Love Beyond the Mask

Chapter 53

In the lavish estate of Valentine Manor, nestled atop the rolling hills of a prestigious neighborhood.

ngagement party preparations were a testament to opulence, with friends and family filling every seat.”

Yvonne and Monica had scrambled out of the award ceremony, bruised and battered, fleeing back to Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

the sanctuary of the Valentine family. The sight of the romantic engagement feast ignited Monica’s fury,

and she nearly crushed the invitation in her clenched fist.

The reporters she had invited had already watched the live broadcast of the ceremony, and they were

now converging on Monica with pressing questions.

Preston descended the stairs from the second–floor conference room. Seeing his wife and daughter

return, he asked excitedly. “Did you bring home the grand prize? Then let’s get the engagement party

started! Where’s Simon? And Phebe, and the elders of the Perlman clan-”

Monica trembled violently, hiding behind Yvonne.

Yvonne saw the unusual excitement on Preston’s face. She knew how much he valued his reputation.

With today’s engagement ruined, she dared not tell the truth. Glancing nervously at the gathered

relatives and friends, she said hesitantly, “Honey, come here first. There’s something I need to discuss

with you.”

“It’s not the time for discussions!” Preston’s face was flushed with anticipation, though a frown soon

creased his brow. “T’ve waited all morning. Where are those investors who said they’d support

Valentine Corp days ago? My daughter is about to marry into the Perlman family. They wouldn’t dare

snub us! I’ll give them a push.”

“Darling!” Yvonne couldn’t let him make that call!

But Preston had already picked up the phone, his voice commanding as he dialed, “Mr. Wendt,

Monica’s back with the grand prize. Why haven’t you come for the engagement ceremony?”

Silence met him from the other end of the line.

After a long pause, a mocking voice came through, “Preston, have you been offline? Your daughter had

made such a fool of herself at the awards. You still expect us to invest? Haven’t you heard? Phebe had

called off the engagement!”

“What?” Preston froze. He turned with a fierce glare at Yvonne.

“Darling, listen to me, it was all Whitney’s wrong.”

Preston shoved her aside, reaching for his smartphone to check the news.

Every headline screamed Monica’s plagiarism, her attempt to bribe Imperial Gem Corporation exposed

by Mr. Lippert, her broken engagement with the Perlman family, and Preston’s failure to raise his

daughter–scandal upon scandal for Valentine Corp.

Preston’s veins throbbed with anger, humiliation engulfing him.

“Darling!” Yvonne shrieked as Preston dragged her down the stairs.

Monica watched from the doorway, shivering. She knew her father’s temper and his obsession with

fame. Her mother had just kept the truth from him, and now Preston was furious. Before Monica could

escape, Preston grabbed her.

Blinded by rage and thinking of Valentine Corp’s tarnished reputation, the humiliation from the

investors, and feeling played for a fool by his wife and daughter, he lashed out.

He threw them to the ground and slapped Yvonne, ignoring the relatives and reporters, “You brought

such disgrace upon us and you thought you could conceal it from me? I was waiting for those

investors, fool! Do you know how much I’ve borrowed from the banks these days? Now look, Monica’s

engagement is off. You can’t even raise a daughter right. If I had known how useless you both were, I

should have locked you up after the last charity ball!”

11.59

Preston’s dissatisfaction with Yvonne had been brewing. She had repeatedly failed against Whitney,

not to mention her scandalous past

Today’s humitation was the last straw, and he vented all his anger on her.

Yvonne’s face ewelled from the stap. With so many eyes upon them, Monica had never felt such

humiliation. Furious, she yelled, “Dad, how can you talk to mom like this? She’s given everything for the

Valentine family. Why didn’t you find us useless when we made you proud? How can you be so

heartless, caring only for your precious Valentine Corp?”

“You dare talk back after what you’ve done?” Preston swung again. “You’re just a worthless daughter?

“You just resent me for not giving you a son, Preston. You’re feudalistic and hypocritical!” Yvonne had

wanted to, but her wild youth had taken its toll. She couldn’t conceive again.

Shut up!” Preston roared in fury.

Only then did he realize his family scandal was on full display to friends and reporters.

It’s too late to realize it.

He dismissed everyone and collapsed into the sofa. His phone rang, “Sir, Valentine Corp’s stocks are

dropping. Monica’s scandal can’t be contained, the media is all over it…”

Preston’s face turned to stone, he stormed out, “Look at the mess you two made. If Valentine Corp is

broken, you’ll have hell to pay!”

On the carpet, Yvonne and Monica clung to each other and sobbed, each with a red handprint on their

cheeks.

This failure left them stripped and broken by Whitney, with little hope of rising again.

“Mom, why would Mr. Lippert help that wretch Whitney?” Monica couldn’t fathom, “He’s rumored to be

the influential third son of the Lippert family! How could Whitney possibly reach someone of his

stature?”

Yvonne was just as baffled.

Monica’s face was pale. She opened her phone only to find her social media accounts besieged, her

inbox filled with insults.

One trending tweet caught her eye: a crowdfunding campaign to buy Monica a prison jumpsuit, sending

the plagiarist behind bars for just a penny!

Below, 80,000 people had joined the cause.

Monica nearly fainted with rage.

“Ha! This generation of netizens is on fire!” Tiana exclaimed as she scrolled through the flood of

comments on her Twitter feed.

Whitney glanced at the screen and chuckled. “You sure know how to bite back fast.”

“Well, I’m an expert on this,” Tiana replied, her fingers dancing across the keyboard as she deftly

inserted Monica’s scandal into the trending searches with a few swift clicks.

A smirk played on her lips. “Whitney, thanks to Mr. Lippert, we’ve got to take advantage of the

momentum. Now it’s my turn to shine. Simon, Monica, the Valentines–none of them would be spared.”

Business stocks were directly affected by the news.

Whitney squinted her eyes, letting Tiana do her thing.

Only with relentless news coverage would the shareholders who had mocked her start panicking. With

Monica’s plagiarism tarnishing Skye Gem’s reputation and the stocks plummeting, the shareholders

would bail on Monica, and Whitney could snatch her company back.

12:00

1er eyes swept over the latest news about the Valentine Mansion Yvonne and her daughter sprawled

on the ground after being slapped, as Preston stormed off.

Whitney’s hips curled into a tight smirk. She had anticipated as much. Once something lost its value,

Preston would discard it without a second thought.

She spun the steering wheel. Tiana peered out at the road, asking, “Where are you heading?”

“Back home, of course. I might be back by now.”

Home? Forget it, let’s go party! On a day like this, doesn’t it warrant cracking open a bottle worth a cool

three hundred? Tiana rolled her eyes. “And about L, he didn’t even help you. If anyone deserves your

company, it’s Mr. Lippert Why not invite him out?”

The memory of the earlier flirtation made Whitney shake her head instantly. “Although Mr. Lippert isn’t

utterly

redeemable, that kind of man is too dangerous to get close to!”

“Oh, one good deed and he’s not irredeemable now? Between him and L, who do you fancy more?

Lucky girl, having such top–notch men at your fingertips,” Tiana teased, nudging her playfully.