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Chapter 315
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2024-10-29 19:42:56
VictoryAnne ViceHi all, There has been some question as to what was happening with updates. I have been fairly consistent updating almost every day. I've missed three days total this month. Some days I only update one chapter, some times three or more. This last week, I was sick and had doctors appointments which meant I couldn't update as often, but I did big updates yesterday and today to make up for the absence. For the rest of the month, there will be big updates daily, but it will slow down again at the beginning of October. Occasionally I take little breaks because of illness, vacation, or a need to take a break to be with my thoughts as I think up the next part of the story. Thank you all for your patience. As for when this story will end--you are all in the beginning third of the second book...
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[Cordelia]My eyes fly open, but the room is a blur of color and light. Moaning, I move my head from side to side. A nearby nurse places a cool cloth on my head."Give her another sedative," someone murmurs nearby. "She shouldn't see this."See what? What don't they want me to see?On the other side of the room, there are screaming voices, one male, and one female filling the space with a cacophony of misery, accompanied by the shrill sound of beeping monitors. "None of them! Do you hear me?" The booming male voice shouts. "None of them die! You save them all goddamn it or I will have your medical license. You hear me! You'll never practice medicine again!" "Calm down!" An authoritative female voice responds. "We'll do our best, Mr. Steele," she tries to whisper this next part but I can still hear it. "But if it comes to choosing, who should we prioritize? What would your wife want?""To become my wife," he blurts out. "We never got a chance to get married. And now you're going to sa
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 317
[Cordelia]A small cry shatters the sorrow. Clark perks up, his whole body coming to attention. "Madeline," he turns his body away from me, like a flower seeking the sun, towards a small glass bed where two wiggling, swaddled bundles are curled up next to one another, one of them fussing more than the other. He picks her up and begins singing a sorrowful melody, something nonsensical that I'm confident he must be making up on the spot. The little spot of hair I see plastered to the side of her head is ink-black and curly. As soon as he picks up one the other starts to cry and soon he has a little red head in his other hand. "Cassandra, don't be jealous," he sniffles, smiling brightly through his tears for his daughters. "Papa has two arms." He bounces them up and down. I wish I could laugh at the tender scene, but my heart hurts as I look over and see the figure on the bed. She almost looks like she's a sleeping princess. Except that she's impossibly pale as if her skin has been was
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 318
[Atlas]I try not to think about how I just left my wife in the hands of others while I chased down the madman who had promised to help her. I'm praying that at least one of the people left on the beach has some medical training. I didn't have time to ask them what they'd do if Jude didn't help because I never thought it would get this far. I expected to catch him before he breached the treeline.But now that I am chasing him, I think back to some of the conversations Cordelia has had about our time apart. She had said something about how she and Jude used to run together sometimes, and how he used to slow himself down so that she could keep up. Cordelia is an excellent runner. She's always been in top shape. But Jude is faster. Much faster. I'm fit, but I'm not a runner. It doesn't take long for Jude to outpace me, leaving me tired and gasping for air. I push a little harder, fueled by adrenaline and the need to save my wife.But Jude's always just out of reach until eventually he
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 319
[Atlas]"What are you talking about?" I demand. "My mother has been dead for decades, Jude. Keep her name, and her memory, out of your mouth."Doesn't he realize how close he is to becoming a body left on the beach? He's already pushed his luck beyond most of our limits. "Oh, but she's still here. She's everywhere. Her family built this place.""Her family?" I ask but he doesn't respond.Jude is standing on the other side of the room next to a large bookcase that curves along the wall and reaches up several rows to the ceiling. He sets the book he is reading back on the shelf and without looking up grabs another."This system is archaic but complete. I do appreciate the craftsmanship," he continues to look through the collection without looking up. "Keeping notes by hand with this much detail and skill is a dying art.""Why are we here?" I demand. This feels like a dangerous waste of time. "What was so important about this place that you'd drag me out here instead of just helping
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 320
[Atlas]When I open my eyes, it is completely dark. I am damp and my back is sore, as if someone had dragged me over rocks and sand. Feeling the back of my head, I surmise that is exactly what happened while I was asleep. "I'm sorry I had to do that," the voice of the woman from the lab speaks to me from the darkness above my head. I can barely make out her silhouette and the features of her face are obscured. "But I couldn't have you hurting him. He's far too useful." Groaning I close my eyes."Do you have a headache?" she inquires. I want to ask her to stop talking, but my mouth isn't working correctly. It's numb and as I sit there open-mouthed, I am unable to close it. "Poor dear. I'm sorry about that. Your eyesight should also return soon. That vaccine always had a few...quirks." Blinking, her face is slowly becoming clear. Her voice is familiar, but I can't quite place it. I feel like it's something from a faded dream. Half of it is covered by a gauzy scarf that is just thick
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 321
[Cordelia]I didn't wake up again for another three days. It might as well have been three years. Even though my body was starting to feel more like myself, nothing else about my world felt the same anymore. Not just because Tilly is still lying in a bed unmoving, but because of the presence of another person who claims to be someone impossible. She says her name is Susanna. Susanna Steele. "But how can this be possible," I ask my husband. "Didn't she die? Didn't they find her body?""I thought they had, but she wouldn't have been the first Steele to fake her death," he smirked and I know he's thinking about his situation from a few months back. Whoever she is, whether she's telling the truth or some very creative fiction, I have much to be grateful for, apparently because of her. When she saw the burns left behind by the sun's rays and the damage from the salty sea, she developed a salve and had it processed in her lab before we unmoored and left the island. My skin is miraculousl
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 322
[Cordelia]When the man who betrayed you tells you that someone else is even less trustworthy than he is, you listen, or at least I do. But now that I'm sitting across from her, it is getting harder and harder to deny her charm and good nature. She seems genuinely interested in making things right by Atlas and Clark. I take a few more bites of my late breakfast, watching her interact with her two sons. There is a lightness about them now as if their load has been lifted at least a little bit. But while I am grateful to her for bringing the spark back into Clark's eyes, and the hope back into Atlas' heart, I can't help that my mind is spinning and twirling about the possibility of her being another backstabber waiting to strike. "I've taken a look at Mathilda's condition," she squeezes Clark's hand and I find myself ruffling internally when he doesn't back away. "I think she has a chance to wake, but she'll need more time to heal. I have a serum back at the island that might help, bu
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 323
[Cordelia]I turn around. Tilly is sitting straight up out of bed. Her eyes are open. "Tilly," I gasp. She came back. She might just make it after all.Rushing to her side, I call her name. "Tilly!" But her head does not turn and her eyes are staring blankly ahead. Her heart rate monitor is beeping rapidly, the sound filling the room with anxious trills. "Tilly," I place my hand on hers. I feel a spark of static electricity. Her head slowly turns. She blinks once, twice. A spark of light returns to her eyes. "Somebody help!" I scream unable to tear my eyes from hers as I watch in shock as the realization of her situation clicks into place. She reaches for the tube to her ventilator and her eyes widen in panic.Tilly blinks at me with pleading eyes. I don't know how to help, I need to help. Releasing her hand I run to the door. "HELP!!" I continue to scream. "PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!"Two nurses push me aside as they enter the room. They immediately begin adjusting wires and sensors,
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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
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 365
[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
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 363
[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
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 362
[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
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 361
[Jude]Opening the door, I push back the clinician waiting for Angelica to rise. The poor man looks lost, most likely expecting Angel to greet him and not a gruff guard in black."Excuse me," he calls out as I walk down the hall. I don't owe him any excuses or explanations. I'm her bodyguard. I can be seen coming and going from her room. Besides, I don't have time for niceties. I'm already late reporting to work. The guards all bunk together in a large room on the basement level. There are beds and a shared shower as well as a kitchen so that we don't disturb the rest of the house as we take care of our daily necessities. There weren't any free bunks when I arrived, so I sleep on a camping bed on the floor. As I march down there, the leader of the group raises his eyebrow. He can tell by the unused state of my sleeping area that I haven't been back to rest."Late night?" he questions me as I walk down the stairs, "Whoever she was, she better be worth it." He smirks. "Mr. Fisher will
