Chapter 29: Tangled in the Web
Min-ho stared at Clara, completely blindsided. "A stalker? Photos of me? Ji-soo, what on earth are you talking about?" For a second, he thought the shock or the pain medication was making her delirious.
But from behind the medical curtain, Pascale pulled out his smartphone, tapped the screen a few times, and shoved it directly into Min-ho's face. "She's not hallucinating, Mr. CEO. Take a look at this. We found it in his house right before the maniac attacked us."
Min-ho took the phone. As his eyes scanned the photo of the wall—the endless pictures of Clara, and right next to them, the media clippings of himself with the eyes brutally gouged out and slashed with a knife—his face turned to stone. His gaze grew dangerously sharp and cold. This wasn't a game. These twins hadn't broken in for fun; they had been trying to protect her.
"I'm calling the police immediately," Min-ho said, his voice dropping to a deadly, commanding register. He reached into his coat pocket for his phone. "They will surround that house and hunt this bastard down."
"No! Please, no!" Clara cried out in a panic, grabbing his arm. She winced instantly as the sudden movement pulled at her stitched abdomen.
"Ji-soo, don't be ridiculous! The man is a danger to society," Min-ho countered, his voice rising with protective fury. "He stabbed Lukas and he hurt you!"
"Min-ho, please, I beg of you, no police!" Tears pooled in her eyes as her mind raced to maintain her cover. She couldn't let the authorities investigate her—if they ran her prints or checked her real ID, her fake identity as 'Ji-soo' would blow up instantly. She had to fabricate a reason, and fast. "If the police get involved, it will become a public scandal. My boss, the author Ariadne... she value her privacy above everything else. If her personal assistant is dragged into a violent stalker investigation, the media will link it back to her. Ariadne would never forgive me. I'd lose my job, my reputation, everything! Please, you have to promise me we can handle this discreetly!"
Min-ho looked at the sheer terror in her eyes. He still didn't understand why she was so fiercely loyal to this mysterious, reclusive author, but he could see that the fear of ruining Ariadne's reputation was driving her to near madness. Slowly, he slipped his phone back into his pocket. Clara let out a shaky breath, completely unaware of how much deeper she had just pushed herself into her own web of lies.
He leaned in close, gently cupping her face with both hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Fine. No police. If keeping your boss out of the press is that important to you, I will respect it. But I am not going to sit around and wait for that psychopath to strike again."
He turned sharply to Pascale. "Give me the address of that house. I have my own private security firm. Former elite special forces. They will track this man, watch his house, and neutralize the threat—without a single official report ever being filed. No one will ever know."
He looked back down at Clara, his thumb softly brushing her cheek. "But starting today, Ji-soo... you are not leaving my sight. You are moving into my apartment. It's the only way I can personally guarantee you are safe."
Suddenly, a loud, theatrical sob echoed from the other side of the curtain.
"Oh my god..." Lukas wailed dramatically. "This is literally like a K-Drama! He's sweeping her away to his castle! Pascale, pass the tissues, I'm an emotional wreck!"