Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 218

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Chapter 218
Ludwik massaged his temples, his voice softening as he thought of everything she had done for him. “It’s okay. I promised you a
grand celebration, and I will deliver.”
“Ludwik, you’re the best!” Elaine cooed, affectionately kneading his shoulders.
His employees were all there, and Ludwik fought the impulse to shrug off her touch; he could not afford to embarrass her.
But his eyes narrowed slightly, feeling a strange sense of unfamiliarity with the current situation.
The engagement he had used to spite that woman had slowly turned into reality.
He told himself to focus. He owed Elaine a lifelong commitment, especially after promising her parents an engagement.
Those fleeting thoughts of calling off the engagement for that woman were foolish – no more of that! She did not deserve it.
Pushing down the irritation in his chest, Ludwik looked up calmly, “Elaine, you go ahead. I’ve still got work to deal with.”
“Alright, I’m heading to the TriMed Hospital to get my surgery scars treated. I’ll be back to make lunch in the lounge. We can eat
together,” Elaine said, feigning slight dissatisfaction.
Her devoted voice echoed in the office as if she wanted the whole staff to know she was soon to be Mrs. Lippert.
Felix waited silently for Elaine to leave before he approached Ludwik with the information he had gathered.
Ludwik leaned back in his executive chair, frowning. “What now?”
“It’s me, Mr. Lippert,” Felix said, trying to remain composed under the unusual wrath that had gripped his boss these past days.
He approached cautiously. “About the incident you asked me to look into last night when you were drunk – the online attacks on
Bryce, I’ve found something. Bryce is cunning. Just the other day, the Skye Gem building was suddenly auctioned off. First, he
lent money to Ms. Valentine, then secretly paid people to slander him, creating the image of a man trapped in a dire situation.
Basically, he set a trap to coax Ms. Valentine into an engagement.
Mr. Lippert, perhaps Ms. Valentine isn’t aware of Bryce’s ambition? He’s a real despicable man!”

Felix realized that Mr. Lippert could not bear the thought of aborting the child, so when he left, there was no conclusion about the
baby.
Mr. Lippert’s misunderstanding was that Ms. Valentine had cheated and then got engaged
immediately afterward, pushing his resentment to its peak.
Thus, Felix thought that if Mr. Lippert understood that Ms. Valentine might have been tricked as well, there could be a chance for

a turnaround.
Ludwik stared at the information, his gaze turning icy. “Daring to scheme against me, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and that foolish
woman believes him. Why show me this? Do you think I care about their sordid affairs? Maybe she willingly walked into this trap
to be with her lover!”
Felix felt that Ms. Valentine was not like that, but Mr. Lippert was too emotional to be rational about Whitney.
Thus, he decided to take a bold step. “I think it’s one thing for Ms. Valentine to leave you, but for Bryce to steal her away is
dishonorable. Are you going to tolerate that?”
Ludwik’s glare turned dark, a cold smirk crossing his lips, “I can let her go, but it’s not for him to take. They think they can live
happily ever after? They’re dreaming.”
Felix breathed a sigh of relief; Mr. Lippert could not tolerate it – that was a good sign.
800
At the TriMed Hospital in Banyan City.

Tiana, disguised as a nurse and masked, infiltrated the offices of the nephrology department. She gathered all the patient
information from the kidney transplant surgeries that day, following Whitney’s instructions to check the patient details.
But there were no slip-ups; including Natalie, there were five kidney transplant patients that day, with four surgeries completed.
Whitney suspected Elaine of a switcheroo.
Tiana then headed to the director’s office to access the original kidney data.
Just as she reached behind the curtain, someone entered the room.
Elaine’s casual voice drifted in. “My scar must be removed flawlessly. It’s in such a visible spot
on my abdomen, and I’m about to have the most perfect night at my engagement.” :
Tiana held her breath, hiding beneath the curtain, rolling her eyes in disgust.
Delusions of a fairy tale night with Ludwik – the shameless siren.
“Rest assured, Elaine, the scar is shallow. We’ll get our top specialist from the cosmetic department to use laser treatment.
Three to five sessions should do it.”
That male doctor’s voice sounded familiar to Tiana; was not he one of the surgeons involved in Natalie’s transplant?
Lyra reminded the doctor sharply, “Elaine’s scar is from a kidney transplant surgery; how could it be shallow? Be mindful of your
words, Dr. Horatio.”
Dr. Horatio, the director of the department, looked towards the door, coughed emphatically, and

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hurriedly corrected himself, “Yes, yes, Elaine donated a kidney. The wound isn’t small. I’ll call the cosmetic expert right away.”

Elaine glanced at the doorway, aware that walls have ears.
Her scar was not deep, just deliberately made to look gruesome to convince Ludwik without a doubt.
She could have gone directly to the cosmetic department, but if Ludwik casually inquired about her visit, it might raise suspicions,
so she always made sure to show up at the nephrology department first.
She would not leave any clue for suspicion, especially for that Parker – Elaine feared he might come snooping around the
hospital.
After the doctor left, Lyra cursed under her breath, “That idiot. Miss, you go lie down.”
Elaine headed towards the curtain.
Suddenly, a figure burst from behind it; Tiana pulled up her mask, trying to make a quick exit.
“Hey, who are you?” Elaine demanded, catching sight of the intruder hiding there.
“Sorry, I’m a nurse from this department. I came to clean the diagnostic bed. You and Dr. Horatio came in, so I stayed out of
sight. I’ll leave now.” Tiana came up with an excuse in a pinched voice.
“Nurse? What’s your name?” Elaine scrutinized her, noting the absence of a name tag and examining the woman before her long
hair under a nurse’s cap, delicate face with fine brows, and large eyes.
–
Suddenly, Tiana wrenched herself free and dashed for the exit!
“Hey, where do you think you’re going!” Lyra noticed her fleeing and felt something was off, so she took off after her.
Tiana, in a panic, bolted from the doorway, only to have her mouth swiftly covered by a long, slender hand and be whisked into
the adjacent room.
The smell of disinfectant assaulted her senses as she was hauled into a stall by a towering figure. It was only then that she
realized that she was in the men’s room!

Lifting her gaze, she was utterly flabbergasted!
The cold glint from a pair of wire-rimmed glasses was followed by a face with a roguishly charming smile.
Parker?! What on earth was he doing here?
...
Lyra came back empty-handed, only to see Elaine with a troubled look on her face, picking up a medical file from the
examination table.
“Who was that nurse? She was so careless.”
Elaine squinted. “She didn’t have a name tag, said she came to clean, but didn’t wear gloves, and the file she left behind just
happens to belong to a kidney transplant patient.”
Her gaze cooled, and she furrowed her brow as she thought back to the eyes staring at her from above the nurse’s mask.
Somehow familiar.
A flicker of unease crossed her mind as she said, “Go get Dr. Horatio back here.

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