No Strings Attached novel (Clara and Ian)
Chapter 246

Casey and Victoria were strapped with explosives like two ticking time bombs. Tucked behind Casey, Victoria was nearly impossible to target her silhouette almost completely obscured.

Considering the meticulous planning and such lethal attire, lan didn't think Victoria was capable of this on her own. The mastermind behind this was undoubtedly extraordinary. Their reach extended into the prison system and crafted such an impeccable escape. With this thought, a shadow of intensity deepened in lan's gaze.

At the sight of her father wrapped in explosives, Clara couldn't help but let out a terrified scream. "Dad!"

She started to rush forward, but Casey stopped her in her tracks. "Clara, lan, don't come any closer. Get out of here now! This woman's lost it. She's got the detonator, and she's ready to take us all out with her."

lan's firm grip on Clara's wrist held her back as he spoke with a calm, resonant voice, "Clara, stay put. Let me handle this."

He raised the briefcase in his hand towards Victoria. "We've got your cash and your helicopter ready. Now let him go."

Victoria laughed mockingly, "lan, have your men drop their weapons and back off twenty meters. You and Clara will personally deliver the money to me. Make a move, and we all go boom." As she spoke, Victoria lifted the detonator in a threatening gesture.

With a cool command in his voice, lan acquiesced, "Alright, they'll back off." He signaled his guards with a glance, and as ordered, they holstered their weapons and retreated.

lan, holding the briefcase in one hand and Clara's wrist in the other, inched closer to Victoria. When they were just a few steps away, they halted.

lan declared, "Release Casey first. He's not well. I'll be your hostage until you're safely out of the country."

At his words, Victoria's laughter echoed like a specter from the abyss. "lan, you really are desperate for Clara, aren't you? Well then, I'll grant you your wish!"

She shoved Casey toward Clara, and raised the detonator as she stood behind lan. Her voice was chilling, "I know you've set the stage for my capture, and there's no way out for me. The explosives on Casey are enough to vaporize him and Clara, and we'll be obliterated together. Ian, you've had me tortured in prison, living a life worse than death. I'm tired of it all. To drag you down to hell with me seems like a fair trade."

Her gaze was cold, and her eyes bore into everyone before her as she let out a mournful cry. "Time for all of us to die!"

As the words left her lips, she made to press the detonator button.

lan spun on his heels, kicking Victoria to the ground. As he lunged for the detonator, he saw Victoria rolling toward the cliff's edge, her laugh piercing and cold. All she needed was to press the button as she fell and the explosives on Casey would finish them all.

At that moment, driven by sheer desperation, lan made his move. Just as Victoria's body was about to plummet, he grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip, trying to wrestle the detonator from her hand. However, he had seized the hand without the detonator.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled Victoria upwards. That's when she sneered at him, "lan if you're so brave, jump down and fight me for it."

lan watched her finger move towards the button. He had no time for second thoughts and was driven by a single promise. He had assured Clara that he would bring her father back. He couldn't break his word

now.

With everything on the line in that split second, lan hurled himself at Victoria.