip’s manufacturer is having problems. Will Mr.
Lippert personally handle it? Can we expect our chips on time? My autonomous car launch can’t be delayed!”
Felix understood Mr. Lippert’s reluctance to leave Banyan City.
“Mr. Lippert, Skyfaith Electronic Tech needs these big orders to hold its ground. You’ve already shrunk Imperial Gem
Corporation’s market value by billions and stopped Orion’s vehicle project from being launched. We can’t afford any mishaps
now.”
The issue was not critical, but every step Skyfaith took had to be surefooted.
“Mr. Lippert, I heard there’s a problem with the manufacturer. Maybe you should go?” Elaine walked in, feigning concern. “If
you’re worried about Ms. Valentine’s child, I’ll keep an eye on the sanatorium for you. Besides, you can monitor her room from
the road.”

Ludwik stood up. “Elaine, come with me; we can solve the problem faster together.”
Elaine’s face fell at the suggestion, and she suddenly clutched her stomach, feigning frailty. “I’d like to, but I ate something bad
today; it might have taxed my kidneys. I wouldn’t want to cause a delay in flight.”
Ludwik did not think twice, just eager to return sooner. Seeing her like this, he did not press and patted her shoulder. “Have the
villa’s doctor take a good look at you.”
“Mr. Lippert, another partner’s on the line about the chip issue!” the secretary interrupted.
Ludwik massaged his temple, realizing the urgency of the situation. Grabbing his coat, he instructed Felix to ready his private jet
and could not help but worry about his unborn children and their mother, who was in ill health. “Felix, link my computer to the
sanatorium’s surveillance!”
He could keep an eye on her; everything should be fine. Yet, for some reason, his mind just was not at ease tonight.
...
Having finally gotten Ludwik on the plane, Elaine turned in the darkness and headed back to her
car.
She dialed Jaxon, but still no word on the girl!
Frustration seethed within her. “Can’t you find Tiana either? A bunch of incompetents!”
She paused, a sudden idea flashing across her mind. Whitney was the mastermind behind the scenes. Tiana had found the girl
but was keeping her hidden. What would be her next move?

Elaine’s eyes glinted with a cold light as she abruptly ended the call and ordered her driver, “To the sanatorium in the mountains!”
Before she even reached the sanatorium, the bribed director called. “Elaine, Mr. Lippert’s office is demanding Whitney’s room
surveillance feed immediately. Should I send it or not?”
She glanced at the time. Ludwik would be on the plane without internet access.
“Delay it. Later, edit out anything inconvenient. What’s Whitney doing now?”
“She’s been in the bathroom for quite a while,” reported the director, but he was suddenly interrupted by commotion on the line.
Panicked, the head nurse exclaimed, “Director, someone’s opened Whitney’s room! Several nurses are knocked out cold, and
Whitney is gone!”
Elaine heard it all on the other end of the line, her face turning ashen. “It must be Tiana’s doing. Find them quickly!”
She was right on the money. Damn it, how had they managed to communicate?
Whitney had been biding her time in the bathroom, keeping in touch with Tiana.
Tiana had narrowed down the search by morning, and now, with a precise location, she had infiltrated the sanatorium disguised
as a nurse. There was not much time. Whitney instructed her to gather several medications and then follow the nurses on their
rounds to her room.
In the dead of night, Tiana slipped a concoction into the water, and while the nurses were oblivious, she dabbed it under their
nostrils.
One by one, dozens of nurses collapsed.
With no time to waste, Tiana threw a loose–fitting white lab coat over Whitney’s shoulders, and they made their way to the
stairwell, fleeing into the night.
Elaine hurried to the sanatorium, her heart pounding with urgency.
Surveying the nurses sprawled out in a deep slumber, she clenched her teeth in fury, Whitney, that wretched woman, had some
tricks up her sleeve even in her final moments!

“Which way did they go? How long ago?”
“Over half an hour now. Seven o’clock is the nurses‘ shift change; there were bound to be gaps in the hallways and offices!”
The director wiped his brow in panic. “If she’s gone, how on earth are we going to explain this to Mr. Lippert?”
“What are you looking at me for? Get moving! How far can a clumsy pregnant woman get?”
Although Elaine barked orders, her mind was racing with calculations. A sly grin flickered across her lips. Tiana had broken her
out, a crisis indeed, but it could lead her to the root of the issue. It was not all bad.
3/4
16:33
Their next move would likely be to find that girl.
Did they hold all the evidence?
It seemed tonight’s events called for a new strategy- to pull the rug from under them and catch them all in one fell swoop.
A pregnant woman and Tiana, alone and outmatched, they would not get far.
A sinister gleam crossed Elaine’s eyes, and she stepped away to make a call. “Mom, I managed to send Ludwik off. Now that
Whitney has escaped, I intend to make the most of this situation. Success or failure hinges on tonight. Send more people
immediately!”
“They secured evidence on that kidney donation matter. Only the dead can keep secrets. That little bitch Whitney must die!”
Delphine responded coolly.