Love Beyond the Mask

Chapter 19

“Spit on them, boys! Break this old fool!” They shouted.

After having their fun, the assailants left, cursing as they went.

Yvonne, her beauty marred, spoke with venom yet dared not curse, “Sir, who were they? They seem to

be ordinary thugs, but we haven’t crossed anyone like them recently!”

A realization struck Preston. “It’s Whitney… Didn’t she get mixed up with some riffraff? Tonight, I tricked

her into a miscarriage, and she got them to retaliate! The ungrateful wench. And it’s your fault for that

rotten idea, making me please Monica by getting rid of her child!”

Yvonne replied with cold resentment, “I was just trying to keep Monica happy for Simon, okay? If we

get rid of Whitney, we keep control of the company.”

She kept babbling as Preston was busy calling an ambulance.

Then, looking at the news on his phone, Preston’s face turned pale as a sheet.

[Breaking News: The Valentine Corporation’s CEO’s wife, a former adult film star!]

[High society lady, Yvonne Valentine, involved in explicit videos, supported by wealthy businessmen.]

[Preston Valentine, the fall guy.]

In the darkness, the phone screen shone brightly; Yvonne saw it too and her face went pale.

Preston, his face turning purple with anger, received a mocking text from a business tycoon, [Preston,

your wife’s trending! Was she really an adult film star? No wonder you can’t get enough of her, haha.]

The irony in those words infuriated Preston, who was extremely conscious of his reputation.

Seeing his ragged breathing, Yvonne said guiltily, “That’s not true…”

“You whore!” Preston shouted, losing all reason, and turned to slap her hard, “You had so many sordid

affairs in the past? Now they’re out in the open, and you dragged my reputation down with you!”

“No! I was clean before I married you; it must be Whitney… It’s too coincidental tonight. We tried to

take her child, and she retaliates against us!”

“If you have no dark past, how could they call me a fall guy? Get out!” Preston, spitting blood in anger, Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

immediately called The Valentine Corporation’s PR to scrub the trending topic.

But Yvonne’s trending topic remained high the next day as if hackers were working against them.

The next day.

When Whitney awoke and saw the news, her first thought was of Tiana.

She called her, and the girl, still groggy from sleep, confessed without denial, “Yeah, it was me. I dug

up all of Yvonne’s dirty laundry overnight and gave her a five–day trending package!

But did you see the gossip? Yvonne and Preston got beaten up by some gang and ended up in the

hospital.

Wonder who the good Samaritan was who avenged you? So satisfying!”

Whitney froze. Beaten up by a gang?

Somehow, she found her thoughts drifting to last night when L said before leaving, “Leave everything

else to

me.”

She felt like she knew the answer. A slight smile curved her lips. Despite his misunderstanding of her

last

14:59

night, he took her grievances to heart once the truth came out. With his means, taking down the

Valentine family would probably be easy.

Whitney admired his approach, avenging her while not interfering in her personal matters.

For the next few days, she stayed home, nursing her wounds and trying her best to show good

behavior.

With Yvonne trending and her reputation in tatters, she and Preston had a tough road ahead.

Whitney felt a cold sting in her heart; the scales had fallen from her eyes regarding Preston, and she

would no longer show any mercy to the Valentine family.

She must win next month’s big competition to reclaim Skye Gem.

On a Saturday afternoon, Tiana called Whitney to meet up.

She came bearing important news. “Whitney, I found out that Mr. Lippert from Imperial Gem

Corporation has a soft spot for landscape paintings. October is coming, and the registrations for the

state jewelry contest are about to start. I’ve heard that Simon and Monica have been hovering over

charity auctions lately. They’re trying to butter up Mr. Lippert, the judge for the event!”