Want My Womb? I'll Make You Childless novel Chapter 111

Chapter 111

Clara slumped against Ryan, the fight completely gone from her. She looked at Natalie, her face contorted with resentment and rage, and felt nothing but bone–deep exhaustion.

She straightened, trying to find her voice, but Natalie cut her off, screaming, “Clara made me do it! She was already under investigation for colluding with foreign agents!”

“And the last time, when the Blade data was leaked, her cousin and half–sister were dragged into it. Even I was investigated because of the Apex–Nova AI partnership.”

“She was so afraid I’d reveal she was the one behind it that she had her husband, Ethan Carter from Carter Group, vouch for me at the National Security Agency!”

Natalie’s words dropped like a bomb in the silent NSA office. Every eye in the room turned to Clara.

“Ms. Bennett, you’ll have to remain here until we’ve clarified a few things.”

An agent stepped forward, blocking Clara’s path.

Clara closed her eyes, reeling. She couldn’t believe Ethan had vouched for Natalie!

Ryan started to intervene, but Clara tugged subtly on his sleeve, signaling him to stand down.

What Natalie said was a tangled web of truth and lies, cleverly spun so that official records would back up her claims.

The only way to clear her name was to prove that she and Natalie Parker were at odds, and that this was all a malicious frame–up by Natalie.

“There’s a voice recorder and a folder in the nightstand at home. They contain evidence of Natalie plotting to harm James Carter and framing me, as well as urging Ethan to have me be a surrogate.”

Hearing this, Ryan Walker looked at Clara in disbelief. He was about to speak when Clara continued, “Help me get that voice recorder and find a way to pin it on the fact that I had an abortion of her and Ethan’s child, and that she holds a grudge against me.”

“That way, Ethan’s guarantee for her will make sense.”

“Also, I initially disagreed with Apex’s cooperation with Nova AI. It was Ethan, through Commander Evans, who pressured us into establishing the partnership.”

“Contact Commander Evans and see if you can get him to testify.”

“Okay, hang in there. I’ll be back.”

Ryan Walker gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with worry.

He knew that Clara had a stress reaction here, but he knew that the most important thing now was to handle the things Clara had

mentioned.

“Okay.”

Clara nodded with a wry smile. In this situation, she had to hold on, whether she could or not.

Natalie Parker watched Ryan Walker leave without a backward glance at Clara Bennett, a smug smile spreading across her face.“Clara, we’re in this together. If I go down, you’re coming with me!”

Clara glanced at her, her eyes like chips of ice, before following the officers back into the interrogation room.

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Given that Natalie Parker was the one who reported Clara, and they already had a handle on Clara’s situation, the investigators weren’t in any rush to re–interrogate her.

Clara was left alone in the interrogation room.

Head bowed, she counted the seconds in her head. About half an hour later, the door to the interrogation room finally opened.

Her heart skipped a beat. She looked up to see Ethan Carter striding into the room, and her darkened.

eyes

Ethan didn’t miss the disappointment in Clara’s eyes, and his already grim expression turned even darker.

“I just saw Natalie Parker. Why did you get her to do this?”

Faced with Ethan’s accusation, a mocking smile twisted Clara’s lips. “Ethan, did you already forget what you said this afternoon at the hospital?”

“You’re still as arrogant as ever, believing Natalie over me.”

“Do you really think I’m capable of something like that?”

“No.”

Ethan shook his head firmly. “I know how much Blade means to you. There’s no way you would leak its data.”

Clara’s eyes

flickered with confusion at his words. She was about to ask why he’d said all that before, but Ethan cut her off, “All that so–called evidence of data theft and collusion with foreign powers–you fabricated it, didn’t you?”

“Natalie told me you knew the child was hers, and you did this out of spite.”

“Clara, have you lost your mind?”

“You’d go SO far as to fabricate evidence just to drag Natalie down with you? Do you even realize that’s a crime?!”

Ethan paused, his voice softening slightly. “It’s not too late to stop this. Tell the National Security Agency it was a moment of madness, that you fabricated the evidence, and turn yourself in.”

“I promise, I’ll vouch for you. I’ll find a way to get you out of this.”

“Just like you vouched for Natalie?”

Clara laughed, a hollow, incredulous sound, as tears welled up, betraying her composure.“Ethan, is that really what you think of me? That I’m someone who would stoop so low for revenge?”

She wiped away the tears, her gaze hardening as she met his eyes, defiance blazing within her.“I didn’t frame Natalie, and I won’t withdraw the charges or apologize!”

“This accomplice nonsense is just that–nonsense! Can’t you see she’s trying to drag me down with her?!”

“That’s impossible.”

Ethan frowned.“Natalie has her moments, but she wouldn’t be so foolish when it comes to matters of national security!”

“But I would?!”

Clara glanced at the surveillance camera in the corner, glaring at Ethan.

“Ethan, don’t forget, the collaboration between Apex and Nova Al was your doing, and I didn’t even know you vouched for Natalie with the National Security Agency until today!”

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“Do you admit that or not!”

“Yes, it’s true that I did those things, but it was because Natalie saved me, that’s why I…”

“I’m tired of hearing that.”

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Clara cut him off.“Do you even realize that the reason I’m still here is because Natalie said you vouching for her was at my direction.”

“That I was the one who ordered her to do everything!”

“If you hadn’t vouched for her, I wouldn’t even be here waiting for an investigation. I’d be long gone. You wouldn’t even have the chance to say any of this to my face!”

“That’s not possible.”

Ethan frowned. That wasn’t what Natalie had told him. Even if Natalie had her own agenda, she wouldn’t lie when her own reputation

was at stake.

“Clara, don’t be so stubborn.”

“The National Security Agency will find out about the evidence you fabricated eventually. Confess now, and I can still protect you.”

“Do I need you to protect me?”

Clara, done wasting her breath on him, leaned back in the interrogation chair, tilted her chin up, and glared coldly at Ethan.

“Just wait. I’m sure it won’t be long before you find out who’s really been lying.”

It was laughable!

Once Ryan got to the National Security Agency with the surrogacy evidence and recording pen, Ethan’s own safety would be in question. And he was still trying to protect her?!

“Waiting for who?”

Clara, you really know how to play the angles,” Ethan said, his brow furrowing slightly. A wave of impatience washed over him. “You can’t seriously think Ryan Walker can get you out of this, can you?”

“Clara, stop being so stubborn. Just admit you were wrong, and I’ll take you away from here. Wouldn’t that be better?”

Who was Ryan Walker anyway? Just some guy who spent a few years in the army, learned a few tricks, and now he’s a civilian. How could he possibly protect her?

Clara was beyond annoyed. She simply closed her eyes, her long lashes casting faint shadows beneath her lids, like an invisible barrier, blocking out all of Ethan’s words. She looked as if she wouldn’t listen to a word he said, no matter what.

“You’re being completely unreasonable!”

Ethan pointed a finger at her nose, the fingertip trembling slightly with anger. But faced with her cold, dismissive attitude, all the fury felt like hitting cotton, with nowhere to go.

He could only retract his hand in frustration, delivering a heavy kick to the nearby table. The dull thud echoed through the empty interrogation room.

Meanwhile, in the observation room, separated from the interrogation room by a single wall.

Ethan and Clara’s conversation was being transmitted with crystal clarity to everyone present.

< Chapter 111

Ryan stood before the one–way mirror, his hands clenched into fists, knuckles bone–white, the joints protruding with strain.

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The thought of everything Clara had been through filled him with unbearable heartache, yet the coldness in his eyes deepened, and a violent energy churned within him.

“You all heard it, right? Ethan himself said he vouched for Natalie. It has nothing to do with Clara.”

He took a deep breath, somehow managing to quell the rage inside, though his gaze still burned with anger as he scanned the room.

“Besides, Clara was against the Apex deal from the start. Commander Evans can vouch for that.”

With that, he glanced to his side.

Marcus Evans, his face a mask of disapproval, nodded, a hint of regret coloring his tone.“Yes, he vouched for Apex’s partnership in front of me, claiming they were sincere and that Natalie Parker was an old acquaintance he trusted. That’s why I agreed.”

Recalling Ethan’s words, Marcus sighed inwardly. After this, Ethan Carter might be ruined.

“At the time, I thought that since Project Blade was a joint venture between Nova AI and Carter Group, and he was the one recommending her, there shouldn’t be any issues.”

“Clara, as the co–head of Project Blade, disagreed, so I arranged a meeting with her at the horse ranch to discuss it in detail.”

Marcus paused, reliving the scene.“Because of this, Ethan, Natalie, and their friends publicly humiliated Clara, telling her if she thought Natalie was problematic, she should provide proof.”

“Clara said it was just a feeling, and they mocked her for it. Now, it seems her instincts were right, and we were all wrong!”

“Indeed.”

Benjamin Hayes, who had rushed to the National Security Agency after receiving Ryan’s call, also nodded in agreement.“Natalie Parker had approached Nova AI about a partnership before. Back when Project Blade was just starting, Clara mentioned that Natalie was suspicious, so we didn’t agree out of caution. It was later…”

He glanced at Marcus Evans, changing the subject.“Even after Apex and Nova AI established a partnership, Clara remained wary of Natalie. It was Clara and Ryan who uncovered the Blade data breach.”

“Moreover, everyone who joined the Blade project team underwent the most rigorous background checks. Clara’s record is impeccably clean. There’s no way she would ever do anything to harm national interests.”

Hearing this, Ryan stepped forward and added, “While the previous leak did involve Olivia and Emma, and it’s true they have some connection to Clara…”

“From what I understand, Clara left the Bennett family at six because Olivia and her mother broke up her parents‘ marriage.”

“And after her mother passed away when she was nine, she cut all ties with the Bennetts. When Olivia was at Nova Al, she even tried to harm Clara. There’s no way they would team up to steal Blade data.”

“As for the Andersons, they’ve had their eyes on Clara due to Anderson Industries‘ business interests. All of this can be verified.” His gaze swept over Ethan, who was behind the glass, his eyes full of mockery.“What’s more, Ethan’s mother, Margaret, once secretly planted a data transmission device in Clara’s pocket. If Clara were really the mastermind, she wouldn’t have needed to fake data to deceive Natalie, and she certainly wouldn’t have cooperated with the National Security Agency to capture Apex’s overseas executives.”

“Even this time, her feigned resignation from Nova AI was because Margaret tried every possible way to get her pregnant. Clara sensed something was off, so she pretended to agree, setting a trap to expose Natalie.”

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“Natalie and Clara have had a long–standing feud. This time, she clearly knew that the evidence of her data theft was irrefutable. Feeling that Clara was in her way, she wanted to drag Clara down with her, trying to smear her name.”

After listening to the three men, the National Security Agency officers nodded. Immediately, someone nearby understood and handed over the information they had just found based on what the three men had said.

The lead officer took the file and carefully examined it. After about fifteen minutes, he finally looked up and said, “Is there any other evidence to prove that there is a personal grudge between Clara and Natalie?”

Hearing this, Ryan, who had been tense, quietly exhaled a breath of relief and nodded. “Yes, there is.”

Ryan pulled a voice recorder from his pocket and handed it over.“Clara asked me to get this from her place. She said it contains a private conversation between her and Natalie.”

The National Security Agency officer took the recorder, examined it, and saw two audio files. He tapped to play.

Clara’s voice filled the room. “You cut the oxygen line in the old man’s hospital room, didn’t you?”

“So what if I did? So what if I didn’t?”

That was Natalie.“Everyone in the Carter family, including Ethan, thinks you did it. How does it concern me?”

“…The baby she’s carrying is mine too.”

It was a conversation between Clara and Natalie after the old man fell seriously ill. Everyone who heard it was stunned, exchanging shocked glances.

Natalie had harmed James Carter, and Ethan would actually let Clara be a surrogate for Natalie!

Ryan felt a pang of pain in his chest. Even though he had prepared himself after hearing Clara’s words, listening to the conversation still caused him pain.

The officer sighed and played the next recording, the one where the old man, before his death, stated that Natalie had harmed him and promised Clara shares in the Carter Group.

“These two conversations clearly demonstrate Natalie’s malicious intent towards Clara.”

Ryan’s face darkened, his voice laced with anger. “And in the second recording, Margaret Carter’s voice is clearly audible. That means

she knew Natalie harmed the old man.”

“But she never said a word about it. Why?”

“Because she and Natalie were in cahoots all along! That also explains why she helped Natalie plant the data transfer device in Clara’s pocket!”

The investigator nodded solemnly, glancing at someone behind him. The person nodded in return. “I’ll head to the interrogation room

now and release Clara.”

Ryan exhaled and followed the investigator out of the observation room.

The silence in the interrogation room was shattered by the sound of the door opening. Clara flinched, like a startled rabbit.

“So, you’re scared now?”

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Despite his words, Ethan still shielded her behind him, saying to the officer who entered, “Officer, she just made a mistake. She wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“We’re ready to plead guilty and pay whatever fine is necessary. Just let me take her home.”

The officers, having heard the recording clearly in the observation room, now looked at Ethan with disdain, but smiled at Clara.“Ms. Bennett, the matter has been thoroughly investigated, and you are free to go.”

Clara nodded, rising to her feet expressionlessly.

Ethan was stunned. He had assumed that Clara’s fabrication of evidence and waste of public resources constituted a serious crime, never expecting it to be resolved so easily.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then, remembering something, asked, “What about Natalie? What about her?”

“Natalie is not going anywhere.”

The officer smirked.“The evidence of her stealing national core data is irrefutable, constituting a serious crime. We will be transferring

the chain of command in accordance with the law.”

her

up

“That’s impossible!”

Ethan blurted out in protest. He opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but was interrupted by the officer’s next words.

“Furthermore, Mr. Carter, as you previously acted as a guarantor for Natalie Parker, we need you to stay and cooperate with us for further investigation. Your cooperation would be appreciated.”