Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 268

Chapter 268

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At the pier on Sandridge Island, Emily had taken the day off from the hospital.

She’d made sure her parents personally delivered flowers for the memorial because she worried the island would be too quiet. She even ordered extra arrangements to help Sebastian save face and make the scene look less empty.

But when she saw the crowds and cars packed everywhere. Emily was left completely dumbfounded.

The car window rolled down.

Emily stepped out, still in a daze, and gawked at the road to the pier. Both sides were packed with flower baskets, big and small, forming a never-ending ocean of white chrysanthemums.

Every big name in Haliville was printed on the placards stuck in the baskets.

And more baskets were still being delivered!

Someone up ahead was yelling. “Why aren’t we allowed on the island?”

Emily was left speechless.

She was totally stunned.

“Miss Chase,” a man’s voice called out from behind, making her jump. She spun around and found John standing there with his usual poker face.

Emily stammered, “Huh?”

John said, “I’ll have someone park your car for you. Please come with me.”

Emily was left speechless.

She handed over her car keys in a daze, and John gestured toward the pier. “This way, please.”

For the first time in her life, Emily truly understood what it meant to be the center of attention. If she remembered right, all these people were supposed to be at the Gray family’s place.

She thought, ‘Aren’t they all secretly mocking Sebastian, saying they would be here to watch him make a fool of himself today?’

And suddenly, someone said, “Memorial flowers from Bernard Harper, Jaffina, just arrived!”

“Two baskets from the Clinton family, Jaffina!”

“Knight family, Jaffina, delivering now…”

“Nova Group’s flowers incoming…”

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Chapter 268

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One announcement after another echoed through the air, leaving Emily so stunned she forgot to move. She thought, ‘Did I really just hear that? Bernard Harper? The true pinnacle of power?

‘Even those powerful families from Jaffina…

‘Even Dorestan sent a wreath?’

The crowd that had been loudly complaining about not being allowed on the island instantly went dead silent.

No one dared make a sound.

It hit everyone at once. Sebastian, who had vanished from the public eye for five years, was shrouded in even more mystery than anyone had realized.

Emily, still in a haze, climbed into John’s car and muttered, “What on earth is going on?”

Without a word, John started the car and drove silently toward the undersea tunnel to Sandridge Island.

On the island, with sharp clatter, a cup hit the floor.

“B-Bastienne?” Meredith shot to her feet, staring in utter disbelief at the woman she thought had been dead for five years. Now standing right in front of her, alive. She could barely believe her eyes.

Bastienne was icy as ever. Even though she knew it was a day of mourning, she’d gone out of her way to wear a red dress and bold red lipstick.

Bastienne’s voice was frosty: “You’ve got the wrong person.”

Annoyed, she dug a cigarette out of her bag.

She lit it.

The gloomy day was seriously messing with her mood.

Meredith was speechless.

‘How could I possibly be mistaken?’ Meredith thought.

11

The elders on the couch didn’t say a word. After exchanging glances, their brows furrowed.

Those old-timers who were usually so lively were all keeping quiet today.

Celia sat furthest from the others.

Her gaze kept wandering, looking for Big Ben.

They’d gotten there early and hadn’t heard about the commotion at the pier yet.

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“Mrs. Chase, you really are mistaken.” Stella drawled from the staircase, her face calm and unbothered. She descended in a sleek black dress, holding the hand of the cherubic Lucas.

Lucas was dressed in a tiny black suit today, looking like the perfect little gentleman.

The instant Bastienne laid eyes on Lucas, she flinched as the cigarette singed her fingers.

“That’s Steven Everhart’s wife from the Everhart family in Jaffina,” Stella said, her expression cold and distant. When she wasn’t smiling, there was a chill about her that seemed to seep from her very bones.

She released Lucas’s hand and calmly picked up a cup of coffee from the table.

Meredith blinked in shock. “Wait, what?”

‘Could I really have mistaken her for someone else?’ Meredith wondered, her mind in a whirl.

Bastienne stared as Stella, radiating an icy aura, walked right up and stopped in front of her. Bastienne could only stammer, “You…”

Stella gave her a frosty look. Before Bastienne even realized it, she’d instinctively stubbed out her cigarette in the cup, extinguishing it.

Stella extended the cup to her side, and Jake quietly took it and slipped away.

“Madam, what exactly are you accusing me of?” Stella gave a faint smile, but the chill in her eyes only deepened.

Bastienne snapped, “You messed up Chloe’s face!”

“Oh?” Stella replied, her voice cool and indifferent.

Bastienne stared at Stella’s porcelain skin, utterly stunned. “That’s it? Just ‘oh’?”

Stella’s smile faded instantly, and she simply fixed Bastienne with a cold stare.

“Madam, I really don’t appreciate your tone,” Stella said.

Bastienne just stared, lost for words.

She swallowed nervously, and her throat suddenly dried.

Stella lifted her hand, and her cold fingers, teasing, brushed over Bastienne’s flawless skin, stopping right at the spot where Chloe had been hurt. “But since today is a special day, I’ll let it slide. Next time, you won’t get off so easily.”

Bastienne’s pupils flickered wildly, and she only remembered to breathe once Stella’s hand left her face.

Chirp. Out of nowhere, the little peregrine falcon swooped down and landed on Stella’s shoulder, flutting up and fussing with its feathers. It had been eating so much lately that it looked like it had grown a whole size bigger overnight.

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Chapter 268

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And those falcon eyes? They’d gotten even sharper, almost predatory now!

“Miss Chase, this way,” John said, ushering the still-dazed Emily in.

When Emily spotted Stella, her eyes lit up. “Stella, outside…”

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Thinking Emily was about to mention how no one had shown up at the pier for the memorial, Magnus jumped to his feet. “Emmy, come sit down!”

Blake, who’d been keeping quiet, couldn’t help but snort when he heard “Emmy,” and got a sharp glare from Kendrick.

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