Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 146

Chapter 146

Chapter 146

Vera couldn’t help but scream, “You bitch!”

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Lila was speechless. They rushed to hand their invitations to the bodyguard for checking, but he gave them a weird look, sizing them up from head to toe.

Vera’s heart sank. “I’m a VIP guest invited by Giana,” she stressed, putting extra emphasis on “VIP.”

The bodyguard let out a cold laugh. “Just wait.”

They had to stand there for another ten minutes before the bodyguard finally let them through, clearly dragging his feet on purpose.

Vera kept her mouth shut, thinking to herself, ‘Giana must be pissed at me.’ She grabbed the other three and hustled them onto the shuttle.

By now, all four of them were drenched in sweat, and Lila and Hazel’s makeup was a total disaster. They’d tried to pull a fast one and ended up worse off than before.

Looking at Vera’s face, so dark it looked like a storm was brewing, everyone was fuming inside but too afraid to say a word.

Inside the party hall, as soon as Blake walked in, Xander’s friends spotted him. “What’s he doing here?” Leslie, one of Xander’s friends, spoke up, clearly defending Xander.

He was distantly related to the Lane family and looked full of himself. “Isn’t he embarrassed enough already?”

“Grandpa just wants him to make more friends,” Xander said gently, but that only made Leslie even more pissed off.

“I think your grandpa’s just lost his mind,” Leslie snapped.

Xander had been running Pierce Group like a pro, but that loser got to swoop in and take all the credit.

Xander just smiled softly and kept quiet.

“No way, I’m gonna set him straight for you,” Leslie said, seeing his buddy looking so bummed. He couldn’t let it go, so he picked up his champagne and marched right over to Blake.

Stella was chilling with her champagne, her gaze drifting past Blake’s shoulder toward the commotion nearby. “Trouble’s coming your way,” she said lazily.

Blake was frozen. He looked up, looking totally lost.

Stella shot him a sideways look, unbothered. “If you let someone pour wine all over you again and just stand there like last time, I’ll tie you up and toss you out to sea for the sharks.”

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Chapter 146

Blake said, “Always joking around, huh, Stella?”

Their eyes met. Stella smiled, but her eyes stayed ice-cold. “Ha.”

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Blake was frozen. When Blake realized Stella was serious, he swallowed nervously. Right then, Leslie’s voice cut in, “Well, look who it is, the infamous Blake, our resident dude and troublemaker.”

Leslie’s snarky tone got everyone laughing. The party hadn’t even started yet, but everyone was down for some drama.

“The Lane family’s party isn’t for riffraff,” Leslie sneered, flashing a smug grin as his bodyguards closed in, stone-faced.

He said, “Blake, if you’ve got any self-respect, get out before you dirty up the Lane family’s floor.”

Blake’s face darkened. “Leslie, don’t go too far.”

“Yeah, I’m bullying you. So what? If you’ve got the guts, hit me,” Leslie taunted, shaking his head like Blake was nothing.

The other dudes looked ready to jump in, but Stella just gave them a look, and they froze.

Without warning, Blake threw a punch.

Leslie was still grinning when, out of nowhere, he was sent flying and landed hard on the floor, still holding his champagne glass, though all that was left was the stem.

Blake didn’t even blink. “You all heard him. He asked for it.”

The silence dragged on. Leslie was speechless. With a nasty gush, blood streamed out of Leslie’s nose like a busted dam.

Leslie clutched his busted nose, gaping at Blake, totally stunned. “You…”

Blake shot back, “Yeah? What?”

Leslie stammered, “I…”

Blake cut him off again, “Yeah? What?”

As he spoke, Blake stepped up and kicked Leslie hard. “I’ve been dying to kick your ass for ages, you little shit.”

Leslie never thought Blake would actually throw down on someone else’s turf. “Are you guys just standing there doing nothing? Can’t you see I’m getting my ass kicked?”

He yelled at the bodyguards, dodging Blake like a madmaniac.

The bodyguards really didn’t want to get involved. They barely tried to block him, and Blake’s punch accuracy shot up from 70% to a perfect 100%. In no time, Leslie’s face was completely wrecked.

The dudes were all stunned speechless.

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Chapter 146

“Stella, are you sure this is fine?” one of the dudes asked in a timid voice.

Stella looked totally unfazed as she drawled, “Yeah, there’s definitely a problem.”

“W-What problem?” the dude stammered, totally lost.

Stella let out a cold laugh. “Should’ve hit him harder.”

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The dudes were speechless. “We’re definitely getting kicked out,” they moaned, looking miserable.

Stella took a sip of her champagne, sounding totally chill. “Nope.”

She glanced at the super pessimistic dudes and smirked. “Not only that, but the Lane family will be begging Blake to stick around.”

The dudes exchanged glances, totally baffled. ‘Did Stella get tipsy after just one drink or what?’ one of them thought, half-suspecting she was drunk.

‘Blake just wrecked Leslie, and the Lane family is gonna beg him to stay?’ They couldn’t believe it. ‘Have the Lanes lost their mind?’

“Don’t believe me?” Stella caught their skeptical looks and just shrugged, her pearl earrings swaying by her cheek. “Just wait and see.”

The dudes were speechless.

Xander stepped forward first. “Blake, stop it.” The next second, a fist crashed into his right cheek, landing hard.

Xander and Blake both blinked, stunned for a second.

‘If I said it was just a reflex and I didn’t mean it, would he even believe me?’ Blake thought.

“Leslie was just messing around, Blake. You totally overreacted,” Xander said, looking all righteous and serious. “Leslie’s family. How do you think this makes the Lane family look?”

Inside, Xander was losing it. ‘Damn, that hurts like hell,’ he cursed to himself.

“We all saw it. Blake threw the first punch,” someone else shouted, finally getting a chance to stir the pot.

They always thought hanging out with the dudes was beneath them, so they finally had an excuse to make a

scene.

The dudes started shouting back, all riled up. “Are you guys blind? Leslie was the one who started it.”

Now the Lane family had to get involved, whether they liked it or not. “What’s all the noise about?” Westin strutted in wearing his tux, looking down at everyone, not even sparing Blake a glance.

“Westin, throw him out,” Leslie yelled, blood all over his face. As he spoke, he spat out a tooth that bounced across the floor, leaving everyone gaping.

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Westin just stood there, at a total loss.

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Westin frowned. “Blake, you might be used to causing trouble everywhere else, but don’t think you can pull that crap in the Lane family’s house.” His tone was pure disdain.

Blake just slouched, totally unfazed. “And?”

Ever since he started throwing punches, it was like he’d leveled up. His adrenaline was off the charts.

“Sorry, but the Lane family doesn’t have room for someone like you, Blake,” Westin said, raising his hand.

Behind him, the Lane family’s hired muscles started rolling up their sleeves, shooting Blake nasty grins. “So, are you gonna walk out on your own, or do I need to have my guys ‘escort’ you?”

The dudes were speechless. They instinctively glanced at Stella, but she looked totally unfazed, not a hint of worry on her face.

Blake let out a cold laugh. “And if I say I’m not leaving?”

He was the heir of the Pierce family, one of the three top families in Haliville. Just because he was a dude, the Lane family and these people really thought they could walk all over him.

Just because he’d let them slide before didn’t mean he’d let it happen.

“Blake, even for Grandpa’s sake, he just handed Ion Wing Drones to you. Don’t keep embarrassing yourself.” Xander’s words instantly painted Blake as the unreasonable one.

“Wait, Mr. Pierce actually handed Ion Wing Drones, that money-burning dumpster fire, to Blake?” someone blurted out.

“Blake’s the new CEO of Ion Wing Drones?” another person gasped.

“A loser for a loser. Did Mr. Pierce finally give up on Blake?” someone else sneered.

The dudes were totally floored. They never thought their ringleader would actually end up as a company CEO.

Whispers buzzed all around, and Blake’s face grew colder by the second. But his mind was a total blank, all brawn, no brains, and he couldn’t think of any way to make a comeback.

‘Why am I such a loser?’ Blake groaned to himself.

Suddenly, Blake heard footsteps behind him. High heels hit the floor, sounding just like war drums kicking

off.

“Blake, are you seeing their true colors now?” Stella’s voice was soft as a whisper, but it gave Blake the same comfort as if someone finally had his back.

He felt a wave of relief wash over him, his voice catching as he managed a quiet, “Yeah.”

Stella looked around, her gaze sweeping over every face. “What you need to do now is remember each and

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Chapter 146

every one of them.

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“Remember how they’re all about kissing up to the powerful, trampling the weak, and clinging to anyone with

status…”

She spoke just loud enough for only the two of them to hear. Blake’s fists at his sides slowly tightened.

Stella smirked, “Feel like putting them in their place?”

Blake didn’t even hesitate. “Hell yeah!”

“Alright, you got it.” Stella gave Blake a quick pat on the shoulder, signaling him to chill for a sec.

Suddenly, a rush of footsteps echoed from upstairs.

Frank and Giana, the hosts, came rushing down the stairs, looking totally panicked. They didn’t even bother with pleasantries, heading straight for the entrance.

Frank was practically bowing as he called out, all excited and humble, “Stetson, what brings you here?”

‘Stetson?’ everyone thought, their minds racing.

Everyone in the party hall froze for a second. When they heard that name, the first person that popped into their heads was Caleb’s top secretary, the one everyone called the “Number One Secretary.”

Everyone watched as a middle-aged man in black-rimmed glasses walked in, briefcase in hand, radiating authority. He smiled and shook Frank’s hand. “Sorry to bother you. Caleb just gave me a last-minute task.”

“Oh, no need to apologize, Stetson…” Frank said with a smile. “Are you here to see someone?”

Stetson pushed up his glasses, gave a polite smile, and acted like the chaos around him didn’t even exist. “Yes, I’m here to see Mr. Pierce.”

Everyone instinctively turned to look at Xander.

Blake was the hottest name in Pierce Group, young, successful, and everyone figured Stetson had to be looking for him, “Mr. Pierce”.

Xander was sure Stetson was here for him. His heart was racing, but he kept his poker face, already picturing the envy on everyone’s faces as he walked confidently toward Stetson, totally ignoring Leslie.

“Xander, come on over!” Frank called out, grinning and waving him over like they were best buds. Instantly, all eyes locked on Xander. He was the center of the universe.

Just as Xander was about to reach him, Stetson flashed a smooth, polite smile. “Actually, I’m here for Blake,

guy who’s about to take over Ion Wing Drones.”

the

Everyone was speechless.

All

eyes that had been glued to Xander just a moment ago now slid over to Blake, not a word spoken.

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‘Who the hell is this guy?’ Blake thought, totally lost.

Stella, cool as ever, said, “Why are you just standing there? Go.”

Blake was frozen.

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He walked over to Stetson in a daze. Meanwhile, Xander’s smile froze on his face. He instinctively glanced at Stella, and his gut screamed. She was definitely behind this.

Stella raised her glass to him, flashing a smile.

‘Poetic justice, huh? Guess karma really does come around,’ someone thought, watching the scene unfold.

Blake quickly walked up to Stetson, a little confused. “You mean me?”

Stetson smiled politely, but his tone was way more respectful than anyone expected. “Mr. Pierce, I tried calling you, but couldn’t get through.”

Blake was frozen. He thought, ‘Yeah right.’

His phone had been in his pocket the whole time. He’d know if anyone called.

Stetson, lying through his teeth without missing a beat, totally ignored Blake’s skeptical look and kept it all respectful.

He said, “The paperwork for the other plot in the South District is all done. Mr. Pierce, we just need your signature, and the city will transfer it to your name right away.”

Everyone in the room was floored.

The faces that had been full of snark just a second ago were now frozen in shock, like they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Xander whipped his head around, staring at Blake in utter disbelief.

‘Land?’ everyone thought, their minds racing. ‘Wait, land in South District? You mean the South District, the priciest real estate in the whole city?

‘That South District plot every big shot in Haliville has been chasing for years, but the city never let go?’

One piece had already gone to Sebastian, and the other was Blake actually getting it.

In the dead silence, Stetson’s eyes flashed with a sharp glint behind his black-rimmed glasses. He caught Stella’s eye from across the room and gave her a subtle nod, like they were in on some secret together.

Blake was frozen.

Everyone just gawked, totally lost, as Stetson pulled out a contract from his briefcase, grabbed a pen, popped the cap off, and handed it to Blake like he was serving royalty.

This was Stetson, Caleb’s most trusted right-hand man. And he was acting like Blake was some kind of big

shot.

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Chapter 146

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The guests who’d just been mocking, snubbing, and trash-talking Blake were suddenly regretting every word they’d said.

At that moment, they were staring at Blake as he’d just turned into a gold mine, eyes practically sparkling with greed and calculation. Dude, that was South District land.

Even a fool could throw up a shack on that plot and swim in cash. It was money falling from the sky.

As Blake signed his name, Stetson smiled and tucked the contract into an envelope. “Mr. Pierce, on behalf of Mayor Caleb, I wish you a wonderful evening at the Lane family’s party. I’ll take my leave now.”

He made sure everyone heard “wonderful evening” loud and clear, but to the crowd, it sounded more like a threat straight from Caleb.

Everyone was speechless. ‘Since when did Blake, the infamous dude, get connected to Caleb?’ Everyone was totally stunned.

Everyone was left wondering, ‘What the hell happened in between?’

Blake was frozen. He wanted to know, too.

Suddenly, Blake stiffened, and it suddenly clicked for all the dudes. They all whipped their heads around to stare at Stella, who’d been standing there the whole time, cool as ever.

Stella said, “Feel like putting them in their place? Alright, you got it.”

Just her words, and in an instant, Blake went from the guy everyone thought was a joke to flipping his whole reputation on its head. His life did a total 180 right before their eyes.

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