Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele
Heart 49

Chapter 49 [Atlas]

She looked so tired when she asked me to leave, that I agreed to give her enough space to rest. I didn't want to admit that I needed rest too. I was willing to watch over her sleeping form until I knew she was well enough to travel. I wanted to bring her home with me, but she refused. "I want to go slow," she insisted. "Last time I was forced into your world. This time, I'd like to invite you into mine."

So I went home. Climbing into bed, I couldn't sleep, haunted by memories of her and me together. Not just the unforgettable passion of that night when our child was conceived, but every kiss, every fight, and every interaction since. This time will be different because this time, we are coming together because we choose to, not because we are told to.

Eventually, I gave up on sleeping.

I won't feel comfortable until I've seen her safely return to her home.

Climbing out of bed, I wash, eat, and rush back to the hospital. When I get there, I don't stop to check in but go directly to her room. Excited and nervous, I cautiously open her door and peer inside.

The room is empty.

Cordelia is gone.

Walking over to the bed I place my hand where her body had been resting when I left her and notice that it is cold to the touch, only the rumpled blankets

and sheets revealing that she had been here at all. My jacket is still where I placed it, so it is obvious that nobody has been back here in quite some time.

Where did she go?

Maybe they just needed to run a few tests.

Containing my panic, I calmly march to the nurse's station, trying my hardest not to run on the smooth floors. When I reach the nurse's station, a cheerful young man looks up and asks me if there is any way he can be of help. "Can you tell me if Cordelia Steele has been relocated?" I request. "I'm her husband and noticed that her room was empty."

"I don't remember Mrs. Steele on my rotation," he smiles apologetically, "but my shift just started. Let me take a look."

Picking up his roster, He runs his thumb down the page. He flips to the next page and makes a small noise of confusion. "Strange. But it seems like there is a gap in our records. Wait a minute."

He pulls up a file on the computer and double-checks it against his clipboard. "I'm sorry Sir, but it looks like our records from the last two hours have disappeared."

Grasping the edge of the counter, I clench my teeth, "Are you trying to tell me you have lost my wife?

Chapter 49

+25 BONUS

"No Sir," he shakes his head. "I'm trying to say your wife was never here. Not according to the records that we have. Are you sure you have the right hospital?"

"I was just here 4 hours ago!" I want to grab him by the collar and shake him.

"Sir, calm down..." his hand hovers above the phone. "I'll call the front desk to see if there is some kind of mistake..."

But I can't calm down. How can he ask me to calm myself when my family has vanished? She should have been safe here.

First Angelica, and now Cordelia...and our baby.

Not again. Dear gods not again.

Why didn't I stay? Why couldn't I keep her safe?

Pulling out my phone, I dial a now familiar number.

"Detective, I'd like to report a missing person."