No Strings Attached

Chapter 326

Ian’s heart clenched as the words hit him like a physical blow. “Weren’t you supposed to keep a close eye on them?”

“We were, but Mr. Casey caught us tailing. Said it was tough work over the holidays. He invited us in for some hot ginger tea. After we drank it, we all passed out. By the time we woke up, Ms. Clara and Mr. Casey vanished.”

Ian bit down hard on his teeth, anger seething within him. “Lock down all air traffic, and start a city- wide search,” he barked orders into his phone. Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

He drove alone, speeding towards the Bell family residence. He refused to believe Clara had left without a trace.

Pushing open the door to Clara’s bedroom, he saw a pink envelope on the nightstand. Clara’s delicate handwriting was like a needle to Ian’s eyes.

[To Ian]

His heart was a taut string, ready to snap at the slightest mishap, which made his breath catch. He carefully opened the envelope and took out a neatly folded piece of paper.

[Ian, by the time you read this, I will have already left. Forgive my sudden departure. I

love you, but to protect the most important person in my life, I have to leave. Take care of yourself and don’t come looking for us. It’s the only way to keep us safe.]

Ian read the brief letter over and over again. Something didn’t add up. Clara wanted to protect the most important person in her life. If it was Casey, she could have simply sent him abroad, no need to abandon everything here.

If it wasn’t her father Casey, then who could it be?

A shocking thought flashed through Ian’s mind, exploding like a bomb and shattering his composure. To validate his suspicion, he frantically searched Clara’s room for any clue.

Underneath the couch, he found a white stick. He picked it up immediately.

As he saw the two lines on it, his breath halted. His dark eyes lost their luster, fixated on the red lines on the pregnancy test.

After what felt like an eternity, the realization hit him. He bolted out of the room, clutching the pregnancy test,

Just then, his phone rang with an unknown number. He answered immediately.

“Hello, this is Officer Smith with the Highway Patrol, Fourth Division. Am I speaking with Mr. Ian? Is vehicle registration 679 yours? There’s been an accident on Liberation Road. The driver is critically injured and unconscious. You need to come quickly.”

Ian froze at the news. That was the car he had bought for Clara. And now it had crashed.

The world seemed to darken around him. His voice trembled as he spoke. “How is the driver?”

“The vehicle appears to have had a brake failure, hit a utility pole. It’s pretty bad. We’re doing everything we can. Please, get here as fast as possible.”

“Right, I’m on my way.”

Ian raced from the scene, driving as if the devil himself was on his tail. When he arrived at the crash site, he saw Chase cradling someone in his arms, repeatedly calling out “Sasha.”

Ian rushed over and demanded, “Where’s Clara?”

Chase was covered in blood, his usually carefree face etched with unprecedented worry. “Clara wasn’t in the car. Sasha went to the car dealership to pick up the car, and on the way back the brakes failed. She called me for help, and then... the car hit the pole.”

When he heared this, Ian’s eyes darkened. Someone was after Clara’s life, tampering with her car’s brakes.