Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 230

Chapter 230

A

Chapter 230

Sebastian’s cheek was swollen like a steamed bun.

His long, thick lashes hung low.

He didn’t look at her.

Stella was speechless.

33

E55 vouchers

The mask still dangled from her fingers as she just stood there, silent for a full three seconds before she finally managed to speak.

“Wait a sec,” Stella blurted out.

She turned her back to him, doing her best not to make a sound, but her shoulders kept shaking, making it obvious she was trying not to laugh.

‘He looks just like that meme of the dog with a bee sting on its mouth,’ Stella thought.

Sebastian reached out and tugged at the hem of her shirt, his voice soft. “Stella.”

His voice was muffled, sounding pitiful and a little whiny.

“When did it get so swollen?” Stella asked.

She turned back and just had to poke his cheek.

Sebastian picked up his black mask and put it back on. “This morning.”

“Want me to help you out?” Stella offered.

But this time, Sebastian shook his head right away.

“No way,” he said.

Stella raised an eyebrow. ‘Seriously? He’s still being picky even when he looks like this?’ she thought.

Sebastian would never admit it, but the real reason he sent John to find another dentist was that he looked totally ridiculous during the whole tooth-pulling ordeal.

‘No freaking way Stella is ever seeing me like this,’ Sebastian swore to himself, mortified.

When they came back in from the balcony, the room was already in chaos. The old guys were arguing loudly over the painting, and nobody in the room dared to butt in.

Levi was practically roaring, spittle flying everywhere. “Even if the king of heaven himself showed up, this one’s still a fake.”

Stella glanced in the direction he was pointing.

15:50 Tue, Feb 3

Chapter 230

Stella was speechless.

She replied, calm as ever, “It’s real.”

33

65 vouchers

She walked over and reached out to grab the chocolate box sitting right on top of the authentic painting.

The old men just stared, dumbfounded.

‘Who in their right mind would use a painting worth over 62 million as a place to put chocolates? Seriously, isn’t there a fake one lying around? Why not use that for your snacks instead?’ they all thought.

Landen blurted out, “Holy crap.”

He shot a look at Stella, then at the painting.

Finally, he leaned back a little too far and knocked into a vase with a crooked red sandalwood branch.

Victor called out, “Don’t move.”

Landen threw a look over his shoulder and gasped.

Landen froze on the spot.

Victor quickly steadied the vase and peered at it. “Last year, Christen’s Auction House auctioned off an ancient jar from a long-lost dynasty for over 10 million, but it’s never been seen in public since.”

If his memory served him right, this was the exact one.

He instinctively glanced over at Sebastian.

Sebastian was speechless.

Sebastian finally said, his voice low and rough, “You got the wrong one.”

Everyone was left speechless.

‘Yeah, right. As we’d actually buy that,’ everyone thought.

“Hey, kid, how’d you figure out this one’s a fake?” Hudson asked, genuinely curious.

John, standing nearby, perked up his ears, trying not to look too obvious.

He’d actually wanted to ask this yesterday in the car. They knew the real one was somewhere else, so they knew the Chase family’s was a fake, but Stella figured it out.

Stella replied, “The fake one’s got five spots that are different from the real one.”

Everyone was left speechless.

She almost had them fooled if they hadn’t double-checked.

15:50 Tue, Feb 3

Chapter 230

:

Levi blurted out, “No way. We’ve looked it over again and again.”

33

55 vouchers

“There really are five differences,” Sebastian said. He gave Lucas a frosty glare and smacked away the little guy’s hand when he tried to poke his swollen cheek again. Lucas puffed up angrily and marched off to Stella to tattle.

As soon as Sebastian said that, the old men practically dove onto the coffee table. Some whipped out their reading glasses, others grabbed magnifying glasses, hunched over, and determined to hunt down these legendary five differences.

Off to the side, Nathan put on his glasses and looked at Sebastian with exaggerated professionalism. “Mr. Gray, just like me, says ah.”

Sebastian just shot him a glare. “Get lost.”

John could see the vein on Sebastian’s forehead throbbing.

John felt silent.

He subtly slipped away to a spot out of Sebastian’s line of sight.

Levi grumbled, “Where the heck are those differences?”

With his reading glasses on, he was practically smushing his face right up against the artwork.

“Is it here?” Landen asked, pointing with his magnifying glass. Everyone craned their necks, then immediately shook their heads. Time flew by, ten minutes gone in a flash.

Unable to take it anymore, Lucas hopped off the couch and waved at Snowball, who was perched up in the

tree.

With a quick sliver, Snowball obediently lowered his big head right into Lucas’s palm.

Snowball instantly flipped itself over and rested the tip of its tail in Lucas’s hand instead.

Lucas waved at the grandpas, grabbed Snowball’s tail like a pointer, and swished it over the fake painting, tapping five spots one after another, quick and precise.

The old men were left speechless, just staring in shock.

Hudson called out, “Lucas, can you do it again for us?”

‘You guys are so silly, Lucas thought.

He tilted his head cutely, his eyes suddenly lighting up. He reached under the coffee table, grabbed five sparkling diamonds from a jar, and leaned over the fake painting, pointing excitedly with his little hand.

In no time, he placed a diamond on each of the five spots, making them shine.

The old men just stared, totally speechless.

15:50 Tue, Feb 3

Chapter 230

‘Seriously, what kind of kid uses diamonds to mark stuff?

‘Even diamonds gotta have some pride, right?’ the old men thought.

33

E55 vouchers

Lucas blinked at the suddenly quiet old guys, then turned to Stella, looking adorably confused.

Stella replied coolly, “Fake.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify