Love Beyond the Mask

Chapter 25

At this moment, Yvonne was practically quivering with anticipation, eager to witness Whitney’s public

downfall as the scene of her brutalizing her own dogs unfolded before the eyes of all.

She had Preston summon a doctor to declare Whitney mentally unstable right then and there, ensuring Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

she would be hauled off to the asylum and locked away for good.

She would never see the light of day again, never be able to turn the tables. That irksome little wench

would be out of her hair for good!

In her mind’s eye, Yvonne smirked with vicious satisfaction. As the servant shattered the lock and

pushed open the door, she stepped into the dimly lit basement.

The stench of blood hit them like a wall, causing everyone to cover their noses. As the lights flicked on,

the assembled ladies gasped at the sight of a girl sitting amid a bloody mess, her hands and face

smeared with blood, even flecks on her teeth, like she’d gone mad ripping into raw flesh.

“Agh!”

“What in the world? Who killed the dogs? Was it Whitney?”

“Whitney, darling!” Yvonne rushed to the girl’s side, her face etched with feigned concern as she

reached for the girl. “Sweetheart, even if you’re unwell and faced some ridicule at the party, they were

your own dogs. How could you be so cruel to your own pets, you…”

Yvonne was laying out Whitney’s supposed sickness and its triggers, ready to signal Preston to call for

the doctor, when she took a proper look at the girl’s face and let out a shrill scream, collapsing

backward, her face ashen.

“What’s wrong, Yvonne?”

“Yvonne, why did you call me?” Whitney sauntered in from the side, feigning surprise. “Oh no, it’s my

sister!”

Every gaze in the room turned to the girl in the pool of blood.

It was Monica! It was actually Monica!

Yvonne was stunned. She lifted her shocked gaze to Whitney, who was cool as a cucumber, then back

down, refusing to believe her daughter had ‘attacked the dogs.‘

How could it be Monica? Her plan had been flawless. Where had she gone wrong?

Snapping back to reality, Yvonne glared at Whitney with pure loathing.

Meanwhile, Preston, his face a picture of disgust, quickly moved to disperse the onlookers.

But the crowd was too intrigued and refused to disperse.

In desperation, Yvonne covered Monica and covertly tried to wake her daughter.

Monica came to with a start, “Mom, why am I here? Ah!”

–

As she took in the sight of blood and the mutilated remains of what seemed to be a dog, Monica

screamed.

Whitney watched the dramatic scene unfold before squatting down innocently, “Sis, what in the world.

happened to you? How could you kill my dogs?”

“I didn’t, I didn’t kill any dog,” Monica stammered, her face pale and confused, turning to her mother for

answers.

“Enough! Stop this nonsense. Everyone, there’s nothing to see here. This is just some frozen meat

from the storage, and Monica just fainted because of her fragile body, that’s all. A simple

misunderstanding!” Yvonne hastily explained with a forced smile, urging everyone to leave.

“Yvonne, is my sister sick? I saw the kitchen was brewing some tonic soup for her. Is it because she

lost

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another baby recently, and that’s why she’s emotionally unstable and could do something so extreme

as to harm dogs? Whitney speculated calmly, her voice laced with concern.

The audience caught on to the underlying implication.

Yvonne wished she could rip Whitney’s mouth right off her face.

But she was powerless to do so.

Just then, Phebe stepped forward with a face like thunder. “What’s this all about? Monica, did you have

a miscernage with my boy Simon?”

Everyone knew Phebe had high standards for purity and took a dim view of Simon’s relationship with

Monica. After all, Monica was the mistress, and Phebe despised her. However, Simon was too much in

love with Monica, and Phebe had no choice but to compromise.

Her question made Monica and Yvonne stiffen.

Whitney kept up her act of concerned sister. “Phebe, didn’t you know? Monica’s miscarriage even

made the rounds in a video. Yvonne, Monica’s lifestyle is taking a toll on her health. Despite her youth,

such recklessness will only lead to ruin.”

The murmurs grew louder, with whispers of disdain. “What’s going on with Monica? Has she lost

several babies?”

“Just now, Yvonne was boasting about her daughter’s purity, and now this slap in the face.”

Phebe, now indignant, glared at Monica before storming out.

Whitney watched with a smile and then gracefully exited the scene.

Yvonne sat on the floor, defeated, as the whispers around her grew.

Monica quickly got up and chased after Phebe, sobbing. Meanwhile, Preston panted heavily as he

stared at Yvonne with wide eyes.

Yvonne’s face was pale as a sheet, and this humiliation had gotten her so filled with rage she almost bit

her tongue off. She had planned to humiliate Whitney and send her to the asylum, but shockingly,

Monica ended up being the one humiliated.

With an ashen expression, Preston cleaned up the mess. Fortunately, not many esteemed ladies had

followed them here and witnessed this nonsense, and he could pay them to keep their mouths shut.

However, this expenditure made his heart ache.

No matter how hard Monica tried to explain to Phebe that this was a misunderstanding and that

Whitney twisted the truth because there was something wrong with her brain, Phebe was not

convinced at all and left the Valentine Mansion in a rage.

Having cleaned up and changed into her evening gown, Monica looked somewhat revived, but the

situation with Phebe had left her visibly shaken.

She blamed her mother. “Mom, Whitney saw right through your plan, and now I’m the one covered in

filth! I hate her! Stop interfering. She thinks she’s won, right? Just wait until the auction starts. I’ll see

how much she can spend. I’m going to make her the laughingstock of the evening!”

And so, the auction began, drawing the attention of the wealthy attendees, temporarily setting aside the

scandal involving Monica for the excitement of the bidding war while Yvonne and Preston scrambled to

salvage their tarnished reputations.

“Monica!” Yvonne was visibly worried. If she had faltered, what hope did her daughter have?

Monica dashed into the auction house with an air of grace just as Simon returned with a stormy

expression.

Her eyes quickly caught sight of Whitney making an entrance. In a heartbeat, Monica threw herself into

the man’s arms, tears streaming down her face like a spring shower. “Simon, is Mom still mad? She’d

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believe those nasty lies from my sister than in her own son?

You know me. You know you’re the only one for me. My sister is just jealous of our love; she wants to

ruin me!”

Simon, who had been slightly swayed, felt his resolve soften once more at the sight of her tears.

Following Monica’s gaze, he, too, noticed Whitney just entering. His brows knitted together, then he

strode over and grabbed Whitney by the arm. “This is too much! Whitney, why would you frame

Monica? Don’t I know her well enough to see through these lies? Even if Aunt Yvonne has it out for

you, you’ve got no right to drag Monica’s good name through the mud!”