Love Beyond the Mask novel Chapter 5

The silence was deafening.

Preston looked up. The casket was to his left, draped with flowers.

Suddenly, from the adorned casket emerged something bloody.

"What's that? It's a hand!"

"But wasn't Whitney's body never found?"

A chilling terror swept through the room!

Just then, a person, bloodied and mangled, clambered out of the casket, wailing ghostly, "Daddy, it hurts so much! Am I dead?"

Preston, frozen, looked up in horror, his soul seemingly fleeing as he crashed to the ground!

The gruesome corpse crawled out of the casket, approaching Yvonne, "Yvonne, it hurts. My sister crushed my palm. Sis, you let the kidnapper beat me so badly!”

"Ah!" Yvonne and Monica screamed, tumbling to the floor.

Their faces were ashen.

Monica, clutching her head, wailed, "Mom, wasn't she supposed to be trapped in hell, never to return? Why has the ghost come for us? Oh, don't come for me, please!"

Her words revealed a crucial piece of information.

Whitney, with a cold sneer, slowly stood up.

The pale-faced crowd, some lifting their eyes, saw Whitney moving freely, asked, "Ms. Valentine, you’re not dead, are you?"

"Yeah!" Whitney walked over, stepping on Monica's hand with a chilling smirk, "Strange, my family acted as if I were dead, pressing me into hell."

This revelation shocked everyone.

Whitney’s eyes turned a piercing red as she sneered. "Was it that by burying me, my company would be easier to swallow whole, my will easier to forge? My fortune willingly left to Monica? Dad, have you forgotten how just ten days ago Monica and Simon paid off kidnappers to abduct me to the wilderness, to kill me off for good?"

"My God, the story's different. Wasn’t she killed by a lover?"

"What, she's implying the Valentine family conspired to kill her..."

Preston stared at Whitney, convincing himself she was real, alive!

He reacted quickly, rushing to embrace Whitney. "Whitney, you're alive! Thank goodness!"

"Daddy, how could I bear to die?" Whitney, with a spectral gaze, turned to Simon. "Before the wedding, my fiancé and my stepsister had an affair; she got pregnant, and for their child, they left me for dead. Such a debt of gratitude, how could I ever forget!"

Monica and Simon turned ghostly white.

The room erupted into whispers, and journalists who had somehow infiltrated the scene raised their cameras.

Preston signaled his security to clear the room!

"What's gotten into you, child, speaking such nonsense?" Yvonne reacted quicker, rushing to cover Whitney's mouth and squeezing crocodile tears. "Are you angry with me and Daddy? Sorry! We thought you were dead. Without a body, we had no choice but to present your will!"

"We love you. Please don't be angry with us, okay?" Preston's eyes brimmed with paternal sorrow.

Whitney brushed off Yvonne's hand, uninterested in their charade, her gaze coldly sweeping the diverse expressions of the audience.

Stepping down, she addressed the media with poise, "The pen is in your hands; write well of today's big story!"

The reporters were stunned by her radiant face.

"Whitney!" Tiana screamed.

Whitney approached her, glancing at the gossiping employee, delivering a swift slap, "Witnessed me sleeping with a shareholder? You should discuss the price of spreading rumors with Monica. Enjoy your last meal."

The female employee’s face turned ashen.

Whitney's words fell into the ears of the reporters, sparking a heated debate.

...

In the secluded booth of the café, Tiana embraced Whitney, sobbing.

"You're pregnant?" Her eyes widened in pain and shock. "Whitney, what have you been through? If only I had been in Banyan City ten days ago, I could have stopped those two scoundrels."

She regretted trusting Simon all those years.

Whitney clenched her fist, recounting her ordeal.

Tiana was even more astounded. "You're not just pregnant, you married that man who raped you!"

"It was a marriage of convenience. They took me away by force. I had no other choice, Tiana."

Tiana's complexion shifted, quickly probing, "Then who is he, from which esteemed family? Surely not a scoundrel?"

Whitney shook her head. "He wore a mask. I don't even know his name."

"What?" Tiana was utterly dumbstruck. "You've married some enigmatic stranger!"

Whitney sighed, interrupting her, "Enough about him. To the point, Tiana, you're a computer whiz. I need a favor."

Tiana understood the look in her eyes, flipping open her laptop. The funeral fiasco was all over the news, with rampant speculation about Whitney Valentine's non-demise.

Whitney produced two photographs.

"That scum and his tramp actually got a marriage license!" Although Monica wore a cap, Tiana recognized her!

Without waiting for Whitney's instruction, Tiana broadcast the photos to major media outlets.

A figure was sleeping on the sofa, facing away from her – it was Monica.

"What's wrong with her?" Whitney asked, her lips curling into a half-smile.

Yvonne sighed, "Monica's pregnant, and the pregnancy is taking its toll on her; plus, she's been distraught over your 'death.' She fainted, but she'll be okay after some rest."

"Whitney, why don't you carve yourself some fruit while you wait?"

Before Whitney could respond, Yvonne pressed a fruit knife into her palm.

It seemed casual, but Whitney looked down to see the fingerprints imprinted on her own hands, then glanced at the 'unconscious' Monica.

A cold smirk crossed her lips.

"The soup's ready, Whitney. Eat it while it's hot," Yvonne said gently, bringing over a bowl of bone broth.

Whitney looked at the bowl and obediently took a sip.

Yvonne watched her take several sips, a flash of coldness crossing her eyes.

Whitney stood up, appearing slightly unsteady. She furrowed her brow and held her head, asking, "Yvonne, where's Dad? I'd like to see him."

"He's upstairs in the study waiting for you. Go on up!" Yvonne said with a smile.

Whitney ascended the stairs, shaking her head to clear it. She entered the study, not to find Preston but two sleazy corporate shareholders who had long harbored unsavory intentions toward her.

"Whitney, you came!" One of them sneered.

"What are you doing in my father's study?"

"We're waiting for you!"

Whitney backed away in panic, and the door slammed shut behind her – Yvonne had locked them in!

"Stay away from me!" The girl's screams echoed from the room.

Yvonne, lips curled in triumph, descended the stairs and called out to Monica, "Thought she'd gotten smarter after a brush with death. Just a gullible fool, after all. Once they plant the evidence of her licentiousness, we'll inject her with a psychosis-inducing drug. You splash some fake blood and play the victim."

Monica laughed, foreseeing the news headlines turning the world upside down, "What does it matter if she's alive? She can't beat me and will end up behind bars!"

The mother-daughter duo wore looks of success, their ears pressed against the door.

"Why is it so quiet?" Yvonne frowned. "Could they be recording?"

She could not fathom how two grown men could fail to overpower one fragile woman.

Suddenly, the door swung open.