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.

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

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

to protect the most important person in her life. If it was Casey, she could have simply sent him abroad, no need to abandon

it wasn't her father Casey, then who could

exploding like a bomb and shattering his composure. To validate his suspicion, he frantically searched Clara's room for any

a white stick.

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

what felt like an eternity, the realization hit him. He bolted out

with an

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

was the car he had bought for Clara. And