Chapter 10

Meanwhile, Logan was also searching along the coast where the waves might have carried Natalie. Jayden's men couldn't find her body in the sea, so Logan boldly speculated that she might not have died. Hence, he and Jayden split up. Logan led a team to check every stretch of shore and nearby island where the tide might have carried her to. However, after several days of fruitless searching, all he had was mounting helplessness. Just then, his phone rang. "Mr. Hall, please hurry over to the Carter residence. Something's happened to Ms. Johnson!" … Five days after Clara's true colors were exposed online, Logan and Jayden finally made it back to the Carter residence. Clara was curled up on the sofa, her eyes swollen from crying. The sight of her made both men's hearts ache. "I'm so sorry, Clara," Jayden said gently, pulling her into his arms. "It's all my fault. I haven't been there for you these past few days. Don't worry, I've already had people suppress the rumors online. "As for those spreading lies about you, I've already contacted a lawyer. I promise we'll make this right," he reassured her. It took a while before her sobs quieted down. Then, she lifted her tear-streaked face and choked out, "But… but so many people believed those lies. Some even said I got someone to plant explosives on Natalie's cruise ship…" When her voice cracked again, Logan hurriedly sat beside her and comforted her. "Don't listen to them; you had nothing to do with what happened to Natalie." After Natalie's disappearance, Logan and Jayden had immediately launched an investigation into where the explosives had come from, but after all this time, they still couldn't find anything. Still, the idea that Clara could have been involved was simply absurd. Clara was kind, almost to a fault. Despite all the times Natalie had tormented her, she'd never held it against the latter. In fact, she'd even pleaded with them to go easy on Natalie when they were punishing her. There was no way someone like Clara could plot something so cruel. After gauging their reaction, Clara felt a weight lift off her chest. She'd been so careful with everything she did to Natalie, covering her tracks at every turn, yet somehow, someone had still managed to uncover the truth and plaster it all over the Internet. For days, she'd barely slept, haunted by nightmares—visions of Jayden and Logan turning on her, punishing her mercilessly once they knew the truth. Fortunately, she'd kept up the perfect act in front of them. Thank God they hadn't bought into a word of what was online. Her gaze darkened as she thought, "Natalie, even in death, you'll never beat me!" … The chaos online didn't last long. Jayden and Logan acted quickly, using every connection and method at their disposal to squash the scandal. The few lingering criticisms soon disappeared without a trace. They had planned to stay by Clara's side for a while, but because they still hadn't found Natalie, they were both on edge and just couldn't focus on being with her. However, Clara wasn't upset at all. Instead, she offered to help them search for Natalie out at sea. The gesture left both men deeply touched. Jayden squeezed her hand, guilt heavy in his voice. "I'm sorry, Clara. I haven't been fair to you. When all of this is over, we'll make it up to you and spend more time with you." In truth, Clara had no intention of joining the search. But she knew how dangerous the memory of a dead woman could be. She was afraid that if they focused too much on Natalie, they would eventually start forgetting about her, and that was the last thing she wanted.