Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 251

After parting ways with Orion, Whitney hopped into her car and immediately opened her

text messages, eagerly awaiting Tiana’s current address.

But there was no text. Tiana had backed out.

Whitney sighed. The once fearless Tiana had now become so cautious.

She had no choice but to seek help from Bryce, asking him to dig up some information.

Bryce quickly provided her with a precise address.

After thanking him, Whitney drove off.

As the GPS guided her past the bustling downtown area, the neighborhoods grew

shabbier, and she finally pulled up in front of a narrow, dilapidated old building.

Staring at the worn alley and the squalid surroundings, Whitney could not believe Tiana

and her parents were hiding in a place like this.

What on earth had happened in the past three years to bring the Melford family to such a

state? Taking a deep breath, Whitney got out of the car and slowly entered the building.

Just as she was about to knock, the door swung open, and she came face–to–face with the

last person she expected.

Valerie, holding an empty can of baby formula, looked up, and her eyes widened in shock.

The two friends stood there, tears glistening in their eyes.

“Valerie,” Whitney called softly.

“Whit… Whitney?” Valerie dropped the can, her voice trailing off as she turned and called

back into the apartment, “Tiana! It’s Whitney! She’s here!”

Footsteps echoed from inside.

Tiana appeared behind the door, her formerly round cheeks now slender, her long hair cut

to a bob that brushed her pale shoulders.

The sweet, brash girl Whitney remembered from three years ago had transformed into a

quiet, slick woman.

Her features were soft, with a hint of motherly allure, but her eyes lacked sparkle. She

looked at Whitney in shock, tears welling up.

Whitney took another deep breath, her lips trembling as she stepped inside without a

word.

“Whitney… What are you doing here?”

Tiana quickly wiped her eyes and cautiously glanced outside before swiftly shutting the

door.

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Her actions pained Whitney, who carefully observed Tiana and the small two–bedroom

apartment that was so different from the spacious villa the Melford family once had. Tiana

had been a princess.

Tears fell from Whitney’s eyes as she looked at the pair, her voice hoarse. “I’m sorry,

Tiana, I came back too late. Tell me everything that’s happened to you in these past three

years!”

“It’s good that you’re back!” Valerie finally snapped out of her daze and embraced

Whitney, breaking down. “We thought you were dead! Thank God Bryce got out… He

managed to get word to me, and I knew you were alive. These three years, Whitney, you

must have suffered so much without contacting us…”

Whitney did not dare reach out; she feared giving herself away, her wings not yet fully

grown. She clenched her fists as she looked at Tiana. “My biggest regret is dragging you

down with me! But this isn’t over.”

“Don’t say that. I’ve been okay these three years,” Tiana replied with a placating smile,

her gaze evasive.

She looked worn down and afraid, and it made Whitney’s heart feel as if it had been

pierced.

“I’m back now, Tiana, don’t be afraid. I’ll do everything I can to back you up, to restore the

Melford family’s glory,” Whitney said with heartache.

Tiana shook her head in despair. “Whitney, you don’t understand the power of Ludwik

Lippert, the influence of the Bartels family…”

She recalled that night three years ago and all the subsequent horrors that ensued like a

flood of wild beasts, causing her to shake her head almost immediately.

Valerie looked at her with sorrow and anger. “Tiana, the three of us have ended up like this

all because of Elaine Bartels. You need to tell Whitney what you’ve been through.”

“Stop, don’t make her feel worse,” Tíana tried to interject.

Valerie, with tears in her eyes, insisted. “We’ve been cowards for three years because of

Elaine’s tyranny. How long will you keep hiding like a mouse?

Think not only of yourself but also of Cherry and your parents. The Melford.Group was

brought to its knees by a single word from Ludwik, and with Elaine manipulating behind

the scenes, you’ve been pushed to the brink of begging!

That bitch has committed countless wrongs, and I refuse to believe that no one can

expose her!”

Filled with self–reproach, Valerie continued, “Whitney, that night three years ago, Tiana

was humiliated. The next day, her photos spread throughout Banyan City, destroying her

reputation overnight. Elaine twisted the story of Tiana’s visit to the sanitarium to save you,

accusing you both of trying to slander her with a fake kidney donation, saying you

deliberately went into early labor to spite Ludwik. That jerk believed it all and turned

against you with a vengeance.

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He blacklisted the Melford family, and Elaine quietly ran them into the ground, not just

bankrupting them but also leaving them with a massive debt. Tiana was so vilified that no

man would consider marrying her.

I found her in a daze, and if she had not needed to care for her parents, she might have

taken her own life by then. What’s more despicable is that she soon discovered she was

pregnant with Cherry. Tiana’s unique condition meant that terminating the pregnancy

would prevent her from ever conceiving again.

There was no choice but to have the child, and to this day, after so many men that night,

we don’t know who the father is.”

Tiana began to tremble, her face turning a ghastly pale. “Stop talking!”

Valerie bit her lip but continued to hold her, “Ludwik abandoned her to her fate, and Elaine

ruthlessly finished them off. Anytime Nolan Fuller and I tried to help Tiana, Elaine would

whisper in Ludwik’s ear, and the Fuller Group and our family would suffer:

Ashton was threatening me, too. I’ve been useless!

Tiana, pregnant and desperate, somehow found work, only to be suppressed by Elaine’s

minions.

After all this, Tiana’s will was broken, and the Melford family ended up hiding in the

streets, utterly ruined.

After giving birth to her child, Tiana became increasingly wary, to the point where she

wouldn’t even see me. I could only secretly buy some baby formula for Cherry and pick up

some household necessities.”

Whitney’s eyes blazed with a fiery red. Her friends were living such stifled lives, tormented

to this extent!

And Elaine, that woman was a tyrant; her misdeeds were absolute.

Tiana was so young and radiant; she should have had her pick of the most eligible

bachelors in Banyan City. All ruined, a scandal, an unwed mother, three years of ridicule,

plummeting from the heavens into the mire.

Before she saw Tiana, Whitney only despised Ludwik and Elaine. However, now that she

found out about how Ludwik had destroyed Tiana’s family and how he completely ignored

Elaine’s sins, Whitney’s hatred for Ludwik and Elaine soared through the roof.

Her gaze was fixed on a specific spot…

Just then, a baby’s cry emerged from the bedroom.

“Mommy, mommy…” The infant girl’s tender cries took everyone aback.

Tiana immediately rushed in. “Sweetheart, why are you awake already?”

“Cherry’s awake. She’s only two and can’t speak yet. Should we go check on her?” Valerie

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mentioned the little one with a mix of relief and affection.

Whitney’s lips curled into a smile as she nodded emphatically.

The two women walked into the bedroom where Tiana was frantically changing her

daughter’s diaper, and a baby bottle rolled onto the floor.

Whitney picked it up, reminded of how Sammy had weaned off the bottle early. She

quirked her lip. “Tiana, where’s the formula? I’ll make it.”

“You know how? I can do it!” Valerie chimed in.

She looked at Whitney, a distant memory surfacing. Three years ago, that morning she

confronted Ludwik, she had glimpsed the hospital’s incubator.

That child Whitney had given birth to prematurely, Ludwik had sealed off all news about

him for three years. Not just Valerie but even Ashton and other friends of Ludwik had not

seen the child.

Rumor had it the child had survived.

Ludwik treated him like a treasure, rarely letting the child out. Over these three years, he

had become a recluse, not keeping in touch with his friends, but he seemed rather

affectionate with that scumbag Elaine.

Rumor also had it that the child recognized Elaine as his mother.

Hearsay was unreliable, and Valerie did not have the heart to tell Whitney to avoid

twisting the knife in her wound.

Moreover, the child… Whitney surely could not snatch him back.

Rumor said it was twins. The other had died when Whitney jumped into the sea. Not

wanting to reopen her scars, Valerie swallowed her words.

If Whitney was meant to see her son, she would discover it herself. Then, maybe she

would tell Whitney the truth.

Valerie sighed and returned from the kitchen with the prepared formula.

Whitney took the two–year–old baby girl from Tiana’s arms; the child was adorably

chubby, with rolls of baby fat on her wrists.

Just too cute.

She wore a tiny pink cap, smacking her lips for milk as she woke up. Whitney lifted the

child’s cap, about to compliment how the baby was as cute as Tiana, but as she got a

clear view of the baby’s full face, Whitney paused silently, frowning.

“What’s wrong?” Tiana tucked in the diaper around her daughter.

Whitney stared at Cherry, puzzled, almost blurting out, “Tiana, is it just me, or does Cherry

look incredibly like Parker Doonan?”

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Tiana’s face stiffened.

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