Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 272

Chapter 272

With another gunshot, Stella blasted a hole right through Richard’s other leg.

Richard howled desperately.

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Carlos, burning with fury, snatched a gun from his bodyguard and aimed it right between Stella’s eyes.

“Ms. Carter!” John gasped, his chest tightening in shock.

But Stella’s voice was steady, not a trace of emotion. “Stop right there!”

John and the rest of the Yates family froze, not daring to take another step; but their eyes never left Stella and

Carlos.

Stella looked up coolly, a mocking smirk playing on her lips. “Go ahead. Shoot.”

“What?” Carlos thought he must be hearing things.

Stella took a step forward, pressing the muzzle of the gun right against her forehead. “Shoot!”

Her voice was icy, and there was a dangerous red glint at the corners of her eyes.

Carlos’s voice trembled. “I-I really will shoot!”

Stella gave a little laugh. Her laughter started soft, but soon she couldn’t hold it back. Her shoulders shook, and that gorgeous face of hers suddenly looked a little wild, dangerously beautiful.

But in the next second, all traces of amusement vanished from Stella’s face. She reached up and grabbed the barrel of the gun. “I said shoot!”

Carlos was frozen, and even the crowd watching didn’t dare breathe. The sheer force of Stella’s presence left everyone speechless.

Carlos was so freaked out that his grip loosened instantly, and the gun slipped right out of his hand.

Stella calmly raised her hand and motioned to Carlos.

To make it even more ridiculous, he hadn’t even taken the safety off.

Carlos just stood there, face flushed with humiliation, while Stella, totally unfazed, kept loading and unloading the magazine with one hand, like she was just absentmindedly playing with a toy.

Richard kept screaming his head off the entire time.

There was a brief pause, and then Stella said, “The Everhart family will be finished in three days. Count on it.”

It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise.

Carlos’s pupils shrank as Stella’s voice rang in his ears. “Whatever you and Bastienne worked out back then,

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Chapter 272

that ace in the hole you’d only use when you were truly desperate? It’s gone.”

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Stella lifted her gaze to meet his. “Five years ago, Sophia used the excuse that the unborn Ryan might be affected by the funeral and refused to let the deceased be buried in the Gray Family Cemetery.

“That same year, you claimed Lucas’s birth would ruin the Gray family’s luck, and while Sebastian was out cold, you announced that you wanted to kick Lucas out of the family!”

Her voice was cold as ice. With every word, Stella took another step forward.

John led the Yates family, all of whom had lived through that madness five years ago, trailing after Stella. They closed in on Carlos, faces steely and unyielding.

Carlos backed away in a panic, his face pale with fear. His bodyguards and thugs backed away with him.

Stella said, “Carlos, as for your marriage, you and Annette spent decades together, but when she was mourning a loved one, you brought the woman and child you kept outside right back into the Gray family, rubbing salt in her wounds. That’s being unfaithful!”

Stella raised her hand and fired a shot right in front of Carlos’s feet, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Carlos stumbled back in a panic.

She continued, “As for your ancestors, you’ve dragged the Gray family’s name through the mud. If the ancestors in your family could see you now, they wouldn’t rest in peace.

“They’d be clawing their way out of their graves just to spit on you for being such an ungrateful disgrace!”

Without even blinking, Stella fired another round into the ground right at his feet. “And as for fatherly love, you denied your own flesh and blood a proper burial just because you were afraid of some absurd bad luck

nonsense.

“You have no humanity, no compassion, just pure cold-blooded cruelty!”

Stella fired another shot.

Carlos had no way to back up, panic written all over his face, eyes darting around like a trapped animal.

Stella said, “And about the Gray Group, you knew Richard couldn’t handle it, but you still risked the livelihoods of thousands just to feed your own ego. That’s just plain shameless!”

Fourth shot and she’d emptied the clip.

The whole place was dead silent, with petals drifting in the gloomy air.

Everyone just stood there, jaws dropped, watching and listening in utter disbelief.

Stella tossed the empty gun at Carlos’s feet, raising an eyebrow. “You’re asking why you can’t set foot on the island?”

She let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Does someone so faithless, ungrateful, heartless, and shameless even

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…

deserve to set foot on the island?”

Behind her, the Yates family shouted at the top of their lungs, “No!”

Stella stared at Carlos, her deep amber.eyes cold as ice. “Did you hear that?”

The wind picked up and whipped her long hair behind her.

Carlos spluttered, “You…”

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But before he could finish, Stella walked over to Richard with chilling calm, slammed her foot down on his wounded knee, and crushed down mercilessly.

Richard howled in agony, “Dad! Help me.”

Stella gave Carlos a cold, disdainful look before speaking, “Get lost!”

Behind her, the Yates family, dressed in black, roared in unison, “Get lost!”

The ground itself seemed to shake from the force of their voices.

Carlos couldn’t withstand the crushing aura coming at him. His legs buckled, and he sank to the ground, lips trembling, heart racing. Suddenly, his eyes flew wide in shock as he stared past Stella, his gaze locked on something behind her.

As if sensing it, Stella turned around.

Somehow, Sebastian was standing there.

He looked like he’d been through hell and back. His face expressionless, but there was a storm brewing behind his eyes. Just standing there, his presence alone was enough to make everyone uneasy, a silent warning that danger was near.

They felt he could make the world lose itself.

Lincoln was right there at his side.

Sebastian ignored everyone else, reaching out to Stella, his voice gentle. “Stella.” His gaze was locked on her. She was all he saw in that moment.

Carlos gaped, “Sebastian, your legs…” He was in shock.

Everyone else was just as stunned.

‘Wasn’t he supposed to be crippled after that accident five years ago?’ everyone thought. ‘But now, he is standing right there!

Stella casually took her foot off Richard and then nudged him aside with obvious disgust.

Everyone just watched in dead silence as Richard, being kicked aside so carelessly, ended up rolling a good few feet away.

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Stella didn’t even bother to care what they were thinking. She headed straight for Sebastian, and the Yates family parted, making way for her to walk right up to Sebastian.

She placed her hand in his.

Sebastian just held her hand, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Been out here a while.”

Stella thought, ‘It hasn’t been that long, has it?’

“Let’s go back,” Sebastian said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Stella nodded. “Okay.”

Stella thought, ‘God, his eyes are practically glued to me.’

She asked casually, “So, how much did you hear?”

Sebastian hesitated for a moment and then said, “I just got here.”

Lincoln just looked at them, his expression complicated. ‘Fine, whatever,’ he thought. ‘As long as Mr. Gray’s happy, who cares?’

Just as Stella and Sebastian were about to head back, Carlos suddenly shouted from behind, “Sebastian!”

But Sebastian didn’t even slow down.

Lincoln opened the car door for them.

Once they were both inside, John slid into the front seat and, without a word, raised the soundproof partition with a straight face.

Lincoln was confused and thought, “Seriously? We’re just going through an undersea tunnel. Do we really need the soundproof partition up? What’s that supposed to mean?’

Stone-faced, John caught Lincoln’s look and just said, “Don’t ask. Just drive.”

Lincoln decided to shut up.

As soon as the door closed, Sebastian dominated the space, pressing Stella back against the seat. His long legs were flush against her dress, one hand gripping her jaw possessively as he leaned in and kissed her, deep, intense, and with zero restraint.

Stella’s long lashes fluttered.

‘How did things escalate to this so quickly?’ she wondered, completely balled.

Sebastian’s kiss was urgent. His eyes were shut, his breathing wild, and his thumb traced lightly across her cheek.

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The car slipped into the undersea tunnel, and darkness fell over them.

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The darkness made Stella’s hearing even sharper. She responded to Sebastian slowly, her hand drifting up to the back of his neck, giving him a gentle squeeze.

Stella’s voice was low and raspy. “You said you wouldn’t bite.”

Sebastian tried to calm himself down, reaching out to touch her, but as soon as his hand slipped into her hair, he felt something cold and slick.

Blackie, who’d been doing his best to stay hidden, peeked its little head out. It flashed a big grin, bearing its tiny fangs to look cute and giving its most fawning smile.

Sebastian stared at it.

Blackie was shaking like a leaf.

Stella drawled lazily, “Don’t scare it.”

Blackie nodded, looking all miserable and like it’d just been bullied.

Sebastian held her hand in silence, keeping his leg, wrapped in those black dress pants, pressed right up against her dress. If being clingy were a crime, he’d be guilty as charged.

*****

On Sandbar Island, the memorial service was over. Bernard, exhausted, left with his security staff. The rest of the Jaffina elite stood around in small groups. After a quick word with Caleb, Colten glanced over and waved Blake to come closer.

Blake pointed at himself in disbelief.

Colten smiled and nodded.

“Don’t embarrass Mr. Gray and Stella. Go on!” Emily hissed through clenched teeth, her lips barely moving as she nudged him.

Blake hurried over.

Everyone watched as Colten led Blake around, introducing him to a bunch of Jattina’s top dogs, Blake didn’t look anything like the troublemaker he used to be. Off to the side, Kendrick couldn’t help but sigh.

“Some fools really do have all the luck,” Landen muttered, shaking his head as he strolled over. He was here today with his son Charles and Nathan.

Kendrick shot him a look. “Looks like the Trent family has got some trouble brewing.”

Landen rolled his eyes. “Why’d you have to bring that up? Seriously?”

Then, as if something just occurred to him, Landen said, “Speaking of which, you really shouldn’t keep putting off dealing with that tumor in your head.”

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He gave Kendrick a careful once-over, but instead of looking sickly, Kendrick actually seemed pretty healthy, his face full of color.

After a moment’s hesitation, Landen finally asked, “Don’t tell me this is just a last burst of energy before the end?”

Kendrick turned away, face blank, and growled, “Shut up!”

Landen thought, ‘Man, still as grumpy as ever!’

But then Kendrick coughed and cleared his throat. “My grandson Blake hooked me up with Shark!” His voice was bursting with pride.

Landen practically yelled, “You said who?”

Meanwhile, Blake was feeling a little out of it as he trailed after Colten, shaking hands and making small talk with the crowd.

He was so nervous that it felt like he’d accidentally wandered into a bank vault, but he kept his back ramrod straight, determined not to show a hint of weakness.

He wasn’t stupid. He could tell that even with Colten personally introducing him, these Jaffina big shots were just being polite, barely giving him the time of day. But Blake didn’t let it get to him.

Stella had told him, “The less people take you seriously, the more you have to take yourself seriously!”

He thought, ‘I won’t let you down. No way was he going to let himself get discouraged!’

Blake was still hyping himself up when Sebastian’s cold voice suddenly rang out. “He’s Blake, CEO of Ion Wing Drones.”

In a split second, all those Jaffina big shots who’d been acting all casual snapped to attention, eyes blazing as they turned toward Sebastian. Their attitude did a complete 180, like royalty had just walked in.