Love beyond the mask (Whitney) novel Chapter 465

"Yeah, he reached out to me too. The kid's got a way with words, should be fine."

Ludwik leaned on her car window, his towering presence offering an unspoken reassurance. "Are you going in, or should I? Grandma's inside; she went back to the Lippert place this afternoon and just got here."

It wouldn't look good if they both went in together.

"I'll go in!"

Understanding her urgency to see her son, Ludwik stepped aside to let her through.

His gaze softened a fraction. "Call me if you need anything. I'll be right here."

As Whitney rushed in, she caught a glimpse of him lighting a cigarette, his watchful eyes following her sprint towards the mansion.

"Danny?!" Whitney burst in, calling out.

In the Sheldon family's living room, Camilla, the venerable matriarch, had just arrived and was inquiring about something.

Holly, with a plastered smile, appeared clueless. "A problem? The young master has been playing in the backyard. What trouble could he possibly find? Dear Mrs. Sheldon, perhaps a cup of tea first…"

"Holly! The child got in touch with me; he said he fell into the pond!" Whitney bypassed the small talk and got straight to the point.

"Ludwik called me, said Danny fell into the water. Seems like it's true!" Camilla's expression turned grave.

A flicker of discomfort crossed Holly's face before she quickly replaced it with a smile, looking at Whitney. "And you are…? How does Danny know to contact you?"

Her question was clearly designed to stir doubt in the elderly lady.

Whitney, aware of Holly's game, retorted with a cold laugh, "Danny and I are close. And you're here worrying about formalities when he's in trouble at the Sheldon place?"

Camilla, catching Whitney's urgency, didn't dwell on the details. Her voice carried a hint of authority, "Mrs. Sheldon, have your staff check where Danny is on the Sheldon property, now!"

"Oh, right, I've been tied up in the study with some accounts… Butler!"

Seeing no way to stall further, Holly signaled the butler who came running, a look of panic on his face. "Madam, Danny is by the pond on the east side…"

"What!" Holly's pretended shock was almost convincing. "The young master hasn't actually drowned, has he?"

Whitney shot Holly a cold look and dashed towards the backyard's eastern part.

Camilla, supported by a servant, and Holly followed at a slower pace.

The east side featured a large pond, a scenic highlight of the Sheldon's garden landscape.

As Whitney arrived, several servants were frantically trying to fish something out of the water with the daylight fading fast.

"Danny!"

"Mummy… I'm here." Danny's weak voice came from atop a protruding artificial rock near the pond.

The pond was deep, and the rock was dangerously sharp; a wrong move could send someone tumbling into the water.

"Don't move, wait for them to get you," Whitney instructed, her face pale with worry.

Running up to the scene, Holly saw Danny safe, but Molly, the one who had fallen into the water, was in trouble. Her schemes had backfired.