Chapter 428 Framing and Blaming
"Dylan," Clara's voice was barely a whisper as she turned to face him. "Katniss isn't picking up my calls."
Dylan's frustration was evident. "Yeah, she's dodging mine, too."
Clara quickly stashed her phone away, taking a deep breath to steady herself.
She had pieced it together; the photo and the text message were from Ryan.
She had found the call log on her phone. The same number.
That missed call was from Ryan, using her phone that morning.
He was blackmailing her with a nude photo he had taken last night.
A shiver ran down Clara's spine.
She had thought she was just unlucky, bitten by a disgusting stray dog, but now it seemed this dog was clinging to her.
She couldn't let him cling to her.
She had already blamed last night's incident on Katniss, even making Katniss the owner of the stray dog she had seen.
Even if it was framing, she felt no guilt; Katniss deserved it.
She needed Dylan to help her deal with Katniss, to make Katniss pay the same price and suffer the same torment.
Dylan didn't notice anything off about Clara, only seeing her body trembling as she faced away from him.
He spoke with guilt in his voice, "Don't worry, Clara. I'll get to the bottom of this. If it were her, our whole family would make her pay and compensate you."
Dylan had called Katniss to verify.
After all, Clara had said she didn't see the man's face clearly, but he had mentioned Katniss.
As Dylan finished speaking, Clara finally managed to compose herself. "Dylan, thank you. But at a time like this, she definitely wouldn't dare answer your call." Clara sobbed, still facing away from Dylan, wiping away a tear before continuing, "That man said it himself, Katniss paid him to..."
Her voice trailed off, and she hugged herself in a panic.
She didn't finish her sentence, but the implication was clear.
Dylan, standing behind her, felt a pang of sympathy.
Almost unconditionally, he believed Clara's words, moving around to comfort her. "Clara, don't worry. I'll make sure you get justice."
Clara suppressed the venom in her eyes, replacing it with a pitiful, innocent look as she slowly raised her head to meet Dylan's gaze.
"Really?" she asked in a trembling voice, "But Dylan, you haven't asked Katniss yet, and she hasn't admitted anything."
Seeing the vulnerability and unease in her eyes, Dylan gently patted her head. "She's not answering because she feels guilty! That man said Katniss hired him, so it must be connected to her. No one else would hurt you for no reason!"
The more Dylan spoke, the more convinced he became, fully persuading himself.
He looked at Clara with pity. Clara had always been fragile, and their family had always doted on her.
Only Katniss, out of jealousy, would repeatedly set Clara up.
Clara's soft, worried gaze fell on Dylan, making her look both sorrowful and delicate.
"But, Dylan, Katniss has Maximilian protecting her. I'm scared. You don't have to confront her. I'm fine."
Dylan shook his head. "Clara, she hurt you. I can't just let that slide."
Not wanting to scare her with his stern tone, he quickly softened his voice. "Don't worry, Clara. I'll figure something out."
Clara whispered, "I'm afraid you'll get set up too. Katniss doesn't care about the past anymore. She's become so scary."
She seemed to recall her trauma, curling up in fear and anxiety.
Dylan sighed and hugged her to comfort her. "Clara, don't be afraid. You're too kind-hearted. I'll make Katniss pay for this."
Even if he couldn't do it right away, he would at least cause Katniss some trouble.
"Okay, I'll listen to you, Dylan. I'm not afraid," Clara murmured, leaning into Dylan's embrace.
"Dylan," She suddenly grabbed Dylan's shirt, nervously saying, "Please don't tell anyone about what happened yesterday. I don't want..."
"I won't say a word," Dylan promised earnestly.
With Dylan's assurance, Clara's tense expression relaxed a bit, and she leaned back into his arms, murmuring again.
However, she seemed mentally distressed, speaking incoherently.
Dylan gently patted her back, hoping to soothe her to sleep.
But as Clara murmured, she suddenly asked sadly, "Dylan, do you know what Desmond is doing? He promised to come to the hospital, but he didn't."
She broke down in tears.
Dylan stiffened, suddenly remembering that in his rush to find Clara last night, he had told Desmond that Clara might have been assaulted.
His stiffness was too obvious, and Clara, leaning against him, immediately noticed.
"Dylan?" Clara asked, puzzled.
Dylan hesitated, hiding the fact that Desmond might know what had happened to Clara.
He reassured her, "I'll ask him why he didn't come."
Whether Desmond knew about Clara's assault or not, Dylan needed to call him and make sure he kept it to himself.
He had promised Clara to keep it a secret.
If Clara found out he had accidentally let it slip last night, she would blame him.
More importantly, it would break her heart. He didn't want her to be heartbroken.
After finally calming Clara down, Dylan left the room and went to the hallway to call Desmond.
When the call connected, he first made Desmond promise to keep the secret.
After Desmond agreed, Dylan said, "Clara is very unstable right now. If you can, come see her and comfort her."
"But, Dylan, I'm not in Starhaven right now," Desmond hesitated, but decided to be honest with Dylan.
He hadn't told Clara he wasn't in Starhaven to avoid upsetting her, but he didn't worry about telling Dylan.
Desmond had just returned to the Boleyn family.
Emily had missed him terribly and had been talking to him for a while.
It was only Dylan's call that gave him an excuse to go upstairs and take the call in private.
Emily missed him so much, but he was too exhausted to handle it.
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