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.

will

my life, I have to leave. Take care of yourself and don't come looking for us.

person in her life. If it was Casey, she could

her father Casey,

shocking thought flashed through lan's mind, exploding like a bomb and shattering his composure. To validate his suspicion, he frantically

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

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

an eternity, the realization hit him. He bolted out of the

his phone rang with an

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.

car he had bought for Clara. And now it