Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 260

Chapter 260

Sophia rushed in, accompanied by her granddaughter-in-law, Lillian.

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Maybe she was too flustered to notice Stella standing nearby, but Lillian looked genuinely shocked to see her here.

“Mom!” Lauren called out, her voice trembling.

In that moment of vulnerability, all Lauren wanted was her mother. Tears filled her eyes as she instinctively reached out, only to be met with the sharp sound of a slap cutting through the air.

Without hesitation, Sophia slapped Lauren hard across the face.

Lauren was stunned.

It stung like fire.

She couldn’t believe it.

Stella arched an eyebrow, her gaze lingering on the tense mother-daughter duo with a hint of amusement.

“How could you disgrace me like this?” Sophia snapped, her breath catching so hard that she nearly passed

out.

Linda’s drama hadn’t even cooled off, and now her own daughter was making a scene. All Sophia felt was humiliation and utter frustration.

Even though she knew this was the worst possible timing, Lillian braced herself and stepped forward to interject.

‘Is it just me, or has something felt off ever since I walked in here?’ she wondered, her nerves frazzled and her mind buzzing like someone was plucking a string in her head nonstop.

“It’s you?” Sophia blurted out, finally noticing Stella after Lillian pointed her out. “What are you doing here? Who told you to come?”

All the old grudges and new drama came flooding back.

Stella calmly pointed at Lauren on the bed.

“Get out! Get out, now!” Sophia screamed, her voice cracking with rage.

She ripped off her fake innocent mask, jabbing a finger at the door and shrieking at the top of her lungs.

“You hit me?” Lauren’s head was spinning, and Stella’s words kept replaying in her mind. Her eyes were so red, it was like blood was about to drip out.

“You actually slapped me?” Lauren yelled, her voice cracking with disbelief and anger.

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Chapter 260

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Her voice suddenly shot up, shrill and cutting, slicing right through the heavy silence in the room.

“The whole family’s a mess, and you just had to pull this stunt now? Richard needs us most right now…” Sophia snapped, her voice sharp with frustration.

That was it for Lauren. Her last bit of self-control snapped.

“Richard, Richard, it’s always about Richard!” Lauren yelled, her voice cracking with anger.

She didn’t even know where the strength came from, but she jumped off the bed, eyes blazing. “What about me? Do I even matter?”

She just kept going, pouring out all the pain and frustration she’d bottled up for so long.

Sophia yelped as Lauren crashed into her shoulder, nearly knocking her over. “Are you crazy?”

“I’m crazy! I really am!” Lauren screamed, her voice shaking with rage. “My own mother accused me of being a prostitute, just for the damn Gray family’s reputation! To hell with that reputation!”

“Stop it!” Sophia cried out, her hair yanked back as Lauren pinned her to the side. She screamed, “Help!”

She reached out desperately to Lillian.

Stella, cool as ever, walked over and pressed her back firmly against the door. No matter how much people outside banged or shoved, the door didn’t move an inch.

Sophia ended up sprawled on the floor. Her favorite necklace snapped and the beads scattered across every corner of the hospital room.

Lauren straddled her, shouting, “Is this what you want? You want to hit me? Hit me! Go on, hit me!”

As she yelled, she returned the slap to Sophia, giving her a taste of her own medicine.

In that moment, it was like a dam burst inside Lauren. All the pain and humiliation she’d bottled up for years exploded out of her like a wild animal unleashed.

She wrapped her hands around Sophia’s throat, and Sophia screamed, desperate and miserable.

“Lauren, I’m your mom!” Sophia choked out, her voice raw and desperate as she struggled to catch her breath.

She was gasping for air, pain twisting her face. She begged Lauren to stop while she scratched frantically at Lauren’s cheeks with her nails. But that only made Lauren snap even harder. Her fury hit a whole new level.

Lillian suddenly felt something was seriously wrong. She was about to rush over and break them apart, but in that split second, Lauren’s lips twisted into a chilling grin. She lifted her hand.

“Mom! You’ll remember me forever!” Lauren spat, her voice icy and laced with threat.

Sophia caught a sudden flash before her eyes, her gaze snapping wide in shock.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

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Chapter 260

Then Lillian let out a scream that could’ve shattered the ceiling.

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Only then did Stella, still looking totally unfazed, finally turn and unlock the door from the inside.

The cop, who’d been about to kick the door in, froze mid-kick, speechless.

“What the hell happened in here?” the cop barked, all business.

Stella didn’t bother with the cop at all. With a lazy look, she glanced right past his shoulder and locked eyes with Sebastian, who was sitting where the light and shadow met in the hallway.

Their gazes met, and she shot him a sly little smile.

On the floor, Sophia stared in shock, her eyes glazed over as she watched Lauren gripping a broken piece of the vase. Her face, the one she’d always taken such pride in, smooth and flawless, suddenly showed a thin line of blood.

Then, the cut split wide open, blood pouring out like a dam breaking. The heavy, iron scent of blood quickly filled the room.

The cop was stunned.

Cold sweat ran down his back. Snapping out of his shock, he hurried over and hauled Lauren up. Then he glanced at Sophia lying there on the floor, his voice trailing off in disbelief, “You…”

“Is my face alright?” Sophia muttered, her voice lost and trembling in shock. She instinctively pressed her hand to her cheek, only to feel blood pouring out between her fingers.

The

cop

fell silent.

Honestly, it was hard to answer that.

“My face… My face… What happened to my face?” Sophia gasped, her eyes wild with panic and horror. She tried to push herself up, her whole body trembling. “What happened to my face?”

There was a nasty slash stretching from her right brow all the way down to the left corner of her mouth.

Her skin was split wide open, blood and flesh exposed for everyone to see.

Lauren hadn’t held back at all. She’d gone full savage.

As Sophia’s blood-curdling scream echoed through the room, Stella turned her back on the chaos and walked slowly toward Sebastian, her movements calm and deliberate,

Her flowing black skirt, embroidered with intricate patterns, swirled around her ankles with every step, adding to her effortless elegance.

Soon, Stella was right beside Sebastian. Her slender fingers came to rest on his broad shoulder, and there was a cold hint of red at the corners of her eyes.

She turned, her expression unreadable, and stood side by side with Sebastian, watching the hospital room’s

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Chapter 260

drama play out with complete indifference.

Sebastian looked at Sophia, his face completely blank.

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Five years ago, Sophia used the excuse.that Lillian was pregnant with Ryan and didn’t want any “bad luck” to stop Eric and Holly from being buried in the Gray family’s private cemetery out in the suburbs.

And unbelievably, his grandfather actually agreed to such a ridiculous reason.

It was beyond absurd.

When Sebastian finally woke up after three days and nights fighting for his life, that was the first thing he heard. For those days, the three bodies were left lying in the hospital morgue.

Annette kept vigil every day, staying by Lucas’s side in the incubator.

And she still had to keep an eye on Sebastian, too.

Meanwhile, Sophia had already moved into Gray Manor with her two kids, acting like she was the hostess of the house.

“Sebastian, she’s gone completely off the deep end,” Stella remarked, her voice cold and cutting, just loud enough for Lauren to catch every word in the blood-soaked air. “She can’t even tell who her own mother is anymore.”

It was like Stella’s words flipped a switch in Lauren. Held tight by the cop, she suddenly shivered, her eyes darting around like a trapped animal. Then she burst out laughing, wild and hysterical.

Smearing her bloodied hands across her face and clothes, Lauren laughed so hard that she was gasping for breath, her hair tangled and wild. “Who am I? Who am I? I’m trash! I’m a dirty whore! I’m a prostitute!”

The cop fell silent.

He glanced at Stella, his expression impossible to read.

Just when the cop thought Stella was about to leave, she suddenly grabbed something from John, who’d popped up out of nowhere, and strode straight over to Sophia, who looked like she was about to lose it completely.

“Want to see?” Stella asked, her voice soft and slow, like she was tempting Sophia to open Pandora’s box. She held out a mirror, the glass facing down.

Sophia just stared silently.

She knew Stella was messing with her, knew she shouldn’t fall for it, but her hand still shook as she reached out, her eyes desperate for answers.

Stella let go, watching with icy indifference as Sophia slowly turned the mirror over.

As her reflection came into view, Sophia’s hands shook uncontrollably, panic flooding her face. She screamed, her voice raw with terror.

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Chapter 260

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

:

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“No!” Sophia shrieked, smashing the mirror to the floor with a vicious crash. Her eyes, bloodshot and wild, locked onto Stella, hatred burning in her gaze. That once-beautiful face was now a curse she couldn’t escape.

But before Sophia could do anything else, the shock was just too much. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, completely unconscious.

Sophia hit the floor with a heavy thud.

“Doctor! Nurse!” the cop shouted, his voice cracking with panic.

He was freaking out, yelling for help at the top of his lungs.

“Aren’t you going to help her?” Stella shot Lillian a cold, merciless look.

Lillian froze.

Right now, she felt like prey cornered by a wild beast-weak, helpless, and totally powerless.

Lauren’s screams rang in her ears, the heavy stench of blood was everywhere, and the nausea hit so hard that she didn’t even have time to brace herself.

She turned her head and puked right onto the floor.

Stella took her time, shifting to the side and coolly letting her gaze drift back to Lauren. Lauren was thrashing around like she’d totally lost it, her cuffed hand banging against the bed rail with a cold, metallic clatter.