Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41

A dark storm cloud loomed over Sebastian, rumbling with thunder and streaked with lightning, growing larger by the second. He sat in his wheelchair, cold and unfeeling, like a block of ice. It was as if the entire room had frozen around him.

Stella, used to Sebastian’s mood swings, let out a silent sigh. Before his dark mood could spiral out of control, she reached out from under the blanket and grabbed his wrist, the one adorned with prayer beads.

It was like she’d flipped a switch on Sebastian’s emotions. The icy air in the room suddenly stilled, and the temperature started to warm up.

Stella’s voice sounded groggy and lazy. “Come here,” she murmured, not even realizing how alluring she sounded.

She couldn’t be bothered to figure out why Sebastian was throwing a fit so early in the morning and went with the simplest solution. She scooted over, made space for him, and shut her eyes again.

She had stayed up all night modifying Lucas’ watch chip and only managed a few hours of sleep at dawn. She was completely drained. Putting up with Sebastian was as much respect as she could show him.

After a while, the bed dipped beside her. Sebastian’s woody cologne scent flooded her senses, intense and impossible to ignore. Even with her eyes closed, Stella could feel his gaze burning into her face.

Stella opened her eyes and, as expected, Sebastian was staring at her. He gave off that cold, untouchable vibe.

If Stella hadn’t seen that crazed, bloodthirsty side of him, she might have been fooled by that handsome face, but she knew better that he was a devil incarnate.

Right now, Sebastian was enveloped in Stella’s scent, her presence surrounding him. His nerves, tense from the previous night, began to relax, and drowsiness washed over him. He realized that he could only fall asleep when Stella was by his side.

Sebastian’s voice broke the morning silence, and he said, “The watch…” His icy demeanor had eased enough to let words out, but his eyes were still stormy and dark.

Stella asked, “What are you talking about?”

“I want one as well,” Sebastian added and then shut his eyes. Before long, Stella could hear his slow, steady breathing, realizing he had fallen asleep.

Stella found it unbelievable, staring at the ceiling. Now she was the one who couldn’t sleep.

****

At the Carter residence, Hazel, Brantley, and Camilla sat on the couch. Brantley looked grim, puffing on a cigarette. He asked, “Why did Stella suddenly bring up the necklace?”

He’d come home from work last night to find the house in shambles. Camilla and Hazel huddled together, sobbing and scared out of their wits. It wasn’t until the maid explained everything that he understood what had happened.

“How should I know? She’s out of her mind,” Camilla snapped. The wound on her neck had scabbed over overnight, but the memory of how Stella had acted the day before, so reckless and careless of her own life, still left her shaken.

“Dad, do you think she knows something?” Hazel asked, her neck ringed with bruises and her throat hurting every time she spoke. At least it was the weekend, so she didn’t have to drag herself to school.

Brantley kept smoking in silence. If this whole mess blew up, that big shot in Jaffina would be the least of their worries. They would be the first to get thrown under the bus.

Brantley finally said, “Frank is desperate to find a wife for his son

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“Frank?” Camilla started, but clammed up when Brantley shot her a look. She quickly covered her mouth, thinking, ‘Is he talking about David? The one who likes to play for the other team got diagnosed with AIDS, and still can’t stay away from wild parties?’

“You think she would agree?” Camilla asked as she perked right up, remembering that gorgeous, fresh-faced look she’d seen on Stella last night.

‘Once it’s set in stone, even if the truth comes out, that bitch will be finished, no matter what, Camilla thought.

Brantley let out a cold laugh and said, “She doesn’t get a say in this.”

Hazel glanced between her parents, feeling a rush of impatience. She couldn’t wait for things to move forward.

Meanwhile, five-year-old Ryan was glued to his computer, fingers flying over the keyboard. This little hacker whiz had already spotted the challenge post from the Cosmos Syndicate on their official site last night.

The funny thing was that he’d talked with the head of Cosmos Syndicate on the dark web before.

Allan sent a message: [Location of a private hospital.]

The other person replied almost instantly with a question mark. Allan replied: [Need a favor.]

Ryan sat in front of his computer, wearing the sweetest, most innocent smile, but his eyes were downright chilling, like a demon.

On Sandridge Island, Stella opened her eyes to find Sebastian gone, but his woody scent still lingered in the air, a subtle trace that he’d been there.

Downstairs in the spacious living room, Allan, Lucas, and Jake sat on the floor with their chins propped in their hands, heads tilted as they stared off into space.

Nearby, Snowball lay lazily coiled around the indoor tree, flicking it with the tip of its tail and looking bored.

“What are you guys doing?” Stella called out as she came down the stairs.

As soon as Lucas heard her voice, he instantly perked up and shot over like a rocket.

Soft and cuddly Lucas held up his special writing board, on the verge of tears. It read: [Big Ben is dying.]

Stella followed Lucas’s finger and spotted a life-sized, super-realistic robot standing there. The robot was called Big Been, exactly like Baymax from Big Hero 6. Allan was tinkering with it, poking around like he was trying to fix a toaster.

After a few loud crackles, white smoke began billowing from the back of Big Ben, leaving everyone stunned.

Thanks to Allan’s clumsy tinkering, Big Ben was busted. Allan shot a guilty look at Lucas, who was standing there, shell- shocked and spaced out.

This robot had been custom-built for Lucas before he was born, back when Eric was still around. But after things went south, it got packed away and forgotten.

Today, Lucas got it into his head to have Jake dig it out and show it to Stella. And of course, Allan couldn’t resist poking at it like a kid with a new toy.

The more it broke, the more he poked, and the more he poked, the worse it got.

Allan gulped nervously, remembering all the times Lucas had gone ballistic and turned the place upside down when he got

mad.

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Chapter 41

Lucas turned and stared blankly at Allan. Allan quickly glanced Jake and Stella, silently begging for help. Lucas was clearly furious.

“Go grab the tools,” Stella drawled, casting a lazy glance over the of what was wrong. Those four words were enough to snuff out

pecs on Big Ben’s back. She already had a pretty clear idea

cas’s temper before he could lose it.

Jake didn’t say a thing. He turned and sprinted off to fetch the tools. Lucas, instantly back to his soft, squishy, adorable self, looked up at Stella with wide, pleading eyes.

“Stella, you think you can fix this? This isn’t any robot. It’s an Al, and it can talk,” Allan blurted out.

But the moment Allan spoke, Lucas whipped his head around and shot him a glare that could kill.

Stella pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and gave Allan a laid-back glance. “Is this supposed to be hard?” she asked.

Allan thought, “This is a nightmare. Big Ben may be a first-generation model, yet the design is intricate. And if that chip is fried, no one here could fix it. As for Stella, I’m not getting my hopes up.

While Allan was racking his brain, trying to figure out where he could take Big Ben for repairs, Stella had already snatched the tools from Jake and popped open Big Ben’s back panel. She moved with ease and confidence, as if she’d done this before.

Twenty minutes later, Allan stood there with his jaw on the floor, stunned as Big Ben’s control panel lit up again. He realized that she had fixed it.

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