Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 1010

He brooded with a frosty gaze, but before Ludwik could reach Sanctum Mary Medical, his phone erupted into a cacophony of rings!

It was his secretary on the line, voice tinged with panic, "Mr. Lippert, we have a situation. A few skilled intruders barged into the nursery. They're after your child! I can't fend them off alone, I've already called for backup, but please, you need to come back!" The secretary's phone was kicked away, the sound of it crashing resounded through the line.

"What?" Ludwik's pupils dilated with icy rage. "Son of a gun."

His eyes flashed a dangerous red, a deep darkness swirling within as he slapped the dashboard in front of Germinia, the driver, "Step on it!"

But Germinia had its own set of rules, and the distance was not in their favor.

No matter how fast they went, getting back to Sanctum Mary Medical would still take another twenty minutes.

Ludwik, with his long strides, crossed the hospital's garden towards the neonatal emergency department.

Upon reaching his daughter's room, he was met with a scene of chaos at the far end of the corridor, where a secluded room lay in disarray. A doctor stood cowering before an incubator, beside his secretary who was bruised and battered.

Seeing him, the secretary's eyes welled up, "I'm sorry, Mr. Lippert! Your daughter's incubator was forcefully opened by those men, and now she's having some breathing issues."

"What are you waiting for?" Ludwik turned towards the shaken doctor, his voice roaring with urgency, "Treat her now! She must be alright!"

"Sir, I am treating the child! But these men, they were brought here because of you. You forced me into this room, demanding I secretly treat your illegally born child, preventing other doctors from knowing, which means I've been the only one treating her. My skills are limited, you knew this might not go well. Plus, those men disturbed the child, I can't guarantee anything now!"

The doctor, too, erupted in anger, pushed to his limit after days of non-stop work and being held against his will.

Ludwik, seeing his unstable condition, forcefully guided him back to the incubator, his gaze softening as he looked at his daughter wrapped in a blanket, "Just do it!"

He then immediately grabbed his secretary, his eyes sharp as ice, "Where did those men go? How many were there? And the backup? What about Florence, is she unattended?"

The secretary paled, his anxiety palpable, "Mr. Lippert, those three men came to harm the child, I had no choice but to call for backup, he's skilled. But after those men left, the backup realized he needed to check on Florence, and now I don't know the situation." Ludwik's face tensed, releasing the secretary, he barked, "Why didn't you tell me sooner, this might be a decoy!"

His gaze hardened, "Stay here, guard this place, I'll check on Florence's room."

He had a bad feeling about this.

While walking, he dialed the backup's number.

Reaching Florence's room, it was already empty. Florence was gone!

Ludwik's hair stood on end, his features frosty with rage as he stormed out, urgently calling the backup.

The voice on the other end was frantic, "Mr. Lippert, Mr. Lippert... Florence ran, I'm on her trail!"

"Where are you?!" Ludwik demanded in a low growl.

The backup reported his location, near Sanctum Mary Medical's back entrance.

Ludwik, avoiding the doctor's notice, swiftly grabbed a scalpel from a nurse's cart, his expression icy, his legs strong and swift as he leaped over the railing, racing towards the back door.

"Mr. Lippert! Over here..." The backup called from within the bushes at the back door.

Ludwik's gaze was sharp as he approached, seeing the backup alone, crouched deep within the bushes, with no adversary in sight, just a body lying at his feet.

Sinking inside, he asked,

"Is this Florence? The ones who caused the commotion in the nursery, were they her accomplices?"

"This isn't Florence!" The backup's face was ashen, unable to meet Ludwik's stare, he suddenly flipped the body over, regret lacing his voice, "Mr. Lippert! This is the nanny, murdered by Florence.

I was duped! Realizing the nursery intrusion might be a distraction, I rushed back to Florence's room, only to see two other men dressed as guards carrying a woman away in Florence's hospital gown. I didn't think, I just followed!

Turns out, it was the nanny, already silenced by Florence...

She must have been whisked away by others!

Such cunning... using a switcheroo, and my foolishness for not verifying before chasing, it's on me!"

The backup, acknowledging his mistake, slapped himself, aware of the gravity of his error.

Ludwik, infuriated yet composed, didn't lash out, "Get up! We were understaffed, only you were there, while Florence, she had two groups of accomplices. One to distract you at the nursery, the other to abduct the nanny from the room, then the nursery group took her away... what a scheme to escape!"

"What do we do now, chase her?"

"How can we chase?" Ludwik's eyes narrowed, a cold laugh escaping him, "She's probably long gone. We're unaware of all the exits from Sanctum Mary Medical, and it's just you and me.

We've lost her!

But, without a phone, how did she contact those guards?"

This puzzled the backup as well.

Ludwik glanced at the nanny's body, a spark of realization in his eyes, "The nanny helped her, or else why would she be silenced? Pity, she chose the wrong side."

The backup looked down, "The nanny helped her?... Perhaps last night! She claimed she was bleeding and went to buy female products for her, but after inspecting the package and the nanny, I found nothing unusual."

Upon hearing this, Ludwik's gaze turned sharply towards the backup, frosty as ever, "You overlooked it!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lippert, I'm sorry..."

Ludwik clenched his jaw tightly, silent in his fury.

The aide was from the Eurovoriathe Lippert family's branch, not one of his domestic minions. The lack of deep trust and understanding between them was palpable.

At this point, Florence had succeeded in her escape. She must have already slipped out of the hospital.

Finding her in the sprawling city of Berlidon in Germinia was no small feat.

Piecing the clues together, it seemed likely that a nanny had smuggled a cellphone to Florence. Given Phineas's sudden assassination attempt, Florence must have tipped off Bryce back home to target Phineas. Then, she reached out to her hidden bodyguards in Berlidon. With chaos unfolding back home and abroad, she seized the chance to flee.

But why? Was she merely trying to escape his wrath, or was there another motive?

Ludwik couldn't shake the feeling that Florence's dramatic escape, complete with diversions both domestically and abroad leading to Phineas's predicament, was too calculated. Was she intentionally trying to keep him tied up in Germinia? But to what end?