Love Beyond the Mask

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.

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 Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

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.

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

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?”

Tiana’s face stiffened.