No Strings Attached

"Alright, it's settled then. Transferring your assets through a divorce is safe, and no one will suspect a thing. After all, the York family, the Campbell family, and Clara have lost a lot because of you. It's only fair toContentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

compensate them appropriately."

The two of them then finalized the details of the divorce agreement.

Just then, Dawson came over and handed the divorce agreement to lan. "Mr. Hayes, we've found the cause of the explosion."

lan looked up and asked, "Was it a time bomb?"

"Yes, it's one of the latest miniature bombs. No bigger than a steel plate, but its lethal range extends to about thirty feet. This device was hidden inside a locket Liana gave to the child. According to the video, Ms. Clara wanted to tidy up, but she was interested in the beautiful locket and gave it a few more glances. Luckily, Mr. Casey noticed something was off, grabbed the locket, and ran to the yard. Otherwise, Ms. Clara and the child's lives would've been in danger."

Hearing this, lan clenched his fists tightly. Katherine had given Clara that locket long ago. Ian hadn't realized Connor had set up this trap so far in advance.

Connor always wanted Clara and the child's lives because he knew that only Clara and the child were what lan cared about the most. Taking away someone's most cherished ones was far more aggressive than killing them.

Very well, he would definitely settle this account with Connor properly.

The next morning, Clara was awakened by a loud noise in her dreams. Following that, she felt blood flowing beneath her, and her father was covered in blood from the explosion.

Clara suddenly opened her eyes, only to see lan's face, which bore the marks of time. She immediately knew something was wrong and placed her hand on her stomach.

When she felt her stomach had deflated, she watched lan in panic, her voice trembling, "lan, where's the baby?"

lan didn't speak and just gently stroked her head with his large hand. His voice was hoarse. "Clara, there will be more opportunities for children in the future. What's most important now is that you recover. Your father is seriously injured and unconscious. He's waiting for you to wake him."

Although lan didn't specify what happened to the child, Clara understood the implication in his words. She stared at him incredulously. "It can't be. I shielded him with a cushion. He can't be gone, lan. Are you lying to me?"

As she spoke, tears were already

sliding down her cheeks. lan gently

wiped her tears away, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at her. "Clara TM'm sorry I failed to protect you and our child. You can hit me, yett at me, just don't hurt yourself, okay?"

"lan, I need to see the child. If he's alive, I want to see him; if he's dead, I want to see his body. I don't believe he's gone."

As she spoke, she tried to sit up in bed, but lan pressed her down. "Clara, you've broken two ribs. It's not good for you to move around if you want to see him, I can take you there. But you have to promise me that after seeing him, no load crying of making a scene, okay?

Clara's mind was blank. She couldn't believe this was true. She felt it must be lan trying to surprise her.

She nodded repeatedly. "Okay, I promise you."

lan carried Clara to a separate room, where a small wooden box lay.

The wooden box was beautiful, adorned with many patterns, but inside the wooden box lay a newborn baby, silent. The baby was tiny, only about twelve inches long, and his features clearly resembled Clara's. At that moment, all of Clara's fantasies shattered. She lay over the wooden box, overwhelmed with grief.