Jonathan's POV
We left the next day for the last location where we hoped we would find Clara at.
Though seeing the time frame she lived in the last places…
She could move out any moment.
But try is all that we could do.
At a remote damp street in an unknown part of the city
I slowed the car as we entered the street.
It was damp.
There was no house, only tall buildings that were stopping the sun from entering the street..
Probably the reason it's so damp here.
"Well, this was easy," Daniel said, seated beside me.
"I told you, only the highway would be long, but once we reach there, it's just a street away,"
I said as I got out.
Daniel followed.
I looked around.
Tall apartment run-down buildings. Small shops. Faded broken boards. Nothing that really stood out.
"You sure she lives here," Daniel said looking around. "I mean…the Clara I knew would—"
"This is where she lives," I said, nodding.
"It is in the system…"
"And, systems don't lie."
We didn't head over immediately.
We stood outside observing the community.
We saw people come in and out of the buildings, shops, etc.
No pattern.
No security.
No one gave a second glance at the person walking beside them.
Daniel leaned back slightly.
"She really picked well."
"Huh?"
"The Clara that I knew," he said leaning against the car. "Loved the rich life. So, imagining her here…but recalling her location pattern, this is the type of place she's been staying at."
"So, let's go and check the building—"
"No need," Daniel said, gesturing to me to follow him.
At first I was confused, but I soon realized he was following a woman.
Maybe…
Daniel's POV
She looked different from the last time.
She was slim, but slender.
And a talkative person.
Now…
She was..
Thinner, and…
Quieter.
But the way she paused before buying anything…
The way she scanned everything once, briefly…
That hadn't changed at all..
No matter how much one changes,
Habits…don't change.
They may refine them, but not forget them.
Like now…
She scanned only once, compared to before,
She would check twice.
Jonathan glanced at me.
"Is that Clara?"
"Yes," my voice was barely audible.
"Now what?"
"Let's follow and see where she goes."
At first I thought she may be going to work, but she only bought some necessities and went back to the building she came out of.
"Now what?"
I looked at Jonathan.
"Do we follow?"
"Yes," I nodded.
There was no reason we shouldn't go and meet her.
Normally, I should have been happy as I was going to meet an old friend, a girl whom I admired for her work.
But now, after knowing everything…
I felt odd…
I actually felt like I was going to meet my enemy, or a person who holds a grudge against me.
She did look back a few times, but didn't stop.
She didn't recognize me.
We followed her at a pace.
Enough to see which apartment she entered.
I was about to knock on the door,
but Jonathan stopped me.
"Wait," he said.
"She knows you," he said. "She may run if she sees you. Let me."
I exhaled and stepped back.
Jonathan knocked on the door.
As she opened the door, we both were shocked.
"Mr. Rollings??" she said.
"I haven't said a word about it…and…and…."
She began to stutter.
Another habit of hers when she was in fear.
I stepped forward.
"Clara."
She looked at me with a shocked gaze.
Then she stumbled a few steps back.
"No, it can't be…"
"You…you with Mr Rollings…"
"No…"
She held her head with her hands, and crouched down in a ball.
"Clara!!"
I ran over to comfort her.
"Clara, Jonathan isn't with Imelda," I said consoling her.
"He's with…"
I trailed off.
I wanted to say 'us', but now we were no longer 'us'.
I let out a deep breath.
"He's with me."
She raised her head, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Imelda is his…"
"She's not my fiance," Jonathan said, coming over.
"Our relationship is only in name," Jonathan said in a cold tone.
"It's only for Adrian as he's—"
"He's not your son,"
Her voice cut through the hall.
Not too loud.
Not too sharp.
But something that was heavy…final.
Silence followed her words.
Jonathan didn't react.
For a second it seemed as if Clara's words didn't reach him.
"...What?" I frowned, looking between them.
Her hands were trembling. She pressed them against her head, shaking it slightly, as if trying to steady herself.
"I…" Her voice cracked. "I thought I would keep this to myself…"
Jonathan let out a short breath.
"What did you say?" His voice was low, controlled. A little too controlled.
Clara looked up at him.
"He's not your biological son," she said slower this time. "He's not your son."
The words finally settled.
This time…they hit hard.
Jonathan staggered a few steps back.
I immediately reached out for him before he could lose his balance.
"That's impossible," Jonathan said. "I saw the DNA report. I saw–"
"The report…" Clara let out a pathetic laugh. "The report is what caused the whole problem."
Jonathan's head snapped at her.
"What do you mean by that?"
She hesitated as her fingers curled into the fabric of her hoodie, knuckles turning white.
"I made the report," she said in a barely audible voice.
No one spoke a word.
"I made that DNA report," she said again, louder this time, practically forcing the words out. "It's fake."
Silence fell in the hall.
I stared at her.
"Clara…do you even hear what you're saying…the meaning of this?"
"I do," she said, her voice shaking, tears rolling down her cheek. "I remember every word, every number I typed…every detail I gathered for the report."
"It's forged," she tilted her head sideways.
Jonathan's grip tightened around Daniel's arm.
His breathing changed from slow to heavy.
He was dangerously quiet.
"Explain," he said in a low voice.
But it had enough weight to make Clara flinch.
"Imelda told me herself," Clara said in a trembling voice. "Adrian…he's from a one-night stand."
Jonathan's eyes turned red in fury.
"She needed a legal name for him. Status and protection," Clara continued. "Fredrick could raise him, protect him, give him status, but not…name…so they used you."
Each word landed heavier than the last one.
Jonathan let out a sharp, humorless laugh.
She looked up at Jonathan, and continued.
"You needed proof to believe," she said. "Something you can't deny."
She swallowed.
"So she made me make it for you."
Jonathan's hand slipped from my arm.
For a moment it seemed like he was frozen.
I could understand.
Seven years of lies..
Built on a single piece of forged paper.
"Damn it!"
He swung his arm through the magazines on the table, scattering them across the floor.
"Damn that woman," His voice broke, raw and filled with anger. "She cost me my wife and child…"
Silence engulfed the room.
This time..
None of us dared to speak.
"Continue."
Jonathan's voice was calmer than before.
The kind that came after something was already broken.
Clara flinched slightly before speaking.
"Before Fredrick could get the design, another party backstabbed him…and took the design," she said. "At the time Daniel had withdrawn the case, and the buyer was someone special, so Imelda dropped it."
Jonathan's gaze became sharp.
"Who?"
"Sanders."
The name hung in the air.
Jonathan didn't react immediately, instead he let out a slow breath as if he was expecting the name.
"No wonder," he murmured.
"You know him?" I glanced at him.
Jonathan didn't answer my question.
His eyes shifted towards me.
"You haven't told him anything?"
I frowned. "Told me what?"
"The Blue Heart," he said. "Your design."
There was something odd in his voice.
He wasn't curious.
He wasn't accusing.
But it was something heavier.
I exhaled.
"The Blue Heart…" I began, quieter this time. "Is a pendant of two pieces."
Jonathan didn't say a word.
So I continued.
"A circle and a heart," I said. "Seperate, they don't mean anything. Together…"
I paused.
"They mean the world to a couple."
Clara looked up at me as Jonathan's gaze met with mine.
"My inspiration was clear," I added. "The heart... The circle."
Silence.
"The heart stands for love," I said. "And the moon for eternal love."
Jonathan let out a faint relief breath.
Recalling Jonathan has been after the design.
"Why did you want to get the design so badly?"
My question cut through everything.
Jonathan didn't look at me like a rival, rather like a person who had lost something dear.
"The materials," he said without wasting another breath. "The gems…the metal."
HIs jaw tightened.
"They are mine."
Silence followed.
"What?" I straightened.
His eyes darkened.
"The blue metal is exclusive to Rollings Designs," he said slowly.
My mind raced back in time.
"That's impossible," I said. "I brought them from a local dealer. I couldn't afford anything expensive at the time."
"You're correct," he said. "Only that local dealer was selling stolen goods."
My chest tightened.
"The gems used in the design" Jonathan continued, his voice low, "they were from my mother's private collection."
He paused.
"They were stolen years ago," he said. "By the time I traced them back, they were in another's hand."
"Sanders," I muttered.
Jonathan nodded.
"Yes, and their value had multiplied. Beyond my reach."
Everything began to connect.
"That's when Fredick came to you," I said slowly.
"With a DNA report," he replied.
Clara lowered her head.
"He offered a deal," he continued. "Name for Adrian, time for Imelda."
"How many?" I asked.
"Two years."
"It's been seven years." I was shocked.
He clenched his fist.
"She kept extending," he said. "One request after another."
It wasn't a partnership.
It was a trap.
I looked down at my hands..the hands that designed the Blue heart.
What I thought was my breakthrough design…
Never belonged to me completely.
And somehow…
We all became Fredick's pawns.
"I can help you get back everything," Clara said. "If you save me."
"Save you…"
Jonathan's voice was cold.
"...it's the last thing on my list."
The words landed exactly where they were supposed to.
Clara didn't flinch.
She didn't argue.
She just lowered her gaze, as her fingers tightened around the edge of the hoodie.
"I know," she said quietly.
Not in defence.
Only accepting her fate.
Clara slowly pushed herself to get up, ignoring the tremble in her legs.
"If you can give me my life back…" she said, voice steadier than before. "I will help you destroy Fredrick and Imelda,"
Jonathan's head tilted slightly.
"Destroy?"
Clara met his gaze.
For the first time we saw her,
There was something sharp in her gaze.
"Expose them. The forged reports, The stolen designs. Clients," she said. "I was the one behind the system."
"I can prove it all."
Jonathan didn't react.
He just stood there.
Measuring…weighing.
"What for?" He asked at last.
"My name," she said. "I want it cleared."
Pause.
"I want to live like Clara Hayes," she continued. "No more hiding, no more running."
Her voice was cracking but she didn't stop.
"I'll do everything to bring her down," she said. "When it's over…you clear my name."
"You think it's so simple?" he asked.
"No," she replied with confidence. "I know it's not."
Another pause.
"But if I testify against her," she added. "In public, it will be."
"You realize this will destroy you?" he said.
"I already am,"
Silence followed.
Heavy.
"Why did you help her in the first place?" his voice dropped.
Clara held his gaze.
This time she didn't look away.
"...because I was angry," she admitted. "At him."
Her eyes turned towards me.
"I thought ruining his work would hurt him the way he did me," she said. "I didn't know it would go so far…or how it would destroy him."
I didn't speak.
Neither did Jonathan.
"Revenge over rejection," Jonathan said.
Clara didn't defend.
"Yes."
"What do you say?" Jonathan asked me.
I knew it wasn't simple, but I had to.
"Let's go along," I said. "If she's lying…this time we have her on record."
I held the recorder we prepared before coming over.
"You help bring them down," he said. "I'll give you a clear life."
"If you try doing–"
She cut his words.
"I won't," she said. "I swear."
Clara's voice came from behind us.
"Imelda won't know what's coming her way."
Jonathan didn't stop.
I followed with a faint smile.
After all…
That's what we three people share right now.