All Chapters of Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele: Chapter 391 - Chapter 400

[Cordelia]Looking up at the sky, I see clouds gathering in the distance to the west of us."Are you sure today is going to be a good day to go to the beach?" I ask for the third time as I pack winter coats for the kids into the back of the all-terrain vehicle."Absolutely!" he smiles in his overly zealous way. "We'll just bring our gumboots and slickers and we'll be right as rain."He smirks at his own bad joke as he adds buckets and shovels into the back. "Besides, there are some excellent tide pools for little Jasper here." We decide to leave Saphira behind with the Madisons. It's too cold for her fragile body, which has gotten even more frail since we've arrived. Hopefully, the town doctor will return soon. I was assured she'd be coming with some help in the next day or so. Jasper is doing surprisingly well. You'd never know my rosy-cheeked toddler had ever been sick. He's still receiving the treatments we developed from Suzanna's notes, which she modified a bit more before we l

[Cordelia]Waiting for the doctor to clear me felt like the longest 5 minutes of my life. I have so many questions for Suzanna, so many things she left unanswered when she went off to fetch whatever it is that she left behind in her vault. Because whatever it is, she said it would be important for all of us. A key missing element to help make everything fine again. As soon as I was cleared to move again, I was wheeled to the end of the base. Wally stayed behind for a moment to speak with a few of the military personnel, and while I've grown to trust him a bit more since the mishap at the gate, something still makes me cautious when he's around. Maybe because he looks so much like Atlas but isn't Atlas--that alone feels like a deception. "It's not like he had any control over his face," I mumble to myself and he comes closer. "I really need to be less harsh with him." Carrying our bags on one arm, Wally comes up and sweeps Jasper up with his other arm. He giggles as his feet leave t

[Cordelia]"I still don't understand what I have to do with any of this...I..." My voice trails away as a little girl's face, twisted in pain, flutters through my mind.And then another moment, when Tilly sat straight up, her eyes wide and scared, her body unable to function as she was forced from her coma for a brief and terrifying moment.And the moment just earlier today, when she said my name..."I am so sorry, Cordelia." Suzanna's gaze is sad and sympathetic as she watches my realization. "There was more than one reason we needed you to go to the Fisher Institute. It was important for you to learn more about who you are, and what you can do." "This is nonsense," feeling betrayed, I cross my arms and glare at her apologetic half-smile and my fake sister's lopsided grin. At least Atlas looks as stunned as I feel. Turning to his mother he demands she tell him exactly what's going on. "Did you send my wife into danger? You were supposed to be protecting her!""And I was," she corre

[Suzanna]As I choked the life from his body I prayed that this time it would finally stick. I've seen this bastard die in dozens of ways, many by my own hand, but he never stays dead."Mother," Atlas looks up at me, his pupils dilated, his hands shaking as he looks between the body to me. With his hands to his sides, he squeezes them shut, torn over what he should do next. Watching me take Magnus' life is creating a psychological disconnect in the mind and heart of my noble-hearted son. It is one thing to wish a person gone, it is another thing entirely to witness his murder. "Go to your son," I order him, reminding Atlas that the danger is still very real. "Magnus doesn't make idle threats. If he said he'd get revenge, he meant every word. Don't let this body," I flick my hand towards the still body, "I've seen him in worst situations and he came back smelling like roses.""But..." He stumbles between thoughts. Poor, sweet Atlas."Do you think he's still alive," Cordelia chirps in

[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