Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 28

Chapter 28

“Open the door,” Stella said, twirling the weapon smoothly in her hand, looking up with lazy, icy indifference.

Behind her, Sebastian raised his hand, his face cold as ice. Instantly, his men strung the bloodied mastiff up on a tree right outside the villa’s door.

Normally, with his ruthless streak, Sebastian would have someone skin it or take it apart bone by bone, but today, he showed mercy and left the body whole.

His gaze rested on Stella’s back, dark and unreadable.

The front door of Gray Manor stayed firmly shut. Without blinking, Stella fired at the big windows on the first floor. The glass cracked into spiderwebs and then exploded with a loud crackle, shards raining down onto the floor.

Just as she aimed for the second floor, a loud click sounded. The front door of Gray Manor swung open from inside.

“Stop!” Carlos’s voice thundered, his eyes sharp and commanding as he locked onto Stella. Leaning on his cane, he stepped outside, supported by Sophia.

Richard and the others cowered behind him. The servants instinctively split to either side, their faces pale with shock at the scene unfolding before them.

“Quite the crowd,” Stella sneered, her voice thick with sarcasm. Her sinister energy threatened to spill over. “Honestly, I thought this place was dead.”

Her eyes were icy-cold as she sized up every face-familiar or not, old or new. Wherever her gaze landed, people broke out in goosebumps.

“This is our family matter. What business do you have here?” Carlos’s wrinkled face was carved with fury, but his anger didn’t even register with Stella.

“Who gives a damn about your family drama?” Stella smirked, her beautiful features twisted in scorn and icy indifference. “But if you mess with Mr. Gray, that’s where I draw the line.”

She casually walked back to stand behind Sebastian, resting one hand on the armrest of his wheelchair. Her tone was flippant, chilly, and deliberately provoking. “Mr. Gray is fragile and can’t handle any stress. Hope you understand.”

The Gray family members standing on the villa steps looked as if they’d just swallowed something foul. ‘Sebastian? Fragile? Can’t handle stress? And now we’re supposed to show him sympathy? How shameless can those two be?’ Richard thought.

Sebastian let out a couple of muffled coughs, his already pale face taking on an even more sickly hue.

“Who owns the mastiffs?” Stella asked. As soon as she heard Sebastian cough, she spun the pistol again with a slick, practiced flick. She looked casual, but the move promised cold, precise payback.

No one spoke.

Linda instinctively shielded Ryan behind her. The second those mastiffs showed up, she knew they were the ones he raised.

The dogs always caused trouble and picked fights. They loved nothing more than raw bones and meat, totally wild and impossible to control. They’d even killed a bunch of the neighbors’ pet dogs before.

“Mr. Gray, you know how loyal mastiffs are. Why not let the other one loose and see who it runs to?” Stella said lazily. ‘Seriously, do they think staying quiet is enough to dodge responsibility?’ she thought.

Sebastian’s slender fingers turned a black prayer bead, his lips curving into a faint, brooding smile.

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Chapter 28

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To Sebastian, the Grays gathered before him were utterly beneath his notice. Their petty schemes didn’t even register. But right now, for once, he found himself oddly patient, curiously soring the strange novelty of being protected.

Sebastian gave John a subtle signal, and the surviving mastiff, scared out of its mind, immediately bolted, sniffing frantically

for Ryan.

Ryan’s face went ghostly pale as he darted behind Carlos. “Great-Grandpa, I swear, I have no idea how they got out.”

The five-year-old was shaking like a leaf, nothing like the cocky kid he’d been in the backyard just moments ago. Seeing him like this, no one could bring themselves to blame a child, especially not a little guy his age.

Ryan was genuinely scared out of his wits, especially with that bloody mess of a mastiff still hanging from the tree.

“Sebastian, that’s enough,” Carlos snapped. He’d long since given up trying to fix things with this grandson he could never control.

But for Sebastian to show up at Gray Manor and throw his weigh around like this, Carlos wondered if Sebastian thought he was out of the picture now.

“Ryan, go apologize to your uncle and tell him you didn’t mean Carlos ordered, his eyes sharp with a warning that screamed he’d had enough as he stared down Sebastian.

At his words, Ryan immediately grabbed the leash of the other mastiff and toddled over to Sebastian, his face full of innocent confusion, as if nothing that had just happened had anything to do with him.

“Uncle Sebastian, please forgive me,” Ryan said, standing a few steps away from Sebastian, his voice dripping with apology. But Stella saw clearly that a flash of pure malice crossed the boy’s face.

“He’s just putting on an act, Stella thought, her expression turning frosty, coldness radiating off her.

She hated nothing more than the idea that “the weaker side is always right.” She mused, ‘If I hadn’t sensed something was off ahead of time, if Lucas had hopped out of the car with us, if those mastiffs had hurt Sebastian and Lucas…

“They think a simple “sorry” would magically fix everything, huh

In the next instant, Ryan faked a look of panic and let the leash slip from his hand. The mastiff, already seething with hate for its dead packmate, lunged straight at Sebastian with a vicious snarl, jaws gaping wide.

Carlos gasped and lurched forward, but instead of helping Sebastian, he grabbed Ryan and whisked him away. Meanwhile, Stella, her expression icy and determined, spun without hesitation and threw herself over Sebastian, shielding him.

Just as it looked like blood was about to be spilled, for a split second, everything froze.

“John, take care of it,” Sebastian said, his voice low and steady, not a hint of emotion. His face didn’t even twitch.

“Yes, Mr. Gray,” John replied, his expression icy. He ripped the combat knife out of the mastiff’s skull and, right in front of Ryan, dragged the massive body away single-handedly, leaving along, wet smear on the ground.

He thought, ‘Don’t think I missed the way that little brat signaled the dog to attack.

“It’s over,” Sebastian said, lifting his hand adorned with prayer beads and giving Stella’s slender back a gentle pat. The beads clinked softly, and his voice was calm and reassuring.

Stella got to her feet, her face so cold that it could freeze hell over. Her stunning, makeup-free face was dark and stormy. A cold, fierce rage simmered just beneath the surface.

“If a kid has no manners, it’s the adults who failed their job,” Stella said, her voice icy and sharp.

Her frosty gaze landed on Ryan, but to her surprise, the five-year-old, hiding behind Carlos, shot her a bratty, taunting grin.

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Chapter 28

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Then, in a flash, his face switched to pure innocence. Two seconds later, big tears started rolling down his cheeks. It was like watching a performance.

“Great-Grandpa, Great-Grandina, I’m scared. Uncle Sebastian iso scary.” Ryan reached out his hands to Carlos and Sophia, begging for a hug, as if they were family, while Sebastian and Lucas were just the outsiders.

Are you done crying?” Sebastian asked, one hand braced on the armrest of his wheelchair. At some point, he’d slipped off

black prayer beads and was now turning them slowly in his palm.

He fixed Carlos with a stare, so sharp that it felt like a blade pressed right to his throat.

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