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Chapter 201
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2024-10-29 19:42:56[Cordelia]
It's funny how many things happen at the Steele Family Hotel and Spa.
After taking a proper shower and putting on some fresh clothing, I find myself standing outside of a familiar hotel suite, my hand poised near the door ready to knock. Only this time, I'm not here to find Atlas.
I know where he is.
This time I'm here to meet someone else who might become very important to me soon.
As soon as my hand connects with the wood, Crissy Devaroux Bryant opens the door. She looks out of breath as if she ran to open it so that I didn't need to wait in the hall.
"Come in," she steps aside, her face bright. "I am so happy you called."
"Are you sure?" I duck my head, embarrassed at the thought of being a bother.
"Of course," she leads me to a couch to sit on and offers me something to drink. I gladly take a warm cup of tea from her hands and she tells me about how she has wanted nothing more than to get
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[Cordelia]"Come with you? But what about Atlas?" I gasp. "How could I leave him when he is so vulnerable? I'd be by his side right now if they'd let me.""I apologize if this sounds crass," she holds her hands out expressively as she talks, using them for emphasis as she says, "He is in a coma. We don't know when he'll be back."If ever.She doesn't say it but we both know that he may never come back. He could die in his sleep tonight, never waking from his medically induced stupor."I know that if were him, and you were my wife," she smirks raising a knowing eyebrow, "I'd want you to take care of yourself and your baby. All this stress is not good for you." I hadn't even told her about the bedrest. If she knew about that, she might not let me leave the room."You need the time to rest and recuperate. I'm not saying you should stay in Vancouver forever, but maybe a week or two of rest will be exactly what you need to fight your next b
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[Cordelia]"I found some writing," I announce, running my fingertips underneath the writing that is almost too small to read. "Fisher Pharmaceuticals. Have you ever heard of them? The name sounds familiar.""Nope," Tilly shakes her head as goes about making up a new batch of popcorn. "Sounds important though."Fisher. Where have I heard that name before?And then it strikes me. Looking through my things, I find the card that Magnus had given to me before when we met for hot chocolate. I compare it to the one on the envelope.It is identical. Both the card and the envelope have the same fish logo."Magnus Fisher," I mumble aloud as I drop the envelope, not wanting to touch it more than necessary.I'm not worried that he poisoned it, although maybe I should considering everything he's done. I'm worried that whatever is in that envelope might poison my mind in some other way.Sometimes words can be the most
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[The Nurse]When my shift started this evening, I was handed a contract.That is an unusual start to my day, even with the week we've had with injured celebrities and the police in and out of this ward. But my supervisor assures us that we will receive bonuses far above our usual hourly rate for providing this service, a service we are not allowed to know about until after we sign this document stating that we understand our legal rights.I need the money, so I take the contract and read it over. It's a pretty standard NDA, so I don't bother with going over the details too closely, satisfied that this document will help protect my rights as much as the rights of the patient.Once I return the contract to my supervisor who takes me to another room. With procedures like this, something can easily go wrong. Concentration is important, maybe even more so than experience or knowledge. What I'm being asked to do feels wrong, but I am not to question my orders or the wishes of my client, who
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[Cordelia]"Well if you won't open it," Tilly takes the envelope from me. "I will."With a deft finger, she swipes open the package and carefully pours the contents onto the coffee table next to me. Inside is a note, a passport, a credit card, a copy of my birth certificate, and approximately 50,000 USD.The note is handwritten in a beautiful script, like something out of a forgotten time when people still wrote with quills. In long, fluid letters it read:__________________________Ms. Bryant,You neglected to collect your early present from the bank, so I thought it might be more convenient to have it delivered to your door. I hope you don't mind my forwardness in assuming you might need these materials as you start your new life. If you ever need help, please don't hesitate to reach out.In Fidelity,Magnus Fisher. ___________________________"So this is what was in the safe deposit box," Tilly picks up one of the stacks of cash and thumbs through it. "What is he helping you plan
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[Cordelia]Tilly touches my shoulder. My mouth forms the words "Atlas is dead," but I can't hear the sound of my voice over the loud hum building in my ears as my blood pressure skyrockets and my vision blurs. The sound of Tilly calling Clark in the background feels like a low buzz of white noise. Placing my hands on the table, I take large, gasping breaths. How did this happen? They said he was in a coma. How can you have a heart attack in a coma?"Please don't be true, please don't be true, please don't be true." The universe would not be so cruel to bring us together only to tear us apart right as we finally find one another. Tilly looks in my direction as tears roll down her cheeks, "Cordy..." she steps forward, setting her phone down gently on the table as she collapses on the floor next to me, holding her arms open. I accept her silent offer and allow her to rock us both back and forth as we cry together. I don't hear Clark come in, but I do feel his familiar warmth as he and
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That night, after burying Atlas and reading of his will, I flew to Vancouver with my mother, Cristiana. Although now I just call her mother, as over the last two months she has been a remarkable treasure, a best friend I always needed and didn't know I was missing. Once we were given the chance to know one another, we bonded instantly. With my help, she finalized her divorce from my father, David Bryant.I had a suspicion that he was behind a lot of Sydney's mischief, and with a little bit of digging, we were able to uncover evidence that he had been supplying her with money and other resources to break up me and Atlas. With my knowledge of the events and timing, we also found receipts that showed huge amounts of the aphrodisiac she had used to drug the wine ordered through David Bryant and shipped to her in California.At first, he protested, refusing to give her a divorce, knowing that after 30 years of marriage, she'd be entitled to half his wealth. Especially since they never sign
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[Cordelia]Holding my breath, I stare at the package. A chill runs up my back as a feeling of deja vu washes over me. It's just like all the other packages before, only usually they aren't delivered directly to my work. I wonder what makes this one so special."You know what, Mother," My smile and tone a bit sharp, my body tight with anxiety as I look at the offerings left on my desk. "Why don't we meet up for lunch? We can discuss the designs then over food. Then we can look at it with fresh eyes and a full stomach." "Aren't you going to open it?" she looks at the package slyly as she stands and gathers the sketches scattered on my desk. "At least check to see if there is a note." "There isn't one," I don't even need to look to know this. This isn't the first package I've received. None of them have ever had a note. The packages began arriving two days after I first landed here in Vancouver. The first package contained a beautiful new sketchbook and a set of pens. At the time I a
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[Cordelia]It is light, barely more than tape and paper.Carefully I peel back the simple brown paper to reveal a box with the logo of a local jeweler. I double-check for a card to see if this package is from someone else because my anonymous present sender has never sent me anything expensive.Inside the larger box is a smaller green velvet box. Inside is a silver locket on a long silver chain. It is an elegant piece, simple and warms to my touch as I pull it out of the box. Inside I find a small dried flower placed in front of a photo of the California coastline. It looks like wild mustard, a weed that flourishes along the California coast--A little touch of home. On the other side, there is room for a picture, and I know that as soon as Jasper is born, I will place his little face there. My finger feels the gentle edges of an engraving. Flipping the locket to the back side, I see a large swooping C and S intertwined. "Cordelia Steele," I whisper as I open the locket again. It is
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[Cordelia]Once we were airborne and free of Canadian airspace, the tension level of the passengers on the plane immediately relaxed, as if we had passed some kind of test.Even Suzanna breathed a sigh of relief when we landed in New York City. But then she does something I wasn't expecting. She dismisses most of our guards. They nod, taking her word as a commandment, leaving us with only three security members in one of the largest airports in the United States. "This next leg of our trip will be on a commercial airline," she explained as we gathered our belongings. "We will call too much attention to us with that many guards. I'm calling in some of my own for when we arrive." She replies when I question her judgment. "Magnus likely put a tracker on this plane. We need to trick him, and there's no better place than New York City. But if we continue to move in a large pack, we're bound to attract attention." "Reste près," my mother Cristine held out a hand for me to hold as she hel
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[Atlas]Delilah Fisher steps around the corner in a long, silver gown, her makeup flawless, and her smile large and welcoming.She looks so much like Angelica did when I first met her that my heart stutters. I love Cordelia with my entire being, and yet a part of me still reacts to the memory of the shining girl who captured my attention almost a decade ago. But this isn't Angelica. Delilah, while beautiful and poised, lacks the immaculate grace that Angelica exuded. Each of the sisters has a unique nature that shines through, despite having almost identical faces."Atlas Steele," her heels click in the silent room as she steps into the light. "Why is it so hard for you to believe your brother? Haven't you seen enough wonders in this world yet to understand that anything can be possible?""There's no such thing as mind control," I repeat. "Believing in psychic powers is for fools.""And you pride yourself on not being one," she smirks, amused. "But a true wise man would keep his mind
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[Jude]Sydney. Now that she has me under her control, I'll never be free of her. When I came to save her, I was convinced she was pregnant with my child. She had sent a distress signal to me using our private channels letting me know of her pregnancy and it was enough to get me to betray the Steele family and derail their plans to find their cure. Using what I knew about Atlas' missing mother was just a distraction.My goal had always been to claim my son.But then I discovered that beyond all logic Angelica is still alive.I should have realized this was possible and known that Magnus wouldn't give up such a valuable tool so easily. Angelica had been Magnus' toy for years before she was sent into my world. I knew he had modified her, and turned her into the perfect weapon, but I had no idea how deep those modifications went until I saw her face staring at me on that magazine cover.She shouldn't have survived that explosion. And yet here she is, unscathed, awaiting a new uterus in
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[Atlas]I twist my arm away from the guard in black. His face is blank as he reaches forward again. "Don't." My voice carries forward, and although it isn't loud, it holds a note of command that makes the armed guard pause."Sir," he blinks retracting his hand. "You are trespassing. I was ordered to take you into holding." My face remains still as my voice rings out again, "You will not touch us. You have no right." The guard swallows, taking a step back, my words hitting him with the force of a slap. "We will leave," I inform him. "You will report our apologies to your boss." He nods, accepting my command. "Atlas," Clark calls my attention to our situation. Blinking I snap awake, and pull my gaze from the guard. As soon as I blink, the guard stumbles backward shaking his head in confusion, as if my words and stare alone were enough to entrap him in some kind of trance. Around the edges of my vision, I see more guards headed in our direction. If we are going to make it out of h
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[Atlas]Damn it, Cordelia!"Pick up, pick up, pick up," the phone rings but nobody replies. "This number is unavailable as dialed, please try again," the message on the other end informs me as my blood pressure rises and my hands shake.A moment ago I had been talking to my wife. And then the line was dead. I sent her to Canada to keep her and our children safe, and she chose to bring herself to Magnus' attention. Sending a quick message to the guards in charge of watching over my family, I stare at my screen waiting for word of their status. "Atlas, is there anything I can do to help?"Blinking away from the screen I look up at my brother as our rented van parks a few blocks away from the luau. Our driver informs us of our arrival and waits for further instructions."I'm sorry, Clark," I close my eyes, rubbing my temples. "You were saying something?""Is everything okay?" He tries again and I groan. "No." I groan honestly. "Or at least, I hope everything is fine. Lately, it seems
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[Clark]The message "Tilly SOS" flicked across the screen three times before winking out, leaving my screen blank. I open my email that I keep under an alias on a secure server. There is a single message alerting me to new information available on my server. I've used this system when working with people who needed to keep their identities safe and their messages secret. The last time I needed it was working with Jude while he was still under Magnus' watch.Even though it has been months since I used it, my fingers remember the passcodes. Soon, I'll be on the server. Two emails are waiting for me, both are from Tilly's parents. In the first message, they inform me that they have landed and are settling in their new place. It is a secure facility, surrounded by several acres of land, disconnected from the distant towns and cities. The Madisons, sparing no expense, went to extra lengths to include copious additional security.They are, after all, securing their legacy. Tilly is their o
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[Cordelia]There is a loud explosion just to the right of the airplane. "What was that," I lower the phone, turning it off as I gaze out the window to see what had caused the noise. "Nothing, Ma'am," the co-pilot says over his shoulder, "Just a little turbulence.""Turbulence?" I shout back as another boom resounds just outside the passenger's cabin as a curtain goes up between the pilots and the rest of the plane, blocking our view. "But we aren't even in the air yet!""Calm yourself, Mrs. Steele," Jake, the security guard, takes his phone from my numb hand. "Sit next to your children and trust your staff to get you out of here safely. We've got this, Mrs. Steele."He almost seemed offended in my lack of faith as he types into his phone what I'm guessing is a message to Atlas to calm his nerves and let him know we are alive. "But nobody is telling me what's happening," I grumble as I buckle in next to Jasper and the little girl I've decided to call Saphira until I learn her real na
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[Atlas]"What do you mean gone," I barked into the phone, my hand clenching it tight enough to hear it crunch. These new smartphones seem to get flimsier with each model. I've broken 3 in the last 6 months from anger or nerves. I love my wife, but I'm pretty sure she's going to stress me into an early grave. "Your mother created a distraction, Sir," my lead guard, Jake, apologizes over the phone, not making excuses as much as stating facts. "Mrs. Suzanna Steele arrived late last night along with a young man she called Sasha. The next morning, while your mother and Ms. Devaroux kept me distracted searching for a false threat, your wife and this young man escaped."Cordelia has always been sneaky when she needs to be, and until this point, he had been very good at keeping her from falling into mischief. I wasn't expecting my mother to be part of the problem. At least now I know where she ran off to. Her room had been empty when I returned to the boat yesterday. "Are you sure it is m
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[Clark]There are things that I need to keep secret from my brother, not because I do not trust him with my secrets, but because I do not want to burden him with them.Which is why I needed to get away. Without Tilly, there is no reason for me to stay on the boat."I'll meet you later, when it's time to go to the luau," I promise Atlas as I give him a hug and take my leave. I know that I could just stay at our family hotel, but I need to be somewhere else, somewhere that nobody recognizes me. And also, I want to ensure that what I am about to do is as untraceable as possible. "Mr. Janus," the man at the front desk smiles when I hand him a wad of cash in exchange for a key card. "Enjoy you stay. Please call down if you need anything."Adjusting my sunglasses, lower the bill of my baseball cap, grab my small bag, and make my way through the other guests milling around in the hotel lobby. Located along the beach it has a spectacular view of the the ocean.And the location of tonight's
