Love beyond the mask (Whitney) novel Chapter 283

At the villa, buried in his room, Danny saw his smartwatch buzz. Glancing down, he caught a message from Sammy and dashed downstairs.

The sound of his footsteps, pounding down the steps, caught Ludwik's attention. "What took you so long to come down?"

Elaine, ever the gracious host, stood up with a sigh, directing a helpless look at Ludwik, "The moment I got back, Danny was throwing a tantrum, refusing to come down for dinner."

"Come on, Danny, sit. Momma's gonna serve you some food."

"Get lost!"

Anxious, Danny snapped at her, irritation laced thick in his voice.

Ludwik's brows furrowed deeply, surprised at the sudden shift. Just the other day, Danny had been so polite and understanding.

What happened to that cool, collected kid?

"How dare you speak to your mother that way?"

"She's not my mom!" Danny retorted, his face scrunching up in frustration.

Elaine's face fell, but she was too stunned to react immediately, turning to size up the defiant young boy.

Taking a deep breath, Ludwik asked, "Then why did you come down?"

Danny opened his mouth to respond, breaths heavy and ragged, but found himself at a loss for words.

He was frustrated, lacking Sammy's quick wit. The upbringing he had didn't include lying, and he didn't know how to tell his dad that Sammy and his mom were in danger.

This was bound to open a can of worms he wasn't ready to deal with.

Ludwik, setting his cutlery down, said firmly, "Danny, if you've got something to say, say it. Don't just sulk."

That was Danny's worst habit.

Elaine chimed in with a laugh, "Ludwik, don't you know Danny by now? If he's not happy, he won't let us be either. Don't get worked up over it."

Her words were meant to soothe but only added fuel to the fire.

Danny shot Elaine a disgusted look, but he was at a loss on how to counter her claims.

If only Sammy were here.

He still couldn't find the words to tell his dad about the danger his mom was in.

Stomping his feet in frustration, Danny turned and ran back upstairs, sending Sammy his dad's number in desperation.

Sammy would understand, right?

Upon receiving the number, Sammy got the message loud and clear.

This had to be the dreaded dad's number. With a roll of his eyes, he sneakily took out the phone his mom kept in her back pocket and dialed the number.

The moment the call connected, he handed the phone to his mom.

Underneath her clothes, Whitney felt the phone vibrate and looked down, her face darkening.

Why had the call gone through to Ludwik?

Puzzled, she was about to end the call when a taunting voice came from the other end, "What do you want, you shameless woman? Heard you got nabbed by the shareholders of Skye Gem Ltd. Serves you right."

"…"

Whitney's mouth twitched at Ludwik's smug tone, instantly realizing the misunderstanding.

The shareholders and their thugs were right there; she couldn't speak up.

Just as she was about to hang up, Ludwik's voice boomed with arrogance, "Looking to beg me now? Fine. If you don't want to end up dead, hand over Mr. Rufus's negatives, give up on Skye Gem Ltd., and apologize to Elaine!"

In your dreams.

Whitney rolled her eyes in secret, noting Mr. Liam and Mr. Percy's gleeful expressions nearby.

Nyx must be wrapping things up by now.