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Chapter 353
Last Updated:
2024-10-24 22:14:59
VictoryAnne ViceOh dear, what is Jude going to do now...? If you are enjoying this story, please consider giving it a gem or two in support. More chapters to come!
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Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 354
[Cordelia]No phone. No way to let anyone know I'm in trouble. And no way to escape. "This was a terrible idea," I murmur under my breath so that my handler doesn't hear me. As this is my first day, they assigned me someone to help me make it to all of my classes. I think it is probably because I threw a bit of a fit when I realized they weren't going to let me leave. "But I'm a mother, and you took my phone. My son is at home with his grandparents. I need to let them know when I'll be home." I thought the administrators would have let me go until one of them pointed to something on my chart, nudging the others and nodding. "Sorry, Mrs. Steele. We need you to stay here and be 100% focused on your studies." His voice sounds concerned, but his eyes are blank and cold. There is nothing I can say that will sway him. "When you signed the contract, you agreed to our living situation," he explains, "Your admittance counselor surely went over all of this with you beforehand."When I tried
Last Updated : 2024-10-26Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 355
[Cordelia]Instinctually, as any mother would, I reach forward to comfort the child. Her eyes light up with hope as my hands touch her fevered brow. She is so delicate, so frail, with hair so white it is almost transparent and eyes the color of dark coals. "How did you get here, Sweetie?" I ask as I gently pat her hair down on either side of her face. She can't be more than 7 or 8. Seeing her like this makes me think of my own children and how vulnerable they are. Atlas thought he was sending us to safety. Instead we are right in the middle of the flames. The monitors attached to the girl show her heart rate is steady, and the IV in her arm is keeping her hydrated. But why is she in pain, what is the source?"She is in the final stages of leukemia," a voice announces through an intercom speaker placed somewhere overhead. "Her parents denied traditional medical care and decided to try alternative methods. That is where you come in.""How?" I shout at the unseen person. "I don't know
Last Updated : 2024-10-28Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 356
[Cordelia]The cold barrel of a gun presses against my back. They must be bluffing. They can't seriously mean to shoot me. Can they?"Continue to cure the girl, or we will shoot," the man standing behind me demands, his familiar voice no longer giving me hope."Sasha, what are you doing?" I hiss. "How could you...""Shhh," he whispers in my ear. "I'm doing my job. Trust me."Trust him? He's literally holding a gun to my back and he wants me to trust him. "Have you gone mad?"The sound of the safety clicking off is loud, reverberating through the room and I stiffen."Your hands on the patient, Mrs. Steele," the overhead voice urges. "Or my associate will give you something more personal to heal.""And if I refuse?""I'm sorry," is the only warning I get before Sasha fires the gun and I stumble forward, my body expecting the painful impact of the bullet at close range. Whatever he did will leave a bruise, but at least I'm not bleeding. "Close your eyes," he whispers. "I need to make
Last Updated : 2024-10-30Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 357
As soon as I stepped inside the room. I could see why Sasha begged me to be quiet. I had never seen anything as horrifying. The room was a lab of sorts, not very different from the morgue-like room I had been whisked away to before, except it was narrow and thin, curving slightly as it turned around the bend. In the center of the room were beds lined up about 6 feet apart, and on each bed was a child, woman, or man. Some looked like they were sleeping peacefully, others lay quietly, their faces twisted in pain. A few had giant wounds across their midsection, their flesh peeled back, revealing organs that were being monitored by cameras and other devices in a sort of slow study. The little girl was one of those victims, her face finally calm, but the spot where I had touched her sliced open to view. "This is monstrous," I couldn't help but gasp before clasping my hands over my mouth. "Can they feel this torture? How is this...?""The green fluid keeps them sleeping and also serves as
Last Updated : 2024-10-31Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 358
Suzanna looks up and waves her hands toward me. "Hurry up, child! We don't have much time. I've already gotten your mom and Jasper on their way."I hesitate for a moment. Can I trust her?"This is not a trick," she sighs deeply. "Come on, we need to go. They won't be looking for one of their vehicles."Seeing the logic of her words, I pile into the back. Sasha heads to the front of the truck, taking a seat next to the unknown driver, likely another one of my mother's friends. "Oh, who is this?" she holds out her hand to take the little girl from me. I refuse to release her, holding her more tightly to my chest. "Come on, Cordelia, I won't hurt her. I need to check her for trackers." Remembering that Sasha had mentioned something similar, I gently set the sleeping bundle down on the bed. If her tiny chest weren't rising and falling, I'd wonder if she was dead. Whatever chemical was pumped into her through that IV is still doing its job, keeping her in an artificially deep sleep. I al
Last Updated : 2024-11-02Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 359
[Jude]"Mr. Summers, are you sure my family is out here?" Angelica's voice is high and piercing. She sounds nothing like the strong woman I once loved. "This is an alternative route," I promise her, although in truth I just want a bit of time alone with her. I was so close to getting the true Angelica to the surface. I need her to be herself if we are going to get out of this alive. There is no way I'm leaving either her or Sydney behind. Nor do I plan to leave Magnus alive. Angelica is one of the only people who can get close enough to both of them. Yes, playing a guard will give me some access, but I will be suspected if I'm seen in Magnus' private chambers. Angelica on the other hand is part of the family. I'm sure Delilah would be willing to help too, but I don't trust her. She has her own agenda. But Angelica, she'd never betray me. "I thought you'd enjoy a bit of fresh air," I explain as I lead her outside onto the rear pavilion. The beachfront stretches before us for mile
Last Updated : 2024-11-03Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 360
[Jude]She turns off the lights as soon as I cross the threshold. In a rush of hands, she pulls off my jacket as her lips seek my own.That's Angelica. Finally. "Angeli..."She silences me with a finger on my lips and a shake of her head and I understand without words that she wants me to be silent. Following her wishes, I use my hands for other things as we slip out of our clothing and into one another between the sheets of her bed.Oh God, how I've missed her touch, her smell, her taste--My beautiful angel, Angelica. I could get lost in her. And in this brief moment that's exactly what I do. It has been so long since I've held her in my arms. When I heard she had died, I thought it would never happen again. I know the only reason she is still here is because of Magnus. I don't know what he did to bring me this miracle, but I don't question it. I don't question anything. I just let myself love her. I shouldn't be here. Delilah will turn us into her father if she finds out. But I fo
Last Updated : 2024-11-04Stealing 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
Last Updated : 2024-11-04
Latest chapter
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 407
[Cordelia] Today is our 20th second anniversary. We've lost count of the first one, forgetting it entirely as a moment of sadness. Instead, we honor the day when we took our vows and meant them, 7 years later in Napa. Usually, we leave Los Angeles and take the week for just the two of us. Even after two decades, we haven't lost our hunger for one another and I look forward to our time away where we can just be two people together and in love. But this year, my husband is feeling a bit nostalgic. This is why I'm in the lobby of the Steele Hotel and Resort, recreating a memory I wish I could forget. When he sent me the cryptic text this afternoon, I confess I was more than a little bit confused. Why, of all places, would he want me to meet him there? At least this time I'm not wearing a hoodie with a dress tucked into a pair of loose sweats. And while my face is covered with large sunglasses, it's more to protect my identity and not draw too much attention. I am far too recogniza
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 406
[Clark] "Come on. Dad!" My daughters pull me along by my arms. I've never been able to deny them anything they wanted but tonight they are asking too much. "It's only a blind date!" "Girls," I admonish, "What have I said, I'm not ready to let someone new into my heart. Your mother was more than enough for me." Cassie stares up at me with her starlight eyes, as deep and black as her mother's, and doesn't relent. "You promised you'd let us have anything we want for our birthday. Grandma helped us pick her out. You have to try, Dad. For us!" "Grandma Suzanna or Grandma Jenny?" I grump, "Who do I need to send a thank you note." "Both!" the girls giggle. "You owe us, Dad," Cassie counters. Her red curls bounce as she stomps her foot. "Do you know how weird it is to look on a DATING AP for potential girlfriends for our father? It's so gross. You should be grateful" "Yeah," Maddie chimes in, swinging her hair over her shoulder as she twists her lips just like Tilly used to, her hand
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 405
[Jude]If the universe were fair, I wouldn't have lived to see today. If karma took her toll, I wouldn't be friends with Clark and Atlas Steele, our children growing up side by side. Once the shadow of Magnus was lifted from our shoulders, and Angelica and I were finally able to go about our lives the way we always should have been able to do, It became easier to make good with my life. Angelica and I were married shortly after Mathilda's funeral. It was a small ceremony on the family medical boat, just before the two of us set sail with our daughters, Melanie and Veronica. When the DNA showed that they were indeed my children, and NOT Magnus', that his experiment had never stuck, it was easy to adopt them. In their mind, Angelica is their mother. When they are old enough, we'll tell them the truth about Aunt Sydney, but for now, we are sparing them the burden of her insanity.And we give them love, all the love of a couple who has always wanted children of their own.Angelica, it tu
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 404
[Cordelia]15 hours later I place my feet back in LA for the first time in 6 months. We have been gone for so long that I had forgotten how loud it is, or how oppressively hot it can be in summer. Clark met us at the runway alone, the girls with their grandparents. "I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to drive you home. We could have sent a driver but," he explains, "I wanted to be the one to welcome you home." He does his best to smile, but as his melancholy grin drifts to how I hold on to my husband's hand, I can see how much this is costing him. "I'm glad it was you," I reach forward to give him a hug. "Thank you." Atlas, who has been receiving a slew of messages from Theo as soon as we landed, asks to be dropped off at the new Steele Industries building. "Looks like they need me," he apologizes, kissing my hand. "I'll make it up to you tonight," he whispers in my ear and I shiver in anticipation. "I'm going to hold you to that," I whisper discretely in his ear, trying to be mi
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 403
[Cordelia]The rest of that day went by in a blur. I insisted we rush back to the compound even though everyone had received the news that Tilly was gone. I couldn't believe it. My mind couldn't process the possibility of a world without Mathilda Madison. She wasn't just my best friend, she was my sister. So I couldn't let her go. Clark was distraught. He and Tilly took a while to find one another, and when they did finally make the right connection, they fell for one another hard. It was beautiful watching my two best friends fall in love--they were perfect for one another. But not all stories end with a happily ever after. That was a hard lesson for me to learn as well. I wanted nothing more than to watch Tilly raise her daughters. When we made it back an hour later, her body had already been collected. I had wanted to see her, to give it a chance to see if I could have brought her back: just one touch, one spark. I was convinced that I could have been the one to save her. The
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 402
[Sydney]Why can't they just let me die? It would be so easy, I'm already cut and bleeding. Why bother with the IVs and the monitors? It doesn't matter anymore. Did it ever matter?My entire existence has been a fraud. If my hands were free I'd count the ways on my fingertips all the ways I've been lied to and used.A madman altered my DNA and injected me into the wrong mother. I was raised believing I was special only to discover I was the offspring of my enemy. The man of my dreams was married to the daughter my mother was supposed to have, and I was just a cheap copy of the woman he once loved, my genetic twin, Angelica. Was this life ever really mine to begin with? Even now they aren't honoring my desire to die. "She needs more blood," the doctor announces over my head, her clear voice cutting through the din of the operating room chatter. "Her blood pressure has dropped to dangerous levels. We can't use the anesthesia. She'll need to be awake for the procedure."Procedure?"I d
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 401
[Clark]The dissection of Magnus' brain was one of the most intensely fascinating and uniquely horrifying things I have ever experienced. Using my computer to guide the charge, we attached wires to his brain, fed through a divide that my mother had retrieved from her vault. "This will disrupt his signal. It will keep him from making a full memory transfer. Hopefully whomever he's jumped into will have a fighting chance." Everything my mother has said since I volunteered for this task has sounded like something from a science fiction movie. The duplicates we had seen in Delilah's footage of her father's secret lab were all designed to hold Magnus's memories in an artificial extension of his life. Not all of them looked like his current body, as often it was useful for him to become someone entirely different for spying purposes. "Is this how he always seemed to know everything?" I ask aloud. We had wondered how he managed to get around all of our codes, to find ways to learn about wh
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 400
[Cordelia]"Wally?" Holding my hand above his head, I pause, hesitating. Just a moment before I was about to take this man's life without even the smallest shred of remorse. It was necessary to protect my family. My children and my husband. "Cordelia," He blinks, his eyes roving my face and the surroundings like a caged animal. Licking his dry, salty lips, his body is otherwise completely still. "I don't have much time. He's fighting me...I..."Wally's muscles spasm, shaking Atlas as well as he holds him in place. Closing his eyes, his body stills, as if the effort of keeping still is so great that he cannot do anything else at the same time. He whispers something that I can't quite make out, so I lean in, trying to capture his words.As my hair brushes his cheek, he repeats himself. "You need to end this, Cordelia. Don't let him escape to harm another. His other mind is gone, Suzanna saw to it, but he can still jump to someone else.""Wally, what are you saying," I shake my head. "No
Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele Chapter 399
[Cordelia]Atlas and I raced down the hall to the exit, soldiers moving out of our way as we passed, nobody bothering to stop us as my husband's icy glare and dominant aura kept them pinned in place. Magnus is dead and I have never been more terrified in my life. The door to the outside pushes open and we are instantly blinded by the overhead sunshine that covers the beach with an oddly bright gray that stings the eyes. It is warmer than it had been earlier, the wind having died down, trapping the moisture of impending rain, held in place by the gathering storm. "Jasper," I call out gently, scanning the beach. "Wally?""Atlas do you see Jasper?" I grab my husband's arm. His pulse is rapid beneath my fingertips as we move forward as one and find the abandoned picnic blanket and Jasper's little galoshes next to a much larger pair. "Wally!" I scream out towards the waves and find him standing in the water, at the far edge of the beach. There is no sign of my son. None. It's as if the
