Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

Clara rushed back to where Ryan was, grabbing his collar with urgency.

"Has Emily given you anything to eat while she's been with you?"

Ryan winced at the pressure on his neck but answered obediently, "Just some simple meals, nothing unusual. The guards know about it, Clara. Wasn't it you who arranged for her to visit me?"

Clara was still uneasy. She called in the doctor to check Ryan once more, and only after confirming he was fine did she breathe a sigh of relief.

"Did anything unusual happen between you two?"

Emily wouldn't come here without a reason; there had to be more to it than just leading Ryan astray, right?

Ryan's face flashed with discomfort as he quickly lowered his head. "No, nothing."

Clara couldn't get past the usual concerns between a man and a woman. She was worried Emily might be trying to tempt Ryan back into bad habits. Thankfully, her plan hadn't worked this time.

She called all the guards into the room. "From now on, no one sees him without my permission."

Ryan felt a wave of relief but still felt the need to defend Emily. "Clara, isn't Emily your friend? She brought me a lot of books. I've read them all, and they were quite helpful."

"Enough!"

Clara felt a chill run through her, double-checking with the doctor about Ryan's condition before instructing the guards. "Do you understand? No one is allowed to see him alone. Meals will be delivered by one of you."

The guards nodded, realizing Emily was clearly not Clara's friend. "Understood, Ms. Clara."

Clara truly cared for Ryan, especially after Johnny's dying wish. She couldn't afford to be careless. Ryan's sheltered upbringing left him far too trusting.

She ruffled his hair gently. "When you turn twenty, I'll come to get you. If you need more books, I'll have Cole bring you some."

Ryan thought about confessing the one-night stand but decided against it. Clara's mood had finally improved; if he told her, would he disappoint her again? She had already gone to see Nathan, who was anything but trustworthy, a sly wolf in sheep's clothing.

Nathan hated him and wanted to take his place, which was why he had taken that call on purpose. He wanted to steal Clara away.

Ryan's hand clenched tightly; he couldn't let Clara find out about the one-night stand.noveldrama

"Ryan?"

Clara called his name several times, noticing his distraction. She gave him a light slap to regain his attention. "Are you hiding something from me?"

Ryan shook his head, suddenly smiling. "Clara, I'll wait for you to come get me. I'll do better, and when I'm out, I'd like to meet your boyfriend, okay?"

Clara relaxed, finally convinced he was alright, and nodded.

When she got back to her car, her back was damp with cold sweat. After driving home, she took a shower and instructed Cole to bring some finance books to Ryan, then continued her work on the project with the Kensington family.

It wasn't until nightfall that someone knocked on her door.

She checked the door's video monitor but saw no one. When she opened the door, there was a trace of blood on it, as if someone had knocked in a hurry and then fled.

She closed the door and reviewed the security footage, but strangely, it was a snowy static, as if something had interfered with it.

Meanwhile, a man leaped from her building to the next, gravely injured, barely making it to his people. Clutching his wounded chest, he was pale.

That shot had nearly killed him.

His face was ashen as he heard his comrade ask, "Mr. Aaron, should we retaliate?"

Aaron let out a cold laugh, shaking his head. Since returning to the city, he had faced assassination attempts daily. Besides Dylan, he couldn't think of anyone else responsible.

Dylan was afraid Aaron would uncover his secret, the secret held within that photograph.