No Strings Attached novel (Clara and Ian) novel Chapter 430

Ian was like a man possessed, charging towards the inferno, but several bodyguards clung to him with a death grip. “Mr. Hayes, it’s too dangerous! There’s gasoline in there. The flames are relentless!”

“Get off me! I have to save Clara. I have to save my child.”

“Mr. Hayes, you’ll get killed if you go in there. Let us handle it.”

With a punch for each, Ian floored the bodyguards and, heedless of anyone’s attempt to stop him, soaked his clothes in seawater before diving into the fiery abyss.

Running, he bellowed, “Clara, I’m coming for you! Where are you?”

His search turned up no sign of Clara. Just as he contemplated storming upstairs, a familiar voice pierced through the roar of the flames. “Ian, help me!”

He spun around to see Heidi, bound to a pillar with ropes. The fire encircled her menacingly. His heart clenched at the sight. Clara must have won their struggle. She had tied up Heidi and made her escape.

The only way out was the sea, but Clara had a phobia of deep waters. And she was pregnant.

With this in mind, Ian kicked a ball of fire towards Heidi, intensifying the blaze already consuming her.

Terrified, Heidi screamed, “Ian, please, save me! I’ll tell you where Clara is.”

Desperately she struggled, trying to free herself from the knots Clara had tied so tightly. The more she moved, the tighter they became. As the fire surged towards her, she wailed and pleaded with Ian, who looked at her with no more sympathy than one would a piece of trash, then leaped into the sea.

The flames engulfed Heidi. The searing heat tortured her beyond endurance.

The fire on the ship raged uncontained. The rescue team was preoccupied with hunting for Clara, and no one bothered to quench the flames. Heidi was abandoned by all, and her consciousness ebbed away.

Ian searched underwater, desperate, finding no trace of Clara. The waves crashed over him as he scoured the depths.

He knew all too well the peril Clara faced in the water. Even if she could swim, her phobia would paralyze her, leaving her at the mercy of the sea.

Ian’s fear mounted as he swam further into the abyss.

Seconds turned to minutes, and the professional dive team labored through the night, but Clara was nowhere to be found.

The sea was at its most turbulent, and Clara’s frail form would probably have been swept away by now.