Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 114

Chapter 114

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The one leading Red Shadow to Haliville to protect Paul this time was Vincent, captain of the Third Unit. Right now, he was standing in the hall, looking all kinds of restless, which had his subordinates totally baffled.

Ever since Paul arrived in Haliville, they locked down the pier, and Vincent got that call, he’d been acting totally off.

Lately, he’d been jolted awake by nightmares every single night.

‘Just who the hell lives on this island?’ Vincent wondered.

Vincent’s palms were slick with sweat, and he kept secretly wiping them on his pants. If he’d known that man was living here, not even a million guts would’ve made him seal off the island!

Suddenly, he heard something from the stairs.

Vincent, who had just sat down, shot up like his seat was spring-loaded, standing ramrod straight. Then his eyes went wide as he watched a massive white python tumble down the stairs like a giant ball.

The chubby, coiled Snowball finally stopped right at Vincent’s feet. It flicked its tongue, slowly stretched itself out, gave Vincent a lazy yawn, and then slithered up the ornamental tree.

‘Eh,’ Snowball mused to itself. ‘Guess rolling really is way faster than slithering!’

Snowball let its tail tip dangle, swinging it back and forth with delight.

Vincent was speechless.

One of his subordinates blurted out, “It’s so fat.”

Snowball, who’d been chilling, instantly flared up at those words. It shot up, massive head right in the guy’s face, and opened its jaws wide in a threatening display, fangs gleaming.

Then, with a crack sound, the branch of the ornamental tree couldn’t handle Snowball’s weight and snapped.

Vincent’s subordinate only saw a flash of white before the big white snake, and the busted branch both hit the floor together with a loud thud.

Everyone, including Snowball, was stunned for a moment.

Embarrassed, Snowball thought, ‘Ugh, screw this stupid world. Just blow it all up already!’

Suddenly, the elevator doors slid open.

Sebastian sat in his black electric wheelchair, totally expressionless. Next to him was Allan, clutching a wilted, mystery potted plant, and Lucas, cheeks puffed out like a pouty little pufferfish, looking seriously grumpy.

Seeing this scene, Eggie was shocked.

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Chapter 114

All three of the men were just speechless.

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Vincent was caught off guard when he saw Sebastian. His eyes went wide with shock, and without a word, he gave a sharp salute, but his hands and feet were trembling even more.

Sebastian didn’t even look his way, his good looks frosty as ever. “John.”

John appeared out of nowhere, bringing in the servants to swap out the broken tree for a new one. Lucas scampered over to Snowball and started poking it with his little hands..

Snowball, who’d been playing dead on the floor, instantly buried its big head in Lucas’s arms and acted pitiful and upset.

“Who are you?” Sebastian’s voice was cold and flat, but it was enough to make Vincent tense up with nervous excitement.

“I’m Vincent, captain of Red Shadow’s Third Unit!” Vincent shouted, his voice booming through the room.

Sebastian remained silent.

Allan, hugging his potted plant, quietly reminded, “Vincent Caldwell, Barrett Caldwell, Dennis Caldwell, Eliel Caldwell, and Fabian Caldwell. Those names match up with the five Red Shadow units.”

Sebastian nodded quietly, his face unreadable. He dipped his head just a bit, his sharp features half-lost in the shadows, radiating an intimidating, almost dangerous vibe.

Vincent’s subordinates kept sneaking glances at Sebastian, totally confused why Vincent was acting so respectfully, almost like he was scared.

While Sebastian stayed silent, Vincent didn’t dare say a word. But when his eyes drifted to the potted plant in Allan’s arms, he couldn’t help but feel familiar.

Big Ben came over from the kitchen with a tray in hand, and when it passed by Snowball, who was blocking the way, it gave it a little nudge to the side and said, “Friendly system tip: Good snakes don’t block the way.”

Snowball was stunned for a moment. ‘I’m done with this!’ it thought.

Vincent gawked at the ultra-smart robot in front of him, completely blown away. ‘This thing makes those new bots from Conrad’s lab look like cheap toys!’ he thought. ‘It can even say something to diss the snack!”

Allan just set the potted plant down in a sunny corner where it could soak up some rays.

“Mr. Gray, the chief instructor wanted me to ask when you might be heading back to Jaffina?” Vincent asked, careful not to step on any toes, sneaking a look at Sebastian’s icy expression, feeling extra nervous.

After a moment, Sebastian’s lips barely moved. “Depends on my mood.”

Vincent didn’t know what to say.

Over in a corner where nobody was watching, Eggie was sprawled in the pot, pecking at a sun-bleached, see- through blossom, happily munching away.

16:33 Sat, Jan 24 …

Chapter 114

Even the wilted leaves had turned into glossy black crystal.

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“Lucas, what are you doing?” Allan asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched Lucas crouching in the corner, looking all gloomy.

Everyone turned to look.

Lucas picked up his writing board again and wrote: [If Stella doesn’t come back, I’ll turn into a mushroom to wait for her here.]

He even added a chibi-style doodle of a gloomy little mushroom.

Allan shook his head.

But before Allan could say anything, Vincent, who’d been sitting on the couch, suddenly shot up, eyes wide and stunned as he stared at the sunbaked flower. Just as the peregrine falcon was about to take another bite, he yelled, all flustered, “Stop!”

Allan nearly spat out the coffee he’d just taken a sip of.

Eggie tilted its head, looking all cute and clueless.

Vincent strode over to the window, whipped out his phone, and started snapping photos of the flower from every possible angle. He didn’t miss a single shot and then sent them off to whoever was waiting on the other end.

Vincent hesitated, his voice uncertain. “Excuse me, but is this an Obsidian Orchid?”

‘How the hell does he know?’ Allan thought, totally baffled.

To him, it was just a place to dump coffee grounds and an ashtray.

Allan said, “No way.”

Then, still looking stunned, he turned to Sebastian and accused, “You said it wasn’t a medicine herb.”

Sebastian, still expressionless, replied, “It’s not.”

The next second, Vincent’s phone went absolutely wild with notifications, one after another. Whoever was on the other end was clearly freaking out.

Allan stared blankly at Sebastian, only to see him suddenly curve his lips into a cold, dark lord-like smile. “But it’s incredibly rare.”

Allan rolled his eyes and cursed in his mind.

Maybe because Vincent was taking too long to reply, the other guy just called him up, practically shouting in excitement, words tumbling out so fast that Vincent could barely keep up. Even without the speakerphone on, it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

Vincent said, “Could you slow down a bit?”

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Chapter 114

After a while, he finally hung up.

His tough face looked totally lost.

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On the other end was Clusia’s top plant guru. The brass had sent Red Shadow to help him hunt through wild mountains and forests for a super-rare plant called the Obsidian Orchid.

When it was out of the sun, the whole thing was a deep green, but after soaking up some rays, the leaves would turn crystal black, and the flowers would go transparent.

The Red Shadow team had been hunting for this thing for nearly seven years.

Allan said, “Just give it to me straight. How much is this thing worth?”

‘Just rip the band-aid off already!’ Allan thought.

Vincent answered, “It’s priceless.”

Nobody had ever been able to move one out of the wild. Because when someone touched it, it just shriveled up and died.

Allan rolled his eyes.

“Mr. Gray…” Vincent instinctively looked toward Sebastian.

Suddenly, Lucas, who’d been sulking in the corner pretending to be a mushroom, perked up, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

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