All Chapters of He Lost Me Before He Knew About Our Triplets: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Ava didn't scream when the screen went black.That frightened Ethan more than if she had.She simply stood there, staring at the dead screen, Lucas's frightened face still burned into her memory.Then she whispered, “He has my mother.”Ethan moved beside her.“And our son.”Ava closed her eyes.“And he knows about Lucian.”Behind them, Richard said nothing.That silence finally broke her.She turned.“You knew.”Richard looked at her.“You knew there was another child.”“I knew there was a fifth birth record.”“That isn't what I asked.”His expression tightened.“Then yes.”Ava stared at him.“How long?”Richard hesitated.“Since the night of the fire.”Ethan stepped between them.“What happened to him?”Richard looked at Ethan.“I don't know.”The answer was immediate.Too immediate.Ethan's eyes narrowed.“You're lying.”“I am not.”“You've lied to us for years.”“I know.”“Then give me one reason to believe you now.”Richard's gaze shifted toward the photograph still in Ava's hand.

The screen went black.Ava didn't move.Neither did Ethan.But Richard did.He stumbled backward as though someone had struck him.“You know him,” Ava said.Richard looked at her.“I know what he wants you to believe.”“That isn't what I asked.”Richard's breathing became uneven.Ethan stepped between them.“Who was that man?”Richard said nothing.Ethan's voice hardened.“Who?”“I don't know his name.”Ava's eyes narrowed.“Then why did you look afraid?”Richard looked toward the dead screen.“Because I know what Alexander is trying to do.”“Which is?”“Make you question whether Ethan is who you think he is.”Ava glanced at Ethan.“He has already done that.”Ethan's expression tightened.“I know who I am.”Richard looked at him.“Do you?”The question hung between them.Ethan's jaw tightened.“You don't get to ask me that.”Richard lowered his eyes.“No.”Ava stepped closer.“Enough.”Everyone turned toward her.“We have spent too long allowing other people to decide what our lives m

The gunshot never reached Elena.Ethan moved before Ava even understood what was happening.He slammed into Elena, knocking her sideways as the bullet struck the wooden frame behind them.The little boy screamed.Ava dropped to her knees.“Elias!”She reached for him.The child ran straight into her arms.For one second, everything disappeared.The mansion.The gunfire.Alexander.The secrets.Ava held the boy against her chest, and something inside her broke open.She knew that face.Not from a photograph.Not from a file.From somewhere deeper.A memory she had spent five years trying to reach.A tiny hand wrapped around her finger.A newborn's cry.A voice whispering:He's your fourth.Ava gasped.“Oh, my God.”Ethan looked at her.“What?”She stared at the child in her arms.“I remember him.”The boy looked up at her.“Mommy?”Ava pressed her lips against his hair.“Yes.”Her voice broke.“Yes, baby.”Across the room, Alexander lowered his gun.For the first time, his expression s

Ava couldn't breathe.Not because of what Elena had confessed.Because of who Elena had said she chose.“You chose Ethan?”Elena nodded, tears running silently down her face.“I chose to make him disappear.”Ethan stood completely still.The room seemed to contract around him.Ava looked at him.His face had gone frighteningly calm.“Why?”Elena opened her mouth.Nothing came out.Ethan's voice was barely audible.“Why did you choose me?”“I didn't choose you because I wanted you gone.”“Then why?”“Because Alexander gave me no choice.”The twin stepped forward.“He always says that.”Elena looked at him.“You don't understand what happened.”“Then explain it.”“I was standing in that hospital corridor with two newborn boys.”Her voice trembled.“Alexander had already taken control of the maternity wing. Richard was trying to get Elias out. Adrian was looking for a way to save both of you.”She swallowed.“And then Alexander gave me an ultimatum.”Ava's fingers tightened around Ethan'

Ava stared at the photograph.She couldn't blink.She couldn't speak.Because Sophia Lancaster wasn't standing in the background by accident.She was standing beside Adrian.And she was smiling.Ethan's fingers tightened around the phone.“No.”The word came out quietly.Not disbelief.Recognition.The twin stepped closer.“That's Sophia.”“I know.”Marcus enlarged the photograph.The timestamp appeared beneath it.Five years, six months ago.Ava's voice was barely audible.“That was before I left.”Ethan nodded.“Yes.”“Before the children were born.”“Yes.”She looked at him.“So Sophia knew Adrian.”Ethan's expression hardened.“She knew more than that.”Richard moved toward the phone.“Let me see.”Ethan handed it over.Richard stared at the photograph.His face changed.“I've never seen this.”Marcus looked at him.“You're certain?”“Yes.”Richard zoomed in.Sophia was younger.Her hair shorter.Her clothes simpler.But there was no mistaking her.“She wasn't supposed to be there