Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Go To The Hospital

A cold stillness fell, radiating from Sebastian until the very air felt brittle.

“Go on,” Sebastian said, the words a low command.

“Someone told your grandmother about the kidnapping. She collapsed on the spot, her heart giving out from the shock. They’ve taken her to the hospital,” John replied.

His eyes flicked toward Sebastian before he spoke again, his voice lowered, “It doesn’t look good.”

As she processed the information, Stella felt Lucas grow tense and fearful in her arms. He was whimpering softly against her.

A suffocating tension filled the room, pressing down on everyone until it was almost unbearable.

Just as the silence became too much to endure, Sebastian finally gave the order. “Have the car brought around. We’re going to the hospital.”

Stella had hoped to stay behind, but Sebastian glanced at her and shattered that hope. “You’re going with Lucas.”

She accepted it quietly, reasoning that the person who paid was the one who made the rules.

*****

A black Maybach glided smoothly along the highway. Its custom interior was quiet and comfortable.

Stella watched the world pass by outside her window. Had she not just been there, she never would have believed they had come from a private island.

The fact that Sebastian owned an entire island made her wonder just who he really was.

But she had no time to dwell on it. The moment Sebastian settled into the car, she could tell something was wrong.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

His gaze was heavy and shadowed. The chronic pain in his head, worn thin from years of sleepless nights, was sharpening into something violent.

A dangerous stillness had entered his eyes, and even Lucas had sensed the tension.

“Your pills, Mr. Gray,” Jake said quickly from the front seat, turning to pass a small bottle back.

Before he could deliver it, the car hit a rut. The bottle slipped from his hand and rolled across the floor, stopping near Stella’s foot.

She looked down at the bottle, noticing that the label was in a foreign language.

She recognized the class of medication. It was for the mind.

“Could you get that, Ms. Carter?” Jake mouthed, his expression pleading as he pressed his hands together in a silent appeal.

Stella picked it up and held it out to Sebastian. “Here.”

In the next instant, Sebastian’s hand closed firmly around hers, trapping both her fingers and the bottle in his grip.

Stella looked down at their linked hands but said nothing.

A moment later, Sebastian released her hand and took the medicine bottle without even glancing her way.

Then he rolled down the window and tossed the bottle out.

‘He is not right in the head,’ Stella thought to herself.

“Drive faster,” Sebastian ordered. He leaned back heavily into the leather seat and closed his eyes, his brows pulled together tightly.

“Yes, sir,” John answered from the front.

*****

Half an hour earlier, the emergency wing of the private hospital had been sealed off by a cordon of armed guards. No one was getting through.

The news had leaked, and reporters were already gathered outside, their camera flashes lighting up the scene.

“We pay your wages,” a shrill voice declared. “How dare you keep the family matriarch from entering?”

Linda Gray held the arm of an elderly woman in a tailored dress, her own posture full of disdain. With a dismissive sway of her hips, she tried to push past the guards.

The woman she was pulling along was Sophia Chapman. Her silver hair was swept into a soft bun, and her simple white dress carried a calm grace that made Linda’s tense urgency seem all the more jarring.

They were halted just steps from the door.

“Do you not see who is here?” Linda said, her voice sharp.

Before Linda could utter another word, the air behind them turned cold and dense with warning.

The fight went out of her at once. She turned to find herself locked in a stare that felt fatal.

Jake, a wall of muscle, crushed the reporters’ cameras under his boot, making Sebastian’s point for him.

The reporters scrambled away without a second thought for their ruined gear. They were simply grateful to escape with their lives.

Linda gritted her teeth as she watched them go, furious but silent. She knew better than to cause a scene.

After all, money meant nothing if she wasn’t alive to spend it.

“Sebastian,” said Sophia, her voice gentle. Her posture was still elegant, a quiet reminder of the beauty she once was.

“Excuse us,” Stella said, not letting her finish. She pushed the wheelchair forward and nearly ran over Linda’s foot.

“Watch where you’re going!” Linda shrieked, jumping back. The limited-edition Louis Vuitton heels she wore had just arrived that morning, and damaging them would cost far more than she could ever pay back.

Stella stopped and looked at her. The gaze was cool, the kind that seemed to leave no room for lies.

“Very touching. You wore your best shoes to visit the sick,” Stella observed, her tone dry and unimpressed.

Linda’s face colored with shame. She turned helplessly to Sophia.

“Sophia…” she said, her voice tight.

“Aren’t you a bit old to be calling for your elder?” Stella asked, the remark perfectly aimed.

She then gave the wheelchair a gentle push and moved past them without another glance.

*****

Sebastian watched the numbers climb in the quiet elevator. When he finally broke the silence, his voice was low. “You had no right to speak for me.”

Stella leaned down, her hands coming to rest on the arms of his chair. “A ‘thank you’ would be more appropriate,” she said, meeting his cold stare without flinching.

He was close enough now that she could see the surprising length of his lashes, dark against his skin.

Jake tried his best to disappear into the corner.

Finally, the elevator doors opened with a quiet chime.