Chapter 45

To shut him up, Clara finally reached out and loosely wrapped her arms around his waist. In the rearview mirror, Nicholas's lips curled into a small smile—he was clearly in a great mood. They arrived back at the Howard home. Once in her room, Clara tried calling her master. But the call didn't go through. She sighed—figures. The old man was always vanishing into thin air. Every time she needed him, he either went off the grid or changed numbers. Unless he reached out first, finding him was pretty much impossible. Guess she'd have to wait for another chance to ask about her connection with Nicholas. Just as she was about to put the phone away, it rang—unknown number. She answered it. "Clara, it's me," came a familiar voice—Vivian. Clara had blocked her last time. Clearly, she found a new number to sneak through. "What do you want?" Her tone was icy. "I need to talk to you. Are you free tomorrow? Come by the Bennett place." "Not free." Vivian paused, surprised by the blunt rejection. She