All Chapters of He Lost Me Before He Knew About Our Triplets: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Richard Blackwood stood at the end of the corridor with a gun pointed at his grandson.Lucas was beside him.Alive.Terrified.And holding another gun with both hands.Ava's first instinct was to run to her son.Ethan's hand caught hers.“Don't.”“But—”“Wait.”Richard's eyes remained fixed on Ethan.“Put your weapon down.”Ethan didn't have one raised.His hands were empty.“You first.”Richard gave a humorless smile.“You still think this is a negotiation.”“No.”Ethan's voice was dangerously calm.“I think you're standing between me and my son.”Lucas looked at Ethan.“Dad…”Ava's heart broke.“Lucas.”Richard shifted the gun slightly.“Don't move.”Lucas flinched.Ethan noticed.Something inside him went cold.“Richard.”“What?”“Move the gun away from him.”“He needs to understand.”“He's five.”“He's old enough to understand fear.”Ethan's eyes darkened.“No.”He took one step forward.“He's old enough to understand that his father won't let anyone hurt him.”Richard's expressio

The photograph should not have existed.Ethan knew every important face in the Blackwood family.He had grown up surrounded by portraits, business records, family histories, memorials, private archives, and carefully preserved photographs that documented generations of Blackwoods.He knew his father.He knew Alexander's face from old family records.He knew Helena Lancaster.He knew Ava's father.But the man holding the second newborn was a stranger.And yet Ethan couldn't stop staring at him.Something about the man's eyes felt familiar.Not because Ethan had seen him before.Because Ethan had seen those eyes somewhere else.In a mirror.“Give me that.”Richard reached for the photograph.Ethan pulled it away.“No.”Richard's expression hardened.“You don't understand what you're holding.”“For once, I think I understand exactly what I'm holding.”Ethan turned the photograph over.THE BLACKWOOD BLOODLINE DID NOT BEGIN WITH ALEXANDER.ASK AVA WHO THE MAN HOLDING YOUR BROTHER IS.Ava s

Ava had imagined meeting her mother a thousand different ways.Never like this.Never in a hospital corridor surrounded by armed men, missing children, forged birth records, and secrets that had survived for decades.And never with her mother looking down at her as though Ava were the one who had been gone.Elena Reed stood on the metal walkway above them.Older.Tired.But unmistakably familiar.Ava stared at her.Every instinct told her to run toward her.Every memory told her not to trust what she was seeing.“Mom?”The word barely escaped.Elena's expression broke.“Yes.”Ava's eyes filled.“No.”Elena flinched.“You're dead.”“I know.”“You died when I was sixteen.”“I know what they told you.”Ava shook her head.“Who told me?”Elena looked toward Richard.He lowered his eyes.Ava's anger returned.“You knew.”Richard didn't deny it.“You knew my mother was alive.”“Yes.”Ava's voice trembled.“For how long?”“Since the night you were born.”She stared at him.Something inside h

The photograph had one purpose.To make Ethan question his own face.Two newborn boys lay beneath the same hospital lights.Two identical dark-haired infants.Two sets of records.Two names.ETHAN BLACKWOOD.SUBJECT C.Ava stood beside him, staring at the photograph.“That isn't possible.”Ethan didn't answer.He couldn't.Because the child in the second bassinet had his face.Not similar.Not close.His.The same shape of the eyes. The same dark hair. Even the tiny scar-like mark near the left eyebrow that Ethan had spent years believing was simply a birthmark.He reached for the photograph.Richard caught his wrist.“Don't.”Ethan slowly looked at him.“You've said that too many times.”Richard released him.Ethan picked up the photograph.On the back, there was a handwritten date.The date Ethan had been born.And beneath it:TRANSFER ONE COMPLETE.A second line had been crossed out.TRANSFER TWO FAILED.Ava read it over his shoulder.“Failed?”Ethan's voice was barely audible.“Wh

The voice behind Ava belonged to a man who sounded exactly like Ethan.Not similar.Not close.Exactly.Ava spun around.Nothing.Only darkness.“Ethan?”“I’m here.”His hand found hers immediately.Mira stepped toward them.“Don't move.”Ethan's attention remained fixed on the staircase.“Who was behind her?”Mira shook her head.“He doesn't need to stand behind you.”Ava frowned.“What does that mean?”“It means he's already inside your head.”Ethan's expression hardened.“I've had enough riddles.”A faint click came from the basement.Then the lights returned.For one second, everything looked normal.The grand staircase.The marble floor.The portraits.The chandelier.Then Ava noticed the blood.A thin trail led from the basement door across the floor.Ethan drew his weapon.“Mira, stay behind Ava.”Mira almost smiled.“You still give orders.”“I'm serious.”“So am I.”She looked at Ava.“You should have left him five years ago.”Ava stiffened.Ethan turned.“What did you say?”M