No Strings Attached

lan'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."

lan 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.

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 lan's eyes.

[To lan]

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.

time you read this, I will have already left. Forgive my sudden

important person in my life, I have to leave. Take care of yourself and don't come looking for us. It's the only

wanted to protect the most important person in her life. If it was

father Casey, then who could

exploding like a bomb and shattering his composure. To validate his suspicion, he frantically

white stick. He

halted. His dark eyes lost their luster, fixated on the red lines on

an eternity, the realization hit him. He

then, his phone rang with

is Officer Smith with the Highway Patrol, Fourth Division. Am I speaking with Mr. Ian? Is vehicle registration 679 yours? There's been an

was the car he had