Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 1179
"Elaine's been missing for ages, and then just shows up in Banyan City? What's going on with that?" There was a cold,
dangerous glint in Ludwik's eyes.
Parker snorted, his tone dry. "That's a long story, man."
...
Inside Parisa's hospital room.
Whitney had finally calmed down. She picked up a thermos cup, stuck in a straw, and helped her mom sip some warm broth.
"Here, Mom. Can you lift your wrist for me?"
Parisa's gaze softened, her eyes shining with a rare hint of joy. In public, she was always so composed, strict, never letting
herself show even a crack. But in front of her daughter, she let her guard down, her armor slipping away.
She caught on to Whitney's gentle touch, her eyes brightening. "You...know how to check a pulse?"
Whitney grinned, meeting her mother's gaze. "Of course, Mom. Don't you remember?"

Parisa's eyes clouded. She didn't know which memory Whitney was talking about -truth was, she'd lost them all.
Whitney didn't seem disappointed. Her voice was warm with nostalgia. "You taught me everything I know about medicine,
remember? When I was little, I just wanted to go play outside, not learn about herbs and remedies. You'd always say it was
important—it was self-defense, in a way.
Later I found out Grandpa was one of the top pharmaceutical guys back in New York. No wonder you were always so good at
this stuff. It's just... after a while, when Preston Valentine and Yvonne kept upping your medication, it must've been pretty subtle.
Otherwise, you would've noticed sooner. By the time you knew, things had gotten really bad.
And then, you and Grandpa went on a business trip-and there was that huge explosion."
Whitney stopped there, her voice trailing off, not wanting to go any further.
Parisa didn't remember any of it, and yet, as Whitney spoke, none of it felt completely foreign either.

It was like the memories were floating just out of reach, but the feelings lingered. That terror, the panic during the crash and the
blast, was etched deep inside her. She only remembered waking up fully lucid, somewhere in Germany, with a handsome older
Germanman by her side.
He'd become her husband after that...
Parisa drifted off, her thoughts tangled. When it came to the past, she always felt

a strange dread, like she was afraid to touch those memories. She knew it had to do with that man from the Sheldon family...
The man who, just recently, had saved her life in the canyon.
Her fingers curled under the blanket as she snapped back to the present, managing a small smile for her daughter. "You know, I
think I
vaguely remember having some medical skills. Once, I was sick and Somehow managed to check my own pulse. I figured I
must've known how, somewhere deep down.
When Florence came to Germany pretending to be you, I even asked her if she knew anything about medicine. She lied, of
course. And with the DNA test and everything, I didn't really question it."
Whitney listened closely, studying
her mother's face, then smiled encouragingly. "Mom, I believe there are things you haven't truly forgotten. Maybe they're just
buried deep, waiting for the right moment to resurface.
Since you've been back in Harmonia, have you noticed any changes in your memory?"
Whitney paused, then asked softly, "Especially... after you fell from that cliff, when Dad showed up-did you...recognize him then?"
Parisa fell silent, her mind flashing back to that night, the one where she'd almost died.
She remembered the handsome man on the cliff's edge, finding her tangled in the branches below.
She'd been barely alive, no idea how he'd managed to climb down to her. He seemed so weighed down by emotion, his voice
thick and shaky, like he was fighting back tears, too afraid to touch her.

He told her he'd have to jump with her, otherwise she'd die up there on that tree.
And then, holding her tight, he leapt falling with her into the deep, cold river below...