Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 225

Chapter 225

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“Congrats to your daughter, by the way,” Stella said quietly.

Her words were so soft that only Stella and Meredith could hear them.

Meredith froze for a moment, her heart pounding.

Stella just smiled faintly, saying nothing.

Some things didn’t need to be said out loud.

Magnus, who’d been straining to hear, asked, “What are you two talking about?”

Stella said, “I’m heading out.”

With that, she turned to leave with Sebastian.

“Ms. Carter, please wait,” Meredith called out.

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Behind them, Meredith’s voice was trembling with excitement as she stopped Stella and her group.

Stella turned around.

Meredith whispered something to Magnus under her breath. His eyes went wide, and he dashed back into the villa. A moment later, he came out holding a painting that looked like it had been around for ages.

Meredith held the painting in one hand, with the air of a heroine. “Ms. Carter, having a friend like you is a blessing for Emily. This is the famous painting named Vigil of the Gilded Scarecrow. It’s my gift to you. Please accept it.”

Stella and Sebastian were speechless.

Both of them glanced at the painting in Meredith’s hand, their faces a mix of surprise and awkwardness.

Even John froze for a moment, his eyes fixed on the painting.

Meredith noticed something was off. “Ms. Carter, is something wrong?”

Stella replied, “It’s nothing. Thank you.”

She reached out and took the painting.

Stella asked, “Where did you buy this painting?”

Meredith looked a bit confused, but still replied, “From Haliville’s most famous Antique Row, at Elite Gallery,

a century-old establishment.”

Stella just smiled, leaving it at that.

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Chapter 225

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On the way back, John, usually the quiet one, finally spoke up, a bit hesitant. “Ms. Carter, about that painting.”

Stella said lightly, “It’s a fake.”

John looked up, catching Stella’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “You already knew?”

Stella murmured a lazy “yeah,” swatting away Sebastian’s hand as he tried to sneak it over. Just before getting

in the car, Emily had handed her a box of chocolates for her to pass on to Lucas.

Sebastian was speechless.

He shot a cold look at the box of chocolates.

Jake blurted out, “Huh?”

Stella replied, “The Chase family doesn’t know.”

After she finished speaking, Stella turned to look at Sebastian, meeting his

Her face stayed utterly blank.

eyes.

Sebastian pretended not to care and looked away, but soon his gaze was back on the box of chocolates.

Stella was speechless.

*****

Back on Sandridge Island, the painting was just spread out on the coffee table. People, robots, a bird, a snake, and even some grass were all crowded around, checking out the painting.

Lucas bit his thumb, head tilted in confusion, still hugging the box of chocolates, and was confused.

Allan said, “Whoa, this looks legit.”

He reached out and ran his fingers over the paper, then scratched his chin. “The fake aging on this is next- level. If I didn’t know where the real one was, I’d have totally fAllan for it.”

Annette took off her reading glasses. “Looks the same to me.”

Big Ben said, “Running system check.”

He tilted his head just like Lucas, then froze up for a second, almost like he was glitching out.

Snowball flicked his tail and bopped Big Ben right on the back of the head.

Big Ben said, “It’s a fake.”

Everyone was left speechless.

Lucas suddenly remembered something, his eyes sparkling. He bolted upstairs.

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Chapter 225

A moment later, he came wobbling back down, clutching a painting.

With a whoosh, the painting unfurled; finally, the real painting was on full display.

Big Ben clapped his chubby hands over his mouth.

Allan said, “What are you saying for?”

Big Ben replied, “So what?”

He just smiled.

Allan was speechless.

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He suddenly whipped his head toward Stella. “Stella, are you gonna do something about him or what?”

Stella was speechless.

‘Honestly, it’s like running a daycare here,’ Stella thought.

Before Stella could say a word, her phone went off out of the blue. It was an unfamiliar number.

Her eyes narrowed, her expression growing guarded.

She stepped out onto the quiet balcony and picked up the call.

“Ms. Carter,” came a deep voice on the other end, smooth and calculating, definitely the kind of tone you’d expect from a seasoned businessman.

Stella answered.

Her reply was so casual you couldn’t tell what she was thinking at all.

“I’m Steven Everhart,” the man said.

Stella leaned against the carved railing, glancing inside through the floor-to-ceiling glass doors. “Never heard of you. Who are you?”

The line went quiet.

His voice turned cold after a long pause. “I’m from the Everhart family.”

Stella nodded.

She was already losing her patience.

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