Aiden Knight's POV
Clara's mother stood in the doorway of my apartment like a fortress under siege. Her designer heels clicked against the hardwood as she paced, her face flushed with anger and fear.
"Clara, you're coming home with me. Right now."
Clara sat on the couch, her arms crossed defiantly. The small bandage on her neck was barely visible, but her mother's eyes kept darting to it.
"I'm not going anywhere, Mother."
"Don't be ridiculous!" The older woman's voice cracked with desperation. "You were kidnapped! Held at knifepoint! And you're sitting here acting like nothing happened!"
I watched from the kitchen, letting them sort it out. Mrs. Vance hadn't acknowledged my presence since arriving twenty minutes ago. To her, I was invisible. Irrelevant.
"I'm safer here than I would be at home," Clara said quietly. "Aiden saved me."
