Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 1007

Cara was visibly shaken, having just bared her soul to Ludwik. His imposing presence terrified her into honesty.

But it was Ms. Sheldon who held her true allegiance, her family back home still under the thumb of Holly Walker. Cara yearned to switch sides, to step into the light, but breaking free from Florence's grip seemed an impossible task. There she was, cowering, fully aware of Ms. Sheldon's growing suspicions.

Florence, frustrated by Cara's inaction, began to sob pitifully. "Cara, did you hear me? Even if you're siding with Ludwik now, have some pity on me. I'm bleeding out here, I don't want to wet the bed. We've always treated you well, haven't we?" Cara had served the Sheldon family for decades, coerced and bribed by Holly to remain Ms. Sheldon's confidante.

She had even taken part in schemes against Whitney.

But witnessing Ms. Sheldon's cruelty towards Whitney's unborn child, subjecting the fetus to months of torment, had been too much for Cara to bear.

Yet, confronting Florence now could endanger her family...

Accompanying her to the restroom seemed a risk worth taking.

Reluctantly, Cara stepped forward.

An aide blocked the path of the maid, his icy gaze landing on Florence. "I'll have a doctor provide a urinal bag for you!"

"Must you humiliate me this way, you lapdog for Ludwik? I'm already at your mercy, what more do you want? I refuse to use a urinal bag, I'd rather die."

Florence's outburst bordered on hysteria.

The aide, tired of her ranting, chose to remain silent.

Finally, Cara helped Florence to her feet and they made their way to the restroom at a snail's pace.

The aide commanded from the center of the room, "Don't close the door!"

"Are you some kind of pervert? Watching me pee?" Florence's face turned a shade of iron blue, but she had no choice. Once inside, she turned the faucet on full blast to drown out any sounds. Cara began to assist with Florence's clothing.

But Florence gripped her hand tightly, her weakness belied by the terrifying strength in her grasp.

Cara looked up, alarmed, to meet Ms. Sheldon's chilling stare. In a whisper that could freeze blood, she asked, "What did Ludwik ask you? What did you tell him?"

Cara realized this was an interrogation under the guise of concern.

She quickly denied, "Ms. Sheldon, I haven't said much. You know I've been cooped up in that hotel, my knowledge is limited. Only about that car accident, when you asked me to monitor that foreign man at Sanctum Mary Medical, to see if he took your hair. I haven't told Ludwik that!"

Cara feared her words might bring her doom.

She figured Ludwik would uncover the truth soon enough.

Caught between two fires, she wished not to offend either side. She didn't want to die.

Florence scanned the room, then covered Cara's mouth, hissing, "You'd be a fool to say too much."

She whispered into Cara's ear, "If you don't want to die by my hand, get me a phone. I need it."

"What... what?" Cara was taken aback.

Florence's phone had been disposed of by Ludwik. Now, virtually a prisoner under his watch, she was cut off from the world. Parisa was due back tomorrow.

And with Ludwik lingering in the hospital, the truth about the emergency C-section might come out if Parisa inquired.

If she started digging and Ludwik showed up, their cover would be blown.

Florence had concocted a plan that required a mobile phone.

"Get me a phone, or you'll die in this bathroom tonight!"

"Ms. Sheldon, why are you doing this to me?" Cara knew their phones had been confiscated by Ludwik to control them.

Now, if she aided Florence in getting a phone, she'd be opposing Ludwik directly. Discovery meant certain doom.

She refused, shaking her head vigorously.

Florence, enraged and bleeding, grabbed Cara by the neck. "Do you think that aide cares if you drown in here? They won't bat an eye over a mere maid's fate!

Do you really think you can betray me? I fear for you and your family. They're all under my mother's control. Disobey, and with my last breath, I'll have her burn your house down. Believe me?"

"Ms. Sheldon, this is too much!" Cara's eyes filled with tears.

"You can't betray me, even in death. Do this for me, and I'll let you return home."

Desperate to escape Florence's clutches and save her family, Cara saw no choice but to comply...

She wiped away her tears and left the restroom as if nothing had happened.

The aide eyed her suspiciously. "Why isn't Florence coming out?"

Cara fumbled with her sleeve. "Ms. Sheldon needs sanitary pads. I'm going to buy some."

The aide, alone and unable to leave his post, simply gestured for her to proceed.

Cara dashed off into the night.

When she returned, the aide meticulously checked the bag she brought back, finding nothing but feminine products. He then searched her, making Cara flinch until he finally allowed her back into the restroom.

Florence, clutching her wound, looked up with venom in her eyes.

From the depths of her pants, Cara produced a black mobile phone.

"Keep watch at the door," mouthed Florence.

She quickly typed out two messages, one for Bryce and the other for her bodyguard at the Bellden Hotel.

Her eyes narrowed with a dark unease...

-

In the dimly lit corridor of the neonatal ward in the middle of the night.

Her secretary returned with photos taken on his phone, showing them to Ludwik, "Mr. Lippert, I managed to bribe the security office and after three days of scouring through surveillance, I found the man who brought Florence to the hospital. The hospital director personally greeted him!"

A man?

Ludwik swiftly grabbed the phone to look and saw a young man of mixed heritage with blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in a sharp black suit, his demeanor solemn, the embodiment of a professional. The so-called confidant of Bryce from the local elite of Germinia, the lies crumbled on their own.

"Mr. Lippert, could this man be an employee of Inko Group? But he's so young, if he were just a regular employee, he wouldn't warrant the hospital director personally receiving Florence, would he?"

The secretary speculated, while Ludwik squinted at the video still on the phone, "Look at his solemn demeanor, all business, in a suit and seemingly quite capable. This guy, just like you, is at a secretary level."

"A secretary?"