No Strings Attached

Connor let out a wistful smile. "Alright, your secret's safe with me."

After hanging up the phone, the smile on his face grew even wider. Regardless of whether Brodie was telling the truth or not, Connor had Katherine and Bruce in his grasp now and wasn't worried about his disobeyance.

All he needed was their help to acquire Hayes Corporation, and then everything else would fall into place.

Elsewhere.

As Clara tended to lan's wounds, she voiced her concerns, "Do you think Katherine will be alright? I worry that Connor might harm her."

lan gently caressed her cheek, his voice deep and reassuring. "Don't worry. He won't make a move right now because he needs to keep Brodie in check. As long as we don't give ourselves away, we'll be fine." "lan, if Katherine truly is your and your sister's birth mother, she probably suffered a lot back then. She had to watch her husband and child get taken by someone else and was powerless to do anything... If she hadn't been carrying Brodie, I bet she would have wished for death."

Mentioning this added a layer of pain to lan's expression. Nothing could be more agonizing than watching your loved ones being taken from you.

Leonora must have tortured her severely, leading to her mental breakdown. She had lost her husband, her child, her home, and her beauty while facing the threat of losing her life and the child in her womb. lan could hardly imagine how Katherine managed to endure it all. Such heart-wrenching pain must have kept her awake through many sleepless nights.

Thinking of this, lan's eyes got teary, and he pulled Clara into a tight embrace. His voice carried a hint of exhaustion. "Clara, I'm sorry for marrying you into this family. I've yet to provide a stable home for you. With the baby on the way, you're still worried about our family."

out you left the house and decided to harm you on the street. I

might happen

tenderly stroked his

soft and comforting.

aren't I? I

about you when I discovered such

I didn't mean to make you worry. I

be

from now"

and

at home. Is that

gently kissed

family. Connor was a devil incarnate, capable of anything. Moreover, the Devil's Claw was backing him. It was comprised of CEOs from major European conglomerates, and their alliance against the Hayes family was a formidable challenge that lan alone might not

all-out attack on the Hayes family, what would happen to lan,

and lan held each other until