Love Beyond the Mask novel Chapter 1290

When the Lippert family saw the infant incubator wheeled into the foyer—

Under the glass dome was a tiny, rosy little body, barely bigger than a bottle of Sprite, so thin and pale. Her tiny face was flushed with effort, as if she were straining to take in the world beyond the glass. Her wide, lonely eyes—round and dark—looked just like Whitney’s.

The whole Lippert family fell silent, struck by how delicate and small she was.

Camilla gripped her cane tighter, her breathing uneven. She recalled what Ludwik had said about the child’s difficult beginnings...

Suddenly, Camilla had no more doubts.

Her eyes, usually sharp with age, now glistened with tears. She didn’t dare touch the incubator, but her voice trembled with emotion. “It’s chilly outside—let’s hurry and bring her in where it’s warm.”

Natalie’s gaze was complicated as she looked at the baby. She felt a rush of tenderness for the little one.

She stepped forward and, together with Riley Lippert’s wife, carefully lifted the incubator. They didn’t need the doctor’s help; the two women carried the baby inside to the living room.

That’s when Ludwik stepped out of the car.

A small, relieved smile played on his lips, the kind you wear after a long storm has passed. “Grandma, it’s a heated incubator. The little one will be just fine.”

“Yeah, Great-Grandma!” Danny hugged Camilla’s arm, his tone sweet and insistent. “My baby sister’s getting stronger every day!”

Whitney could feel the complicated mix of looks from the Lippert family—curiosity, concern, maybe suspicion—but she had no way to explain where the child had come from.

And really, it wasn’t her story to tell.

She just smiled and answered the unspoken questions, “She can drink milk now, and she’ll start gaining weight soon. She’ll catch up in no time.”

“Whitney, take your son inside and get some rest,” Ludwik said, tapping the arm of the chair.

Whitney turned and called back to Sandy, still in the car.

Shane, tall and broad-shouldered, stood at the car door. He opened it for Sandy, then reached in and gently lifted Tina out.

Her back looked fragile and gentle, her waist slim and tense as she walked away.

Shane narrowed his deep-set eyes, then turned to find Ludwik.

Jason was speaking with Ludwik. “This little girl’s story is unbelievable. When I told Grandma, she didn’t buy it—how could an embryo survive all that? But you must have done the DNA test, right? Thank God she pulled through.”

“It’s true. Otherwise, Whitney would never have taken her in.”

“Is she really okay with it? I mean, the baby was Florence’s, after all.”

Ludwik nodded. “Whitney’s smart—she’ll make up her own mind. She’s got a soft heart, too.”

Jason’s shoulders relaxed and he let out a sigh, his eyes sharpening a moment later. “Dad’s been helping you investigate. There’s word Bryce was spotted in Eurovoria. He shot you once—what are you going to do about it?”

Jason didn’t want to see him caught up in another storm of blood and bullets.