Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 287 Within the oppressive walls of Banyan City Penitentiary, Bryce, accompanied by a lawyer, discreetly escorted Whitney inside.

The visiting room was steeped in a cold, unnerving silence. When Whitney laid eyes on her uncle, now a mere shadow of his former self-gaunt and pale as if life had been drained out of him-tears cascaded down her cheeks uncontrollably. "Uncle..." she choked out.

Keegan, equally overwhelmed, struggled to sit down with the aid of a cane. His eyes were rimmed red as he stammered, "Whitney, it's been three years... I feared Ludwik had sought his revenge on you, making your life a living hell." Indeed, Whitney's last three years were a tale too complex and painful for simple words.

Bryce, having bribed the guards for a momentary reprieve, returned and comforted Whitney with a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Let's focus on the matter at hand." "Uncle, this is the lawyer I've hired. He's recording our conversation. There are no bugs here, so quickly, tell us everything about what happened a month ago. You're the only one who knows the truth." "It was a setup!" Keegan slammed his hand on the table, his voice laced with urgency. "A month ago, my cellmate was suddenly thrown into solitary without explanation. Then, they brought in a new inmate, Lyle, a burly ex-truck driver. I kept my distance, fearing him... But that very night, he forced pills down my throat!" Whitney clenched her fists.

Keegan continued, "I didn't know what those pills were, but after three days, I began feeling violent and delirious. Then, they accusedof starting a fight with Lyle, a segment of tI have no memory of. Later, Lyle coercedinto the bathroom where he gaveone final pill, and I blacked out. When I cto, I was holding a sharpened toothbrush, its end buried in Lyle's throat." The room was heavy with a silence that bore the weight of injustice and despair.

"Drugs are the key," Kelvin, the lawyer, deduced grimly.

Prepared for this, Whitney quickly drew a blood sample from her uncle, hoping to find traces of the drugs used against him. "Think, Uncle. Did Lyle ever mention anything that could give us a lead?" "Lyle bragged about his nephew being wealthy, working as a secretary for shigh-profile lady and about how his family had settled abroad after receiving a fortune," Keegan recalled bitterly. "A clear case of hiring a hitman," Kelvin concluded.

With the blood sample secured, Whitney mapped out their next steps, including investigating Lyle's family connections, which seemed to point towards Elaine.

Exiting the prison under the cloak of night, Bryce, sensing Whitney's heavy heart, offered words of encouragement and appreciation for her tireless efforts to exonerate her uncle and reclaim Skye Gem Ltd. "Thank you," Whitney expressed, her spirits lifted by the prospect of the company's relaunch. She extended an invitation to Bryce to join Skye Gem Ltd. as its Chief Advisor, a proposal he eagerly accepted.

Meanwhile, in a bustling bar, Elaine found herself trapped in a passionate embrace, her protests fading into muffled acquiescence under the fervent advances of a mysterious man. As the encounter escalated, Elaine's initial shock gave way to a smoldering intrigue, revealed to be an old flreigniting.

The complexities of love, power, and revenge intertwined, setting the stage for a confrontation that would unravel the tightly wound secrets of Banyan City and its inhabitants, each maneuvering in a high-stakes gwhere the lines between ally and enemy blurred. Elaine's gaze flickered unnaturally, her brows knitted in reluctance.

She brushed him off with a distant tone, "Jarvis, whatever was between us is ancient history. We went our separate ways. What are you doing running from New York to Miami?" "I've missed you. All these years, couldn't shake your memory." Jarvis turned away from her, his tall frblocking the view of the glasses on the table. His eyes narrowed slightly as he discreetly dropped a powder into one of the glasses. Elaine observed his silhouette and posture; he was indeed a top-tier catch back in New York, especially being the adopted son of Jason Lippert, a high-profile general. But compared to Ludwik, Jason's biological son, Jarvis just didn't measure up.

Back then, her fling with him was just a fleeting moment...

Pretending innocence, Elaine said, "Westside, I'm Ludwik's fiancée now. We're getting married soon. You should forget about me!" Jarvis approached her with a teasing smile, grabbed her waist, and spun her onto his lap.

Elaine's face flushed instantly.

"Back then, you couldn't have Ludwik since he was married, so you turned to me.

Now, I hear Ludwik's not doing so well. Can you really handle playing the lonely widow, Elaine?" He leaned in for a kiss.

Elaine felt his arrival in Miami was abrupt, especially given he was Ludwik's non-blood-related older brother.

Though slightly moved, she resisted and slid off his lap, "I love Ludwik. Everyone in our circle knows he's the only one for me. Save your efforts." "So heartless?" Jarvis's eyes dimmed with disappointment as he picked up a glass, "But we can at least share a drink for old times' sake, right?" Elaine wanted nothing more than to shake him off.

She hesitated, then downed the glass on the table, "Ludwik's waiting forathI should go."

But before she could leave the lounge, a strange warmth surged through her bringing an odd ΕΠ sensation. Elaine's breathing quickened, and she looked back in confusion.

Jarvis leaned against the doorfrwith a sinister smile, leisurely watching her.

"What... what did you put in that drink?" Elaine asked, alarmed and angry.

Jarvis stepped closer, lifting her chin, "That little act of seducing Ashton earlier, savy everything, even En recorded it. In fact, Elaine, I know quite a bit about your secrets, like, you still have two kidneys." Elaine's face paled! Jarvis smiled slyly, "Ludwik doesn't know about that, does he?"