No Strings Attached

His body had been still, lifeless until a faint twitch of his fingers and a few slow rotations of his eyes brought hope back to the people surrounding him.

The doctor immediately sprang into action. "He's still got vital signs. We need to get him to the hospital now!"

At those words, the Hayes family let out a collective sigh of relief. With teary eyes, Teo turned to Clara. "Clara, don't you worry. I'll make sure lan gets the best care possible."

Clara's fists were clenched tight as she fought to keep her composure. "Teo, I'll follow him to the hospital. You take care of things here. We need to find out who gave Leonora the gasoline and who tampered with the gas line. Catching that person might lead us to the big fish behind all this."

Impressed by her thoroughness, even in such a dire situation, Teo nodded vigorously in approval. "You are good, Clara. Rest assured, I'll handle everything here. I'll send someone with you to the hospital." Half an hour later, lan was rushed into the ER. The whole family stood anxiously in the hallway, waiting.

as fast as she could. Her leg, now free of its cast, caused her to limp as she joined Clara's side. Her eyes brimmed with sympathy. "Clara, if you need

cheeks uncontrollably. Chase nudged her gently and whispered, "Clara's holding it together, and here you are crying. Ever heard of comforting someone?" Sasha shot him a glare. "Mind your own business, Chase!

I'll zip it. Why don't you and Clara take a seat over there? She's been on her feet all night. It's not good for the

that Chase made a sensible comment for once. She took Clara's hand. "Clara, you

be here for him," her voice was hoarse. "I want him to know that both I and the baby are waiting for him to wake

it beside Clara, speaking softly to comfort her. "Clara, we're not going

feigned composure made Edwin's heart ache. He couldn't

thing lan would want is to wake

the ER doors burst open. She