Want My Womb? I'll Make You Childless novel Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Ethan had never seen Clara this angry. Her eyes were bloodshot, a complete stranger to the docile, quiet woman he remembered.

Now this was new.

Menu

Clara yanked her hand away from his, not even sparing him a glance. She kept her head down, rummaging through the wooden box.

Ethan’s tongue probed his stinging cheek. He frowned.“Keep this up, and it’s not a good look for anyone. What are you looking for? I’ll have someone help you find it.”

“Don’t bother with your fake kindness.”

Clara’s voice was hoarse. “Ever since you and my uncle conspired to sell this house to Olivia, Ethan, I’ve considered every single word you say to be pure bullshit.”

Ethan’s brow tightened, a flash of discomfort at her vulgarity. But his tone remained completely flat.

“I just agreed to help Robert get the Chicago East Side Development Site. How he talked you into it, what he did? Didn’t ask, don’t care.”

“Yeah, like you’d ever care.”

Clara suddenly let out a low laugh, sharp, like broken glass.“To you, I’m probably less than a stray dog on the street.”

Ethan didn’t say a word, just watched her. His gaze was cold, like she was some kid throwing a tantrum.

“Mom, whose picture is this?”

A voice drifted down from the attic window. Olivia.“Mom, look who’s here? She’s gorgeous.”

Clara freezes, her gaze snapping up. Then it hits her: Her mother, Linda’s, memorial portrait is stored right there in the attic.

She scrambles to her feet, rushing towards the main room. No way in hell was she letting Olivia and Diane touch her mom’s portrait.

A hand clamped down on her wrist. Ethan’s voice, chillingly flat, hit her ears.

“Stop it. I’m taking you home.”

“Let go!”

Clara tried to yank her arm free, but Ethan’s grip was like an iron clamp. She twisted and pulled, but he didn’t budge. All she could do was listen, panicked, to the sounds coming from upstairs.

Diane’s voice dripped with disgust.“What’s so great about it? Just toss it! Having a dead person’s picture here is so creepy.”

“Oh, okay.”

Olivia’s voice was jarringly sweet.

The next second, CRASH!

The crisp shatter of glass exploded in the yard like thunder.

Clara watched, helpless, as the familiar frame plummeted from the second floor. Her mother’s gentle smile hit the flagstones, hard.

The frame exploded. Glass shards flew everywhere, slicing across half of Linda’s face in the photo. Her smile was gone, ruined.

Ethan’s grip loosened for a beat. He stared at the ruined photo on the ground, his eyes dark.

“Get out of my way!” Clara screamed.

She shoved Ethan with all her might, lunging for the photo. Her hands trembling, she carefully brushed away the glass, cradling the mangled picture to her chest.

“Eth, what’s wrong?”

Olivia came down from the attic. She noticed the weird look in Ethan’s

“Clara? You’re still here?”

eyes when he stared at Clara. A jolt of discomfort hit her.

Hearing Diane’s voice, Clara looked up. Her eyes, bloodshot and furious, locked onto the woman behind Olivia. She looked like an enraged animal.

“What’s with that stare?”

Diane’s brow furrowed, annoyed.“This isn’t your yard anymore, Clara. Get out, or I’m calling the cops.”

“You’re the ones who should leave!“.

“This is my mother’s yard! She left it to me. I never agreed to sell!”

Clara snapped. She lunged at Diane.

< Chapter 27

This mother–daughter duo had defiled her mom’s yard. She had to kick them out!

“Hey! Clara, what are you doing?!”

Olivia stepped in front of Diane, trying to push Clara back.

But before Clara could even get close, a hand shot out, grabbing her wrist.

Ethan’s arm moved, almost on instinct, flinging her away.

Menu

Clara was already teetering on the edge of the steps. His push sent her instantly off balance. No time to even gasp, she tumbled backward, landing hard. Her tailbone slammed against the unforgiving stone, the pain so intense her vision swam, blacking out for a split second. A cold sweat instantly plastered her back.

A sharp hiss escaped her lips.

She gasped again, struggling to get back up. But a searing pain shot through her ankle, making it impossible to put any weight on it. All she could do was lie there, craning her neck to look up at the three of them, towering above her on the steps.

“Why…”

Clara’s voice was a broken whisper. The dam finally broke, hot tears streaming down her face, splattering onto the photo she clutched tight. “My mom is dead! Why can’t you just leave her last damn thing alone?!”

Her eyes were terrifying, like poisoned daggers, burning with a wild, destructive hatred aimed straight at Diane and Olivia.

“Clara, calm down.”

Ethan stood on the steps, looking down at her.

“Go home. We’ll talk about this when you’ve calmed down.”

“What more is there to say?”

Clara’s laugh was sharp, a desperate sound.“Ethan, Diane! This isn’t over! I’m coming for both of

Diane flinched back, startled by Clara’s fury.“Call 911! Clara’s lost it! She’s going to attack us!”

She pulled out her phone and immediately dialed 911.

Ethan tried to stop her, but it was already too late. His voice dropped, growing colder.

you!”

“Diane,” he said, his tone sharp.“You’re being too hasty. We had an agreement – we’d wait for Clara to move her things out before any work. started.”

“Eth, this isn’t on us.”

Olivia reached for Ethan’s arm. He took a step back. A flicker of hurt crossed her eyes.

“Robert said when the property transferred, he’d come get his stuff within three days. But they never showed. We just figured they didn’t want any of this old junk anymore. So we thought we’d clean it out. Then she just barged in, out of nowhere…”

“So, I’m the one in the wrong here?”

Clara glared at her, pure fury in her eyes. “You guys transferred the property without my permission! You trashed my mother’s belongings, threw them everywhere. And you even smashed her picture!”

“Who called 911?”

Footsteps. A siren’s wail faded. Two cops pushed open the

“Me!”

gate.

Diane whipped her head to the police, pointing at Clara on the ground.“Officers! This woman just busted into our yard! And she tried to hit my daughter! Arrest her, now!”

Clara looked up at the two cops. When she saw Chris, she quickly looked down again.

Chris’s gaze swept over the scene. He froze for a second when he spotted Clara, before his eyes finally settled on Ethan, his expression complicated.

Ethan met his gaze. No words, just a brief nod.

The other officer stepped forward, offering Clara a hand.“Ma’am, please cooperate and come down to the station with us.”

Clara ripped her hand away, pushing herself up from the ground. Her red–rimmed eyes locked onto the three on the steps. “I’m not letting any of you get away with this. Not a single one.”

“Officers, you heard that, right?”

Diane instantly shouted, “She’s still threatening us! Someone like her needs to be made an example of!”

< Chapter 27

She hadn’t missed the look between Ethan and Chris. They clearly knew each other. That would make it way easier to stick Clara with a trespassing charge.

If Clara got convicted, James sure as hell wouldn’t shield a disgraced granddaughter–in–law!

Leaning on the officer, Clara hobbled out the gate, a limp in her step. She shot one last look back at Ethan.

That look was pure venom, all tenderness wiped clean. It made Ethan frown, a jolt of unease hitting him. “You really crossed the line this time.”

Chris walked over to Ethan, disapproval clear in his voice.

“Dude, she’s still your wife. You just let these people mess with her right in front of your face?”

Ethan shot him a cold look.“A woman who drugged me and tried to trap me into bed? She’s supposed to be my wife?”

“You think she actually wanted to?”

Chris watched Clara, practically being dragged by the female officer. Her ankle was clearly swollen, and her face was smudged with dirt. He remembered the first time he saw Clara–a total mess, but with eyes that burned with determination. Chris grimaced.

Menu

“She reported you for rape back then, remember? If your grandpa hadn’t pulled strings to bury it, you’d have been locked up. Do you honestly think she would’ve still married you and ended up like this?”

That’s why he hated these super–rich families. They just used their power to stomp on people, taking a perfectly good girl and messing her up

this bad.

“What did you just say?”

Ethan whipped his head around, his gaze locked on Chris.

Clara… she reported me back then?

Wait. So Clara hadn’t drugged him?