All Chapters of He Chose Her, Then Lost Me Forever: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The cold steel of the black pistol barrel was just three inches from Noah’s forehead.The air inside the dark warehouse was freezing, smelling of old machine oil and salty river water from the East River churning below the wooden floorboards. Above them, the rusty iron roof rattled in the cold wind, but inside the light, everything was deathly still.Noah looked straight into the gunman’s face. Clean jaw, sharp blue eyes, identical dark hair, and a tiny crescent-shaped birthmark right below his right jaw.He was another real brother."A seventh," Noah whispered, keeping his voice steady. "William didn't just split five of us across five states. He kept one right beside him.""My name is Marcus," the young man said, his grip on the heavy pistol locked solid. His voice sounded cold and rigid. "And I don't take orders from William anymore. I take orders from Victor."Ten feet behind Marcus, Victor Reed stood beside the rusting iron barrel, watching the green screen of the computer termin

The heavy silence in the hospital room felt like lead.Over the phone speaker, the dull, rhythmic beep... beep... beep... of a heart monitor continued to echo, punctuated by the faint sound of rain tapping against glass somewhere far away."What did you just say?" Noah asked, taking a step closer to the small wooden table. He held the phone steady in his right hand, his knuckles white.The voice on the line let out another short, painful cough. "William didn't want... normal children, Noah. He didn't want heirs who would grow up and fight him for his company. He wanted blank slates. He wanted clean bodies."Sarah pulled her wool blanket tighter around her shoulders, her dark eyes wide with terror as she leaned forward on the hospital bed. "Who are you?" she called out to the phone. "Who is speaking?""I'm the reason Arthur Vance kept quiet for thirty years, Sarah," the raspy voice answered, taking a slow, heavy breath. "I'm the original model. The blueprint."Julian took two steps for

The dust settled slowly over the dirt road as the green off-road vehicle disappeared behind the thick evergreen trees.Inside Eleanor’s blue station wagon, nobody said a word for almost half a minute. The only sound was the steady rumble of the idling engine and the cold mountain wind whistling through the side window frame.Noah stared up at the empty rocky ledge where the stranger had stood just moments ago. His hand rested on the dashboard, his fingers pressed tightly against the cool plastic."That wasn't Victor," Caleb said, breaking the silence. He leaned forward from the back seat, his hands gripping the headrest of Noah’s chair. "Victor went into the East River last night. Even if he survived that fall, there's no way he could have driven up here to the mill before us.""It was Leo," Marcus said, his voice flat and calm. He pointed out the window toward the narrow trail leading up the ridge. "He was waiting for us to open locker 304. He wanted to see if we would find the nine

CLICK.The tiny red button clicked under Evelyn Reed’s thumb.Noah’s heart dropped into his stomach. Every muscle in his body locked up as he waited for an explosion, a blinding flash, or the heavy stone ceiling to cave in above them.Beside him, Caleb lunged backward toward Evelyn, his arms reaching out to grab the remote control from her hands. Marcus spun around, his iron flash stick raised high in the air.Instead of a bomb going off, a loud, sharp hydraulic whistle echoed down the stone tunnel.Thick steel security doors slammed shut at both ends of the corridor with a heavy BOOM, sealing the brothers inside the narrow stone hallway. Heavy iron bars dropped from the ceiling right in front of the glass wall, locking Victor safely inside the medical room while keeping Noah and his brothers trapped in the red emergency light.Overhead, small brass vents began to hiss, blowing a thick, sweet-smelling white mist down into the cold air."Gas!" Julian yelled, pulling his heavy wool coat

The black utility van sped through the heavy night rain, its tires splashing against the cold asphalt of Interstate 91 North.Inside the back of the van, the air was quiet. The soft hum of the diesel engine and the steady sweep of the windshield wipers were the only sounds filling the dark space.Noah sat on a folding canvas chair, his hands resting on his knees. Next to him, Julian was quietly reading through the yellow property deeds they had saved from locker 304. Caleb sat near the back doors, staring blankly at the wet floorboards, still trying to process the fact that he was Infant Ten–the boy carrying the master override code in his veins."How far is it to Boston?" Thomas asked, rubbing his tired eyes.Luke glanced in the rear-view mirror, his sharp eyes illuminated by the dim green glow of the dashboard lights. The long surgical scar on his left cheek stood out clearly against his pale skin."About ninety minutes," Luke said, his voice flat and calm. "We'll hit the city limit