Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 110

Chapter 110

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“Spill it,” Stella said, her voice edged with impatience. The person on the other end was clearly thrown off by how young she sounded.

After hearing it, Stella was speechless.

She shot a complicated look at the anxious council member from the Traditional Medicine Association standing not far away.

After two seconds of silence, she said, “Just tell him to leave it alone.” After some empty formalities, the call ended.

Stella was speechless.

She glanced down at her phone, and Nathan, standing nearby, could practically see the flames of anger burning off her.

Nathan inconspicuously inched two steps to the side, putting some distance between them.

A message popped up.

ViperShade: [Stella, the five of us are getting old, you know. Some of these responsibilities are yours to shoulder now. Things like this will keep happening, so hang in there and do your best!]

Stella was speechless.

Her grip on her phone tightened, her pretty eyes half-squinted, and though her face was hidden behind a mask, she was actually smiling.

Nathan had a bad feeling. For some reason, the air suddenly felt way too thin.

Meanwhile, the council member from the Traditional Medicine Association finally breathed a sigh of relief after getting a reply from headquarters, but he couldn’t hide the weariness in his eyes when he glanced at Landen.

They’d already gotten word that the Vitalis Pill might have ended up in Tongalian’s hands, and just as they were stressing over that, another mess popped up.

Seeing Miguel’s smug face, Landen was so mad that his chest hurt. Just thinking about his medicine and book, he was almost about to pass out on the spot.

Suddenly, the sound of applause broke out.

Everyone turned to see Stella. She was wearing a baseball cap and a mask, clapping slowly and lazily, every movement radiating nonchalance.

Stella said, “I think the Trent family’s doing pretty good.”

She fixed her gaze on Miguel. Her words were earnest, but her eyes remained cool and distant.

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Chapter 110

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“Hmph, never heard the Trent family had a daughter. So where’d you pop out from?” Miguel shot her a look full of disdain, not bothering to hide his rudeness.

To Stella, he had the exact same arrogant vibe as his illegitimate daughter, Linda.

The very next second, sirens blared, getting closer and closer, and then came the screeching brakes. One car after another pulled up nearby. Doors slammed, footsteps pounded in a chaotic rush.

Whatever was going down, it was anything but normal.

Everyone whipped their heads toward the commotion.

Then they were stunned.

There were military vehicles, police cruisers, Food and Drug Regulatory Bureau’s vans, and right in the middle, a sleek black government car-no mistaking it, whoever was inside was a serious VIP.

The car doors swung open, and people started getting out.

“Mr. Martin?” Miguel, who’d been all smug just a second ago, was totally stunned. He rushed forward to greet him, while everyone else just stared in disbelief.

They shot each other looks, and when they realized it really was the mayor they always saw on the news, the whole room buzzed with shock.

‘Wait, it really is the mayor?’ everyone thought, stunned.

Miguel quickly plastered a smile on his face and raised his hand, but Caleb didn’t even spare him a look and just walked right past, leaving Miguel’s smile frozen awkwardly on his face.

“Are you okay?” Caleb stopped right in front of Stella, the rest of his group deliberately hanging back half a step.

Stella said, “Yeah.”

Caleb looked her up and down, only relaxing when he was sure Stella was really fine. He furrowed his brow and swept his gaze around. “What’s going on here?”

Nathan gave a quick rundown.

“Are these your people?” Caleb asked the director of the Food and Drug Regulatory Bureau, who looked pale as a sheet. He’d just arrived at work, ready for a meeting, when Caleb called him out of nowhere.

He was so startled that he thought something serious had happened.

“This one looks kind of familiar, but I’ve never seen the others before!” the director blurted out.

“Take them away!” Caleb waved his hand, and the military guys immediately escorted the group out. Everyone else was left gaping in shock.

They thought, ‘Just a scuffle between the pharmacies. But now the mayor and the military force show up?’

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What they didn’t know was that, to prevent any leaks about Lab 709, anyone with even a hint of ill intent toward Stella was being taken in for a thorough investigation.

Nobody would be released until the authorities were absolutely sure there was nothing suspicious going on.

In other words, they were about to suffer big time.

The whole place went dead silent.

“Perfect timing. You can be our witness,” Stella said, her voice ringing out for all to hear.

Caleb paused, thrown off. ‘Witness? What for?’

Stella turned to the white-haired old man nearby, who was glaring and bristling with anger. She gave him a casual wave, and Landen marched over, still huffing. As soon as he stopped, she stuffed a small box into his

arms.

“Open it,” she said.

Landen stared at the box, his heart racing with anticipation.

With a crisp snap, he opened it.

Ten Vitalis Pills, sealed in wax, lay quietly inside.

“V-Vitalis Pills?” The council member from the Traditional Medicine Association was the first to react, his eyes going wide as he caught that familiar medicinal scent.

He stepped right up to Landen, practically wringing his hands in excitement, but he didn’t dare touch the pills before washing up.

Landen was stunned.

Even though he’d tried to prepare himself, the shock still scrambled his brain. The old man just stood there, totally fried.

Caleb didn’t know what to say.

As one of the witnesses at the hospital that day, Caleb couldn’t help but remember Landen shouting at Stella, swearing he’d chase her to the ends of the earth if she didn’t hand over ten or so Vitalis Pills.

His face twisted with mixed emotions, and he fell silent.

Stella looked over at Miguel, her voice light. “So, the Trent family now has ten Vitalis Pills. And…”

She shot a glance at the reporters. “Soon, the Trent family will put the Vitalis Pill’s formula up for everyone to see, right on the official sites of the Clusia Traditional Medicine Association and the Dorestan Medical Alliance.

“Anyone who wants it can use it.”

16:32 Sat, Jan 24

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Chapter 110

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Her words cut through the room, clear as day. Even with that black mask covering her face, everyone heard her loud and clear.

Landen was still stunned.

Nathan was speechless. He just stared at Stella, totally dumbfounded. He had no clue when she’d managed to pull this off.

Honestly, right after things blew up that night, the Trent family had called an emergency meeting. If the Vitalis Pills had already fallen into Tongalian’s hands, the only way to flip the script was to strike first.

The Trent family had never breathed a word of this to anyone, but Stella was already a step ahead.

‘Is she really just a student?’ Nathan thought, his mind reeling.

“You…” Miguel sneered, holding back since the mayor was right there. “You think you get to call the shots for the Trent family?”

Landen finally snapped out of it. “Of course she can! Not only can Dr. M… she call the shots for our family, but she can also be my boss!” Landen was grinning from ear to ear, hugging those ten Vitalis Pills like they

were treasure.

He was extra careful with his words, making sure not to say anything that might get Stella into trouble.

Everyone was speechless.

Miguel said, “Talk is cheap, Landen. Let’s see you actually do it!”

Without hesitation, Landen turned, bowed deeply to Stella, and called out, “Boss!”

Everyone was speechless.

Stella glanced up and caught sight of Jake, who had somehow slipped back in. He was clutching a black box with a look of utter disgust, dramatically gagging every few steps.

To avoid touching it any more than he had to, he was delicately pinching it between his fingertips, like it was radioactive.

He looked up, saw Stella watching him, and instantly put on a pitiful, wronged expression.

Stella was speechless.

She said, “And now, about the second thing…”

16:33 Sat, Jan 24 …