Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 423

Chapter 423

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Soon, Dexter and Sophie walked in one after the other.

Dexter looked completely lost, while Sophie’s face was ghostly pale.

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“Dexter, what happened to your leg?” Ryker asked, his voice full of surprise. When Dexter heard his father’s voice, he jerked his head up, and even Sophie looked startled.

Dexter blurted out, “Dad?”

His voice shot up, and it was obvious he wasn’t happy. Sophie’s heart skipped a beat. She pulled at Dexter’s sleeve, whispering, “Dexter…”

It was kinda awkward.

Emerson fixed his gaze on the two, his brows furrowing, but he kept silent.

“Sophie, how did the exam go? And what does the chief examiner look like?” Aveline asked curiously, coming out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

Hearing that, Dexter and Sophie shared a weird look.

Sophie looked away. There was no way she could tell them that the chief examiner at Rhaesia University was actually Stella.

“Just… an ordinary person,” she said with an awkward smile.

Hearing that, Dexter shot Sophie a complicated look.

Aveline paused, looking surprised. “An ordinary person?”

‘Come on, that’s the chief examiner! How could she just be an ordinary person?’ she couldn’t help but think.

“So, what about your results? Did they announce it right there?” Aveline pressed, not letting it go.

Sophie grew anxious.

“Mom, let’s just wait for the official notice,” Dexter cut in. Knowing full well Sophie had zero chance of getting accepted, he still covered for her.

Aveline and Ryker exchanged a look, but before they could say anything, the butler rushed in, looking flustered and shouting, “Mr. Clinton, Mrs. Clinton!”

“Are those Lion Squad guys back again?” Aveline blurted out.

Ryker wondered, ‘Again? What the hell happened at home while I was away?’

“N-No!” the butler panted. “It’s the Greene family! Miss Greene has been released, and she’s brought a whole crowd with her. They’re saying…”

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Chapter 423

He paused to catch his breath.

Aveline was worried sick. “Hurry up! Say what?”

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“They’re here to settle the score with Miss Clinton!” the butler finally blurted out.

As soon as he finished speaking, the front door burst open from outside.

“Sophie!” Candy screamed, her voice sharp and brimming with fury.

Candy strode in. Before anyone could react, she locked onto Sophie and charged straight toward her.

“Candy?” Sophie blinked in shock. Before she could even register what was happening, Candy shoved her to the floor with a thud.

Candy didn’t care about her image at all. She straddled Sophie and started raining down slaps on her face.

“Candy, are you going crazy?” Aveline shouted, trying to rush over, but Jaelyn yanked her back.

“Going crazy?” Jaelyn snapped in a shrill voice. As she spoke, she motioned for the others to block the Clintons from breaking up the fight.

“Why don’t you ask your precious daughter what she did? She set Candy up and used her as a pawn! Did you know about this or not?” she shot back, her voice sharp.

Jaelyn was already salty about Sophie getting the chief examiner’s attention today. She’d been hoping Sophie would bomb the exam. When her daughter came home, saying it was all part of Sophie’s plan, she blew up.

Aveline was totally shell-shocked, like she’d just been struck by lightning. The rest of the Clinton family was dumbfounded.

“I didn’t do it!” Sophie cried, her cheeks stinging and bright red from slaps. “Dexter, help me! Mom, help me!”

“Nobody can save you today,” Candy snarled with a twisted grin, grinding her teeth.

Nobody knew how on edge she’d been these past few days. Just thinking about how Sophie screwed her over, making her lose her shot at the Rhaesia University exam, she was so mad that she could chew nails.

“Do any of you even know what she did?!” Candy screamed, grabbing Sophie by the throat, her eyes wild.

“She used a burner account to send me that video of Dexter getting beaten up. She knew I’d lose it and make a scene. What a scheming bitch!”

“I didn’t! I swear I didn’t!” Sophie cried her eyes out, looking utterly pitiful. With her blood disorder making her so fragile, she looked like she might faint any minute.

Jaelyn shouted, “If you guys don’t make it right today, we’ll cut ties with you! I can’t let Candy suffer wrong!”

In an instant, the whole Clinton family erupted into chaos.

No one noticed Dexter standing frozen in place. He kept replaying the moment Sophie had shielded him

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Chapter 423

from his mother’s slap. Back then, he’d been touched. But now he couldn’t help but doubt it.

He couldn’t tell what was real and what was fake.

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Outside the villa, the back window of the black Mercedes parked in the yard rolled down, revealing Stella’s delicate and expressionless face.

She was playing with Blackie.

Back then, the kidnappers didn’t want Stella dead. They wanted her to suffer. That was why they broke her arms and legs, leaving her crippled and broken.

And all of this happened right before Stella thought she could finally change her fate with the SAT.

Breaking one’s spirit was true cruelty. That was all it ever was.

“Sebastian,” Stella called with a lazy tone, turning her head. She sounded totally detached from the chaos outside.

Sebastian asked, “Yeah?”

“How do you think Emerson?” Stella asked casually. Eggie, on Sebastian’s shoulder, had just finished twenty sit-ups. It sprawled out, totally wiped. It twitched from time to time.

Thinking for a while, Sebastian replied, “One of the key figures among Jaffina’s third-generation elite, just like Jaxon. Reliable and definitely worth being friends with.”

“You think highly of him,” Stella grinned. Honestly, Emerson was a solid partner.

“But isn’t it strange? Emerson has never stopped searching for his sister all these years, yet there’s still not a single trace of her. Does that make sense?”

In the front seat, John narrowed his eyes. “Ms. Carter, are you saying you suspect the Clinton family?” He paused, his voice rising slightly. “Is it Sophie?”

“She’s not capable of that,” Sebastian denied, his eyes darkening.

“No hurry,” Stella said, turning her gaze back to the villa. Her delicate face was half-veiled in shadow, a faint, almost playful smile on her lips. “Revenge takes time. One step at a time.”

Candy suddenly remembered something and looked up at Dexter. “Ms. Carter wanted me to tell you something!”

Dexter’s heart skipped a beat.

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