Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 11

Chapter 11

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When Lucas saw that Stella was awake, his face brightened. Dressed in matching shark pajamas, he gave her a quick kiss before she could even speak.

“Morning,” Stella murmured, pulling him close. Still half–asleep, she rested her head on the pillow, her hair a mess around her.

Snowball nudged a small board with its nose. Scrawled on it were the words: [Hungry. Food.]

“Where’s your father?” Stella asked.

Lucas tilted his head, thinking. A moment later, his face fell.

He pointed a small finger up toward the ceiling, and the sky beyond.

Stella misunderstood, thinking he meant Sebastian, who was upstairs. It made her think of his strange, unanswered question from the night before.

While she was lost in thought, Lucas gave her sleeve a gentle pull.

She looked down to see Lucas holding up a small whiteboard. On it was a drawing of a cute little arrow pointing toward Snowball, who was currently trying to catch the end of his own tail.

The whole scene reminded Stella of a puppy playing.

[Snowball is my friend,] the board said in Lucas’s careful writing.

Lucas had found Snowball in the backyard when he was three.

Sensing the attention, Snowball stopped its little game. A large, pale head rose slowly from beside the bed, fixing Stella with a steady gaze.

There was something almost shy in the way it looked at her.

It was the first time she had really looked at the creature. Its scales shone with a soft, pearly sheen, and the skin beneath held a faint blush of pink. They clearly took very good care of it.

It didn’t smell like a snake at all. There was something oddly elegant about it.

Against all logic, she had to admit it was strangely endearing.

Snowball stretched out the very tip of its white tail toward her.

Stella reached out and touched it. The skin was cool, just like Sebastian’s.

“Do you smell that?” Stella asked suddenly, pausing to take in the air. The scent was faint, but it made her

uneasy.

Lucas shook his head.

12:09 Tue, Jan 13

Chapter 11

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Without another word, Stella rushed through her morning routine. Once she was done, she scooped up Lucas and headed out, trying to figure out what felt off.

As they neared the stairs, Lucas tapped her shoulder.

She looked down and saw Lucas pointing toward the private elevator.

‘Of course. A private elevator. Just another part of the luxury life,‘ she thought.

The gardens outside the villa were immense.

Stella had known Sebastian lived on his own island, but only now, standing in the open air, could she fully grasp the sheer scale of its luxury.

It felt like a realm of impossible beauty.

The estate was perfectly centered on the island, ringed by mountains and sea. The whole place had a storybook quality to it, with even small, graceful deer wandering through the grounds.

“Ms. Carter.” John was standing behind her before she even noticed. “What are you looking for?”

His words snapped Stella out of her concentration.

She turned her head slightly. “Do you smell any particular fragrance?”

She had caught a trace of it in the air and followed it here, but a breeze had carried it

away.

“Ms. Carter, this is a garden,” Job

said simply, his tone suggesting the scent of flowers was only natural here.

“Lucas is upset in the dining room. Mr. Gray requests your presence,” he added.

“Right away,” she said.

Stella decided to forget the strange scent for now and followed John inside.

They walked into a kitchen that looked like a tornado had hit.

Lucas was in the middle of it, hurling plates and bowls.

Sebastian sat in his wheelchair nearby, silent and cold, his anger filling the room.

It felt just like what had happened in Lucas’s playroom several days ago.

“Lucas!” Sebastian said sharply, but his voice only seemed to make Lucas worse.

Lucas let out a frustrated growl, smashing anything within reach.

John moved anxiously to step in, but Stella held him back.

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Chapter 11

“Wait,” she said quietly, sensing something was wrong.

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She studied Lucas’s sweet face, now twisted in distress. It was the second time she’d seen him like this, and it didn’t feel like a tantrum. He was trying to tell them something.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, please stop!” Jake pleaded, his large frame making a comically small, helpless target as he ducked another plate. It shot past his shoulder and shattered against the wall.

“Mr. Gray!” Jake gasped in alarm.

A thin line of blood appeared on Sebastian’s pale face, trailing slowly down his skin.

It only made his cold, handsome features seem more dangerous.

“Tie him up,” Sebastian ordered, his voice low and chilling.

As he spoke, Stella caught the faint scent once more. And in that moment, she remembered what it was.

“Lucas.” She moved quickly, gathering him against her.

Lucas froze for a second. Then she struck his back twice, firmly.

A sudden wave of sickness hit him, and he retched violently onto the floor.

Within moments, the floor was soiled with pale, sickly streaks.

“What did he eat?” Stella asked, turning to Sebastian.

He knew what she meant. “My oatmeal,” he answered flatly.

A heavy, frozen silence filled the room.

“Jake, bring me some lab mice,” Stella said, her voice sharp.

Lucas lay limp in her arms, drained from being sick. His large eyes were red and swollen.

He was clearly in pain, his head hurting, until Stella pressed a point near his neck. Within seconds, his body went slack, and he was unconscious.

Jake brought the mice and fed them the leftover oatmeal as Stella directed. Everyone watched the cage, waiting.

After a long while, the mice were still fine.

“Ms. Carter, the oatmeal is clean,” Jake said, unable to hold back.

Beside them, Sebastian sat utterly still, a silent storm brewing inside him.

“Jake… No, John, go to Lucas’s room. Find a white flower that grows in clusters like wisteria, with silver edges. Bring it to me now,” Stella ordered.

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Chapter 11

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She then gave a short, cold laugh. But before John could move, everyone turned toward a soft rustling sound. Snowball was gliding forward, something held carefully in its mouth.

With a soft sound, it deposited a cluster of flowers that matched Stella’s description perfectly into the mouse

cage.

The moment the scent of the flowers reached them, the mice that had been peacefully active moments before went wild. They turned on each other like frenzied animals, biting and clawing viciously.

Inside the cage, pure chaos erupted, a small, violent hell where the sharp smell of blood soon hung in the air.

Stella looked up at Sebastian and spoke with deliberate clarity, “It’s called Frost Bell. Its seeds can be ground into a powder that is colorless and odorless. But if someone ingests it regularly over time, it causes permanent damage to the nerves and internal organs.

“The poison is colorless and scentless, almost impossible to notice. But everything in nature has a reaction.

“Here, the Frost Bell’s fragrance reacts with its seeds. Together, they release a fast–acting neurotoxin, causing terrible headaches and violent madness. That was why Lucas lost control.”