No Strings Attached novel (Clara and Ian)
Chapter 322

lan fell silent for a moment before he finally spoke up, "Did you figure it out?"

Edwin, seething with anger, gritted his teeth. "Ian, I thought of you as my best mate. You were the first person I told when this whole mess started. Not even my family knew. I trusted you. Why did you lie to me?"

"You knew darn well that Clara is the one I've been looking for. Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was close to a roar.

He had always believed that lan was helping him find his sister, but he never imagined that his so-called friend would conceal the truth from him.

lan's voice remained as cold as ever. "And what if I have told you? Could you have controlled yourself and not acknowledged her? Do you realize how much that would hurt her?"

"So by not telling me, you think there's no harm done? She still nearly got killed because of Heidi."

"That's because you were careless. You didn't even notice your secret was discovered. If you had, Clara wouldn't have been in such danger."

"lan, don't get too cocky. Clara is my sister. If you think you can just marry her, you've got to get past both the Campbell and the York families first!"

lan stood his ground. "If you want to claim Clara back, keep Heidi in line first. If she tries to harm Clara again, I'll make sure it'll be the end of her!"

For the first time, the two friends who had grown up together were at each other's throats, and the air around them was thick with tension.

When faced with the truth, Edwin painfully closed his eyes for a moment. He knew that lan must have done a DNA test. So, Clara was indeed his mother's daughter, his long-lost sister.

After a tense silence, lan finally spoke with a calmer tone. "When Grandpa Reed left, Clara was devastated. Can you imagine how much more pain she would feel knowing her beloved father isn't her biological dad?"

"I get where you're coming from, but you also need to consider her feelings. This isn't something to rush into. You have to think it through."

Those words gradually brought Edwin back to his senses. He still hadn't found out who was behind his mother's car accident. If he let Clara claim her rightful place now and drove Heidi out of the Campbell family, it would only put her in greater danger.

Facing his real sister yet unable to acknowledge her, Edwin felt his eyes moistened once more. When he thought of all the hardships Clara had endured, and the lavish affection Heidi had received since childhood, the resentment in Edwin's heart grew heavier.

After hanging up the phone, he sat alone in his room, taking a long time to digest everything.

That was until the butler knocked on his door, who informed Edwin that his father, Paolo, had arrived.

Edwin immediately got up and went to his grandfather's study.

Paolo was slumped on the sofa, looking utterly defeated. Michael, fuming with anger, grabbed a mug from the table and hurled it at Paolo.

Paolo didn't dodge, so the cup hit him square in the head. The blood immediately trickled down. Without tending to his wound, he sat there like a condemned man, head bowed in silence.

Michael slammed the table forcefully, barking, "Paolo, cut the act. We've got all the evidence we need. You can't deny it anymore. Tell me, who is that woman?!"

Confronted by Michael's pressure, James' disdainful gaze, and the revulsion from his own son, Paolo clenched his fist weakly. He hadn't foreseen that his mistake from years ago would lead to the loss of his wife and daughter.

He watched Michael, tears streaming down his face, "Dad, I'm sorry. I failed May. But I never intended for this to happen. I didn't know Heidi wasn't May's daughter. The affair with that woman ended years ago. I don't know her name or even what she looks like. She always wore a veil when we were together."

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