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Chapter 55
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2024-10-29 19:42:56[Cordelia]
It is dark when I open my eyes.
I am alone in a room that feels cold, even though I am covered in blankets. As my eyes adjust, I realize it is the same yellow room from before, only now everything is in various shades of gray as the pale moonlight changes everything into the many colors of shadows.
The last thing I remember, I was being forced onto a table to be “examined” by Jude. However, I can’t remember anything after that because whatever he did next made the world fade to nothing.
I think he tried to hypnotize me.
Now that I think about it, maybe he succee
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[Cordelia]“Angelica,” I gasp as I let my face go slack and my eyes grow wide. “Where am I? How did I get here?”Angelica slowly changes her own demeanor to match my own, her feline grin softening into something sweeter and less toxic. “Oh you poor sweet dear,” she coos as she takes my arm to gently guide me back towards my room. “Do you not remember where you are? You are home of course.”“Home,” I continue to pretend. “Of course, this must be home because you are here.”“That’s right,” her smile grows larger. “I’m here to take care of you.”I let her tuck me into bed, pulling the covers up to my ch
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[Atlas]The early morning air is cold and crisp as Clark and I wait for any sign of “The Angel.” It should have returned two days ago, but something must have delayed it. A feeling of fear and dismay has been gnawing at my nerves the longer this drags out. Something tells me Cordelia needs me, needs us. But we will be unable to do anything if we cannot find what island she is on. Our investigations have narrowed the location down to 6 potential locations either on or near Catalina Island. We tried to go to the police to help, but they couldn’t do anything until we confirmed where she was being held and that she was there under duress. Without those bits of evidence, for all they know she is just hanging around having a nice, sunny vacation. Clark taps my shoulder and points at the horizon. A smallish white boat is moving closer to the dock. As it approaches, the name Angel becomes visible on its bow. Thank God!Clark has readied a micro drone that will attach itself to the boat an
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[Jude] Bright and sunny with a touch of wind, it is a perfect day to sail back to LA. Maybe if I have enough time, I can get in a nice surf before heading home. Cordelia has been a bigger challenge than I expected her to be. It seems that the only way I can keep her under control is by using a combination of drugs and hypnosis. It is a good thing we aren’t trying to save the health of her child because, with the number of narcotics we have been pumping into her system, there are likely to be some unfortunate side effects. We may even be doing her a favor by ending its life when we harvest her uterus. This last time Angelica had to tie her down to the bed. Only then were we able to administer the drug to put her in another medicinal coma until we were ready for the procedure. We aren’t trying to kill her–Angelica wants her alive to know the pain she caused us by experiencing it firsthand. “Death would be too good for her,” she told me the last time we spoke about it. I only care a
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Chapter 59 [Cordelia] I wake up gasping for breath, my heart racing like someone had dunked me into a pool of ice water. I am wet from head to toe in sweat, my skin flushed and pink. I try to take a deep breath but find myself unable to stop hyperventilating. My eyes struggle to find their focus as my heart beats so rapidly and with such intensity, I can feel it pounding against my ribcage. “Try to breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth,” Angelica coaches me from beside my bed. “You aren’t dying, but you just woke up from a medically induced coma. It is normal to feel like someone hit you with a semi-truck.” “What did you do to me?” I try to say but it comes out in a garbled mess, my mouth betraying me as my tongue flops uselessly against my teeth. “Patience,” she holds out her hands in a calming manner, trying to soothe me as she goes about unbuckling my arms and legs. “It’s just the effects of the adrenaline. Give your body a few minutes to find its equilib
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[Cordelia]Jude disappeared inside the building, holding my sister in his arms like a child in need of care. What is the real nature of their relationship? I she his willing accomplice, or has she been brainwashed and trapped here just as much as I have been?Is my sister still in there, waiting to be saved? And all that nonsense she was rambling about us not being real sisters, about how Jude must be wrong. It is all so confusing. I need to find help. I can't leave her here, but I also don't want to stay. Jude is a madman. Not only do his experiments sound like something out of a bad science fiction movie, but they also involve the death of me and my child. I will never forget the sight of body parts floating in jars. But I don't have time to think about any of this. I have to protect my child. And I cannot protect my child, or myself if Jude comes back out to collect me next. It takes me a moment to get to my feet, but I manage. I'm not wearing shoes or socks, so every rock of t
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[Atlas]Shortly after Jude left the harbor, Clark activated the drones and tracker. Which is how we both heard that he intends to kill Cordelia. My blood ran cold. My heart stopped. I watched my entire future flash before my eyes, one where Cordelia and I raise our child together, maybe even fall in love and get remarried, fall around me like ashes. “We can’t wait,” I announce, looking over at Clark and seeing that he is thinking the same thing. “As soon as we have a location we are flying in.” I pick up my phone and order a helicopter readied ASAP. I also activate the security force we independently hired to help in the retrieval. I don’t know what we can expect on that island, but I will not risk Cordelia’s health and safety by not being ready for anything. Clark continues to diligently watch the tracker hone in on a location while I drive the van to the nearest airport. We have one, maybe two hours until he reaches the island. We are certain they are SOMEWHERE on Catalina Isl
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[Cordelia]This time, when I wake to the sound of an IV beeping, I am not in the yellow room. I take a deep breath in. The slightly smoggy air coming in through the room’s window lets me know that I am no longer in the tropical hell where I have spent my last few weeks and I let my body relax. I’m in LA. I’m finally home. Slumped over in the chair next to my bed is Clark. His eyes are closed, his mouth slightly open as he sleeps. He looks tired, his face lined with worry. I listen to his gentle snores not wanting to wake him taking comfort that he is nearby. I am safe here. Clark is here. Clark will protect me. A nurse comes into the room. Seeing I’m awake, she smiles brightly as her expert hands check the fluid in the IV to make sure it is working as it should. “Good Morning, Mrs. Steele. I am glad to see you are awake.”“Greyson,” I correct her, my voice dry and garbled. “Miss Greyson.”At the sound of my voice, Clark springs awake. “Cordy!” He jumps up, looking like a startled mo
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[Cordelia]After the two of them left, Clark explained the situation in detail. Apparently, Angelica was found unconscious and alone in a room, hooked up to machines they still don’t understand. When they woke her up to take her from the island facility, she had no memory of the last five years.In her mind, she’s still engaged to Atlas. She thinks it's still 5 years ago, and they are due to be married by the end of the month. She is even moving into Atlas’ house to prepare for when she will live there permanently.She has no memory of the accident or anything that happened after. And to make things worse, we all have to play along. If it is hinted that any part of her memory is false, it might permanently break her mind. The doctors are afraid she might even become catatonic or otherwise unresponsive, or completely lose all sense of who she is. The doctors suggested she be around people and places she remembers. But her old condo was sold ages ago and our parents have changed too mu
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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
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[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
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[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
