Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

Charles was supposed to meet up with Clara today, but he'd been calling her since early morning and she still hadn't picked up. Not once.

The last call finally connected, but it wasn't Clara on the other end-it was some guy.

Ryan was already at his limit. Whoever kept spamming Clara's phone had been at it all day; her poor battery probably couldn't take much more.

But before Ryan could snap at him, the stranger spoke first.

"Hey, sis, I'm at Palm Bay but there's literally no one here. Where are you? Which way am I supposed to go?"

Charles's helicopter was parked right there on the Palm Bay lawn, bold as anything. As he'd landed, he could almost feel the unfriendly vibes-like a hundred eyes were following him. Now, he was just standing in front of his shiny chopper, bored out of his mind.

Hearing someone call Clara "sis" made Ryan bolt upright. "Who the hell are you?"

Charles seemed just as confused, running his fingers through his hair. "Who are you? You don't sound like Dylan. Did my sister trade up for someone new? Is she cheating on Dylan or what?"

That didn't make sense. She'd looked perfectly happy the last time she walked off with Dylan.

Ryan took a deep breath, rattled off the address, and told Charles to come over.

When Charles showed up, what he saw was Clara sprawled out on the bed, completely passed out.

He rushed over and scooped her up, panic written all over his face. "Sis, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Ryan saw how rough he was being and stormed over, prying Charles's hands off Clara.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Put her down!"

Charles finally glanced over, squinting at Ryan. "And you are?"

Ryan's face was red with anger. "I should be the one asking! The Bradford family doesn't have any random brothers popping out of nowhere. What kind of brother are you supposed to be? And let Clara go-she's not hurt. She woke up a few hours ago, she's just sleeping now."

Honestly, when she woke up earlier, Clara hadn't seemed all there. She'd fumbled for her phone, sent a half-asleep text, and immediately passed out again.

Ryan had snuck a look at her contacts. Just two words: "My Husband."

Damn it, Dylan! What the hell did you do to get Clara to call you 'husband'?

Ever since last night, Ryan's world had flipped upside down-again. Losing his dad, Johnny, had already changed everything, but last night had taken things to a whole new level. It honestly felt like he'd stumbled into some wild movie.

Charles settled beside the bed, glancing at Clara for a few seconds, then at Ryan.

"Are you two really siblings? You don't even look alike."

That stung, but Ryan just remembered how Clara had risked her life for him. His chest burned with a weird mix of pride and gratitude.

"There's no point talking to you."

Charles might act like a kid, but he could tell when someone meant well or not. He crossed his arms. “Fine.

wait till my sister wakes up.

we'll sort this out."

Right then, Charles's phone rang. It was his older brother.

The family party was about to start, and everyone was already heading to the

Fergusons' estate. His brother clearly wanted to know what Charles was up to this time.

"Mitch, where are you?"

Charles scratched his head. "Big bro,

are you guys at the Fergusons'

already? I'm with my sister. She's

stillnoveldrama

Il asleep. I'll take her out for some

fun once she wakes up."

His brother, multitasking at his laptop, glanced out at the growing line of fancy cars outside. He sighed.

"I'm staying in the Capital for three days. You're staying with me. No running off and causing trouble."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

Charles hung up and looked at Ryan. "So, why didn't you get invited to Walter's birthday bash?"

Ryan took a deep breath, deciding not to bother answering.

Seriously-where did this clown come from, acting like he and Clara were old

pals?

Once Clara woke up, Ryan was determined to get rid of every single one of these weirdos.