No Strings Attached

Chapter 74

Casey chuckled, “She had a close call with drowning a while back, nearly bought the farm, so yeah, She has been a bit gun–shy around water ever since.”

Casey immediately turned his attention to Clara, changing the subject with a hint of grumble, “Where’s my medicine, huh? You see me coming and you’re too busy playing lovebirds to tend to me. I’ll never get you youngsters.” He took the bottle from Clara’s hands and popped a couple of pills. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Ian sensed Casey’s reluctance to dive deeper into that topic, which clearly indicated the incident had cut Clara deep. If his hunch was right, it must have happened after she dropped out of school.

Where had Clara vanished to during that lost year? What on earth had happened to her? It was a chapter so shrouded in secrecy it seemed to be a no–go zone for the whole family.

lan, with his arm casually draped over Clara’s shoulder, said, “Mr. Casey, guess we gave you a bit of a show there. Hey, I’m free for lunch today. How about I treat you and those project managers?”

Casey was all smiles, quick to accept, “To share a meal with you? They’d be over the

moon.”

True to Casey’s words, the project managers, upon hearing they’d dine with Mr. Hayes, were all spruced up and buzzing with excitement, as if they were gearing up for a hot date.

Throughout the meal, lan was busy serving Clara, hardly touching his own food. The others weren’t blind to the dynamic, sneakily whispering to Casey, “Hey, boss, is Mr. Hayes gonna be your future son–in–law or what?”

Casey didn’t confirm or deny, just laughed it off and raised his glass for a sip.

lan wasn’t shy about it, even asking Casey, “Mr. Casey, how did you find that ginseng I sent over last time? If it did the trick, I can scout around for another.”

Casey waved him off with a chuckle, “No need, it’s too much, I’m almost back in fighting shape.”

“Well, that sounds like it worked, I’ll have someone hunt down another one.”

Everyone knew the rarity and value of such ginseng, fetching a pretty penny at auctions, starting in the millions. And everyone also knew, lan wasn’t usually one to go out of his way like this. So, the exchange between him and Casey pretty much sealed the deal in their minds.

The project managers raised their glasses to Casey, hoping for his favor in the future. After the meal, lan took Clara away right in front of Casey. Once they were in the car,

11:47

Clara’s expression was icy as she turned to him. “lan, what’s it gonna take for you to let go?”

As lan buckled her in, seizing the moment for a quick kiss, he murmured, “Clara, I regret only putting three months in that agreement. Should’ve made it three years, or longer.”

Clara scoffed, “Aren’t you afraid that after all that time, any kid of mine would be closer to me than to you or Heidi?”

lan looked at her, puzzled, “What does our kid have to do with her?”

“You’re right, any child I have has nothing to do with her, and not a darn thing to do with you either.”

Noticing Clara’s eyes rimming with red, lan pressed, “What exactly did Heidi tell you? What’s on that USB?”

Clara’s laugh was bitter, “Aren’t you a little late to the party? If you’re so curious, ask her yourself. See what kind of mud she slings my way.” She unbuckled her seatbelt, stepped out of the car, and hopped into her own vehicle.

lan, fuming, slammed his fist on the steering wheel and dialed Roger’s number. “Your wife’s got a USB, footage from your daughter’s birthday. I need to see it.”