The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella)

Chapter 2072

Jack had been piecing together the puzzle of Arabella's aunt and uncle's business troubles. It seemed

their subsidiary companies had run into a mysterious sabotage, likely the work of an enigmatic figure

known as Stinger. The only details Jack had unearthed about Stinger were frustratingly vague: a man

with a youthful voice, on the lean side, and taller than average. His facial features remained a complete

mystery.

"The auctioneer mentioned that Stinger has shown up a few times, bidding on some jewelry. I'll send

you photos of the pieces," Jack said without ending the call, swiftly sharing a dozen images with

Arabella via WhatsApp.

As Arabella flicked through the photos, a knot formed in her stomach. Each piece was unmistakably

linked to the Collins family, exuding opulence and history.

If her eyes weren't deceiving her, these were the very jewels that Serena, when she was still the golden

girl of the Collins family, had received as gifts from her family.

Arabella spoke in a measured tone, "Back when Erik and Martha were still with us, they had a side

business selling off Serena's jewelry, designer clothes, and luxury bags in exchange for cash. Looking

at this, it's almost certain that Stinger is one of Erik's guys."

Jack continued, "The auction house doesn't have any surveillance since the clientele prefer their

privacy, and auctioneer didn't want to risk scaring them off with cameras. There's no footage of Stinger. Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.

But the owner did say that he always shows up wearing a black balaclava and a black baseball cap,

with just his eyes showing – sharp and full of malice, almost devoid of human emotion, cold. The night

he came to the auction, he didn't bid on anything. He just showed up for a bit and left."

"That means he wasn't there for the auction items," Arabella deduced. "He was probably meeting

someone, using the crowd and the lack of surveillance to his advantage. Now we can be sure that

Stinger is connected to Erik, and he might know who's pulling the strings behind the scenes."

Since Erik had been coerced into taking his own life with poison on the orders of this shadowy

puppeteer, capturing Stinger became crucial. He might be willing to avenge Erik by spilling what he

knew about the mastermind.

Yet there was also the chance that Stinger was now answering to Serena, viewing the Collins family as

a thorn.

"Keep tracking Stinger's whereabouts," Arabella instructed. "See if there's any trail leading to or from

the auction that could be linked to him."

"Will do."

No sooner had Arabella hung up than another call came through.

"Ms. Bella, it's me," the voice on the other end belonged to the precinct, "Protocol dictates we inform

the next of kin when we take someone into custody, but... you better come down here."

It was at the precinct that Arabella learned Yolanda's foster mother, Yvonne, had been dead for several

days. She examined the body, shared her findings with the officer in charge, and then accompanied

another officer to see Yolanda.

"The girl's tight-lipped, won't say a word, just keeps cursing you out, making a fuss about wanting to

see you."

"I'll go in," Arabella said, pushing open the door to the interrogation room. Upon seeing Arabella,

Yolanda lunged forward, nearly breaking free from the officer's grasp in her frenzy to reach Arabella.

Content of Drаmąոovels.cоm

"Yolanda, this isn't the place to throw a tantrum!" the officer barked.