Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 150

Chapter 150

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Sitting in his wheelchair, Sebastian radiated a darkness and a menacing, almost feral vibe that made people instinctively feel oppressed and afraid. It was bone-chillingly cold.

Stella met Sebastian’s gaze from across the distance, a faint smile tugging at her lips. ‘Anyone who dares to humiliate him, I’ll make them regret it,’ she promised herself.

Honestly, Sebastian was the only one in the room who could make all the news from tonight vanish like it never happened. And he could do it without even breaking a sweat.

Lauren’s expression contorted with fury as she finally understood. This was Stella’s payback for her earlier disrespect. She’d humiliated Sebastian, and now she was about to get a taste of her own medicine.

“I…” Lauren, wrapped in a bedsheet, stumbled off the bed. All her swagger from before had vanished. She bit down hard on her lip, inching her way toward Sebastian, step by humiliating step.

Camilla was loving every second of it. ‘A homewrecker like her deserves to wallow in the filth like a pile of shit,’ Camilla thought.

Sebastian idly rolled the prayer beads between his fingers, his expression frosty. Out of nowhere, the peregrine falcon swooped back in and landed on his left shoulder, burying its head in its feathers to preen.

“Please,” Lauren looked up, her eyes bloodshot and desperate.

Stella strode over, the cold click of her heels echoing on the floor. “Too quiet. I can’t hear you.”

“Please! For the Gray family’s reputation,” Lauren shouted, her neck veins bulging with fury.

But as soon as she finished, Stella gave a cold laugh. “Do you even deserve to represent the Gray family?”

Lauren was left speechless.

Lauren kept her head down, but inside, her rage was boiling over.

‘Just wait, Stella. I’ll pay you back for this humiliation a thousand times over. You’re dead meat. I’ll make sure you regret ever crossing me,’ she swore to herself.

“Frank,” Sebastian suddenly broke the silence, and for a split second, the air seemed to freeze.

He said, “I hear you’ve been searching for a suitable match for David. Given what just happened, why not let the Lane and Gray families unite through marriage?”

Blake was frozen. Blake was seriously relieved to be on their team. He thought, ‘Stella and Sebastian? Total power couple.’

“What?” Giana, who had just come to, almost passed out again from rage and disbelief.

Frank clenched his jaw. “Mr. Gray, isn’t that a little inappropriate?”

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Their son was just in his twenties, while Lauren was already in her forties or fifties. If this really went through everyone in Haliville would be laughing their heads off at the Lane family.

“Think it over. The Gray family’s been working with Dr. Conrad lately, Sebastian said, leaving it at that.

The chill in his voice seemed to seep from his very bones, calm, unyielding, and absolutely unshaken by his physical condition.

Frank just stared, lost in thought.

“Are you crazy? You really want our son to marry some old woman?” Giana screamed, her voice cracking with disbelief.

Lauren, already at her breaking point, swung her hand and slapped Giana across the face. “Who are you calling old, huh?”

Instantly, the whole room erupted into chaos.

“Frank, if I were you, I wouldn’t waste any more time. Let me do a quick calculation. Tomorrow, Lane Group’s in for a major shake-up,” Stella said, half-joking as she made a show of counting on her fingers, but her eyes were icy cold.

She added, “And as for David’s health, I’m sure I don’t need to spell it out for you.”

Not far away, Vera was left speechless. ‘She even knows about that?’ she thought, her brain short-circuiting.

Thinking back to what Stella had said earlier, that everything happening to Lauren tonight was supposed to happen to her, Vera felt a cold shock run through her, chilling her to the core.

Frank just stared, lost in thought.

There was a sharp, calculating look in his eyes, mixed with a hint of ruthlessness. “Kid, what makes you think Lane Group’s gonna be in chaos tomorrow?”

Stella locked eyes with Frank, not backing down at all. She just smiled, saying nothing.

“I’ll think about it,” Frank said after a pause, not giving a straight answer. Truth was, he didn’t believe for a second that Lane Group would be in any real trouble. He figured she was just bluffing.

Sebastian didn’t say a word. He just gave a cold signal with a flick of his hand, and in an instant, black-clad bodyguards flooded into the room from all sides, sending a wave of terror through everyone present.

One of the bodyguards brushed past Lauren and yanked David, who was lying on the bed like a crumpled mess, straight up.

The guy was oozing menace, and before anyone could react, a knife flashed in his hand. In one ruthless move, he chopped off David’s pinkie finger. Blood splattered everywhere.

David’s mouth was clamped shut, and he couldn’t even make a sound.

“My son!” Giana screamed, then fainted on the spot.

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Frank was stunned. “Mr. Gray, you…” His words died in his throat as he suddenly noticed the prayer beads that had been on Sebastian’s wrist were hanging loosely from his fingers. He hadn’t even seen Sebastian take them off.

A chill ran down Frank’s spine. “Frank, when someone gives you a way out, you’d better take it,” Sebastian said, his tone eerily calm, but there was a deadly menace beneath it.

“Don’t make the mistake of disrespecting me.” His gaze was so cold it could freeze the air.

“I’ll go to the Gray family to propose marriage tomorrow! First thing in the morning,” Frank blurted out, his whole body drenched in cold sweat, his face ashen. Terror washed over him like a tidal wave.

Sebastian lowered his gaze, his hauntingly beautiful, pale face giving nothing away. Suddenly, his black electric wheelchair whirred forward, turning to face the crowd at the door, the ones who’d come just to watch the spectacle.

The place was dead silent. No one dared meet his eyes, terrified he’d single them out. Nobody wanted to draw the attention of this demon.

In the next moment, Sebastian casually pointed in a direction.

Everyone was speechless. Everyone followed his gesture, and suddenly, Vera, clinging to Lila, became the center of attention. Vera’s eyes widened in terror.

Someone grabbed David’s bloody, severed finger and started striding straight toward Vera. She tried to run, but before she could even move, a bodyguard in black stepped out of the shadows and blocked her escape.

“No, no…” Vera stammered, terror etched across her face. With a thud, the bodyguard forced her to her knees, pried her mouth open, and, without a flicker of emotion, shoved David’s severed finger right inside.

One of the socialites nearby was so horrified by the scene that she fainted on the spot.

Blake didn’t faint, but his legs felt like jelly. He could barely control them.

He couldn’t help but remember how, back before he’d ever met Stella or Sebastian, his grandpa used to warn him over and over, “In Haliville, you can mess with anyone, but never mess with Sebastian from the Gray family.”

Back then, Blake thought it was all just talk. ‘Shit, I’m gonna puke,’ Blake thought, his stomach churning.

Sebastian tuned out the screams erupting all around him, his icy, intense gaze landing on Stella. For a moment, he couldn’t help but worry Stella might hate him because of all this.

But then, Stella caught his eye and silently formed the words with her lips, “Don’t be angry.”

“I’m not marrying him. I absolutely won’t,” Lauren sobbed, tears streaming down her face. Everyone in their circle knew David swung both ways. She needed to get herself checked, pronto. But nobody spared her a glance.

Stella watched the scene with icy detachment. Even as a fellow woman, she didn’t feel a shred of pity for any of them. She’d already given them their chance.

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If they’d just chosen to step back, instead of scheming to sacrifice her for their own benefit, none of this would’ve happened.

“Too bad, it’s not up to you,” Stella said coolly.

Downstairs, Jake drove the car, and Stella got in.

She pulled her shawl back around her shoulders, resting her forehead on one hand, as if she was waiting for

someone.

Stella sat in silence for a while, lost in thought.

The car door was open, and Camilla got in.

“You…” she began, but before Camilla could get another word out, Stella, cool and aloof, passed her several documents.

Camilla took them automatically. Looking down, she realized they were all insurance policies. These were all huge personal accident insurance policies, seriously, the kind with crazy payouts.

Camilla opened each one, gulping as she did the math in her head. Her eyes went from nervous to downright hungry. Nearly 25 million dollars in total, and every single policy had her name down as the beneficiary.

“What’s this supposed to mean?” Camilla asked, her tone guarded. She watched Stella with suspicion, instantly on alert.

In Camilla’s eyes, if Sebastian was devil number one, then Stella was definitely devil number two.

Now that she’d finally calmed down, Camilla realized that everything tonight had been a chain reaction.

Everyone could be a piece in Stella’s game, and anyone who showed her malice would end up getting bitten by their own schemes.

Dealing with the devil meant you had to be on your absolute highest guard.

“If he can plot against you, you can plot right back,” Stella said. Her skin was so perfect that it was almost dazzling. She looked completely harmless, no trace of aggression, but there was something undeniably dark about her.

Camilla was so unnerved by the implication in Stella’s words that she let go of the insurance policies. The papers were scattered all over the floor.

“All I want is for Brantley to come back to me,” Camilla said, but she couldn’t help glancing at the papers scattered on the floor. Stella just gave a casual smile, bent down, and scooped up the insurance papers.

She handed them back to Camilla. “You’re overthinking it. It’s just a tool to keep us in check.”

Camilla was left speechless. She’d thought Stella was planning to use her to take Brantley out, but maybe she’d been overthinking it all along.

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“He’s still your father, you know,” Camilla said as she reached out and took the stack of insurance papers, nearly 25 million dollars’ worth, accepting the situation with a resigned sigh.

Stella just scoffed at that. “Do you know why I didn’t press you about the necklace that night?” Stella asked, her voice cool and detached.

Camilla was still thrown off by Stella’s cold, mocking laugh when the next question hit her.

Camilla froze. ‘Why is she bringing up the necklace again?’ she thought. Her heart skipped a beat.

“W-Why?” Camilla stammered, both shocked and scared.

“Because I knew that, except for Hazel saying the necklace was bought, every single thing you told me was a lie,” Stella replied, her tone icy and unwavering.

Camilla was left speechless.

“I know way more than any of you think I do,” Stella drawled, her tone cool and detached. “So, don’t even try to guilt-trip me with family stuff.”

Camilla’s grip tightened on the car door. ‘What is she getting at? What does she actually know?’ she thought, anxiety creeping in.

Jake opened the car door from the outside. “Time to get out,” Stella said with a half-smile, making it clear she wanted Camilla gone. Camilla stumbled out, rattled.

“Stella, no matter what you think you know, don’t forget, you’re still officially part of the Carter family,” Camilla blurted out, almost without thinking, just before Jake shut the door.

Stella let out a soft, dismissive laugh and shook her head. To Camilla, that smile looked like Stella was laughing at how outmatched she really was.

The car pulled away. Camilla watched the Mercedes vanish down the street, then turned to find Hazel, only to freeze as she locked eyes with Sebastian, whose gaze was cold as death.

Sebastian was suddenly right there, blocking her way, and the chill in his eyes made her skin crawl.

“M-Mr. Gray…” Camilla choked out, her blood running cold. She had no idea how much he’d overheard.

Sebastian sat in his wheelchair, completely expressionless. He didn’t move, and Camilla didn’t dare move a muscle until Allan spoke up.

“Move, you’re blocking the way,” Allan said, shooting her an impatient look.

Camilla hurriedly stepped aside as Allan wheeled Sebastian past her. A black Maybach pulled up right where Jake had parked earlier.

Sebastian got into the car.

Camilla hurried away, completely unaware that behind her, the previously closed car window was slowly rolling down, revealing Sebastian’s face.

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The black Mercedes and the Maybach stopped side by side at a red light at the intersection, both back windows rolling down together.

“Why don’t you head back to the island? Allan’s got something to handle,” Sebastian said, his voice warmer, nothing like the chill he’d shown at the Lane house.

Behind him, Allan looked momentarily surprised, then gave Stella a resigned shrug.

Stella raised an eyebrow. “This late?”

After everything tonight, it was nearly dawn.

“He’s really in a rush,” Sebastian said calmly.

Allan rolled his eyes. ‘Seriously, I’m about to lose it here. This is urgent, he thought, feeling the

pressure

mount.

The light turned green, and Stella waved at Sebastian before coolly rolling her window back up.

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

Allan leaned over, saying, “She’s already gone. What are you still staring at?”

Sebastian coldly turned to Allan, meeting his gaze. “She didn’t even ask where I’m going?”

Allan rolled his eyes. He let out a sigh. “Would you even tell her if she asked?”

The two of them locked eyes.

“Just drive,” Sebastian said, deciding to drop it.

Allan rolled his eyes. He grumbled under his breath.

*****

On the Ocean Bridge in Haliville, a Maybach was parked quietly, its engine off.

Roadwork signs blocked both ends of the bridge, and the whole stretch was eerily silent, yet the place was filled with men in black suits, standing guard.

The bridge was lit up like day. Two screams so loud they could wake the dead echoed across the bridge, shaking the night.

Suddenly, two people were shoved right off the edge. Just as they were about to hit the water, the bungee cords strapped to their ankles snapped them back up at the very last second.

Again and again, the same thing happened, over and over, like some twisted amusement park ride.

Inside the car, Allan joked with a playful smirk, “Man, those screams are really something.” But Sebastian just sat there in silence, cradling Eggie in his arms.

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“Let the ropes out a little more,” Sebastian said after a pause, poking Eggie’s round belly with his finger.

Eggie just lay there, completely unfazed. Then it rolled over and went right back to sleep.

This time, when they were dropped again, they crashed straight into the sea. The icy water rushed into their mouths, salty, bitter, and freezing.

They had no idea who’d put them through this hell. They were panicking, minds blown, completely losing it.

And those two were one other than Brantley and Camilla.

The lawyers from Harmony Law Firm arrived right on time. Even in the middle of the night, they remained impeccably professional.

“Mr. Gray, Mr. Reed,” the lawyer greeted, ignoring the screams outside. He took out the prepared agreement from his briefcase and handed it over.

He said, “As long as these two sign here, Ms. Carter’s household registration can be transferred out tonight. However…”

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