The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella)

Chapter 1829

Arabella's conclusion sent a wave of panic through the two. Poisoned? How could this have happened?

Now they were in deep trouble, and not even the mighty Mississippi could wash away their suspicion.

Under their watch, Erik had been poisoned. But as to when this had happened, they were clueless.

"Let's keep this under wraps for now," Arabella directed, her gaze steady on them. "You two will continue your duties here as if

nothing's amiss."

"Yes, Miss," they replied, shivering.

"All right, dry those tears. Take a break over there; but stay out of sight. I'll call you when I'm done."

The basement was expansive, housing not only this room, but also many other rooms like a groom, a htheater, and a

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storage room.

Besides these, there were two small gardens in the basement, perfectly illuminated by shafts of light from above.

"Steer clear of the gardens," Arabella instructed, wary of onlookers from above.

"Yes, Miss," they nodded before retreating.

"Hans, | want to perform an autopsy on the body, see what kind of poison leads to his death, maybe we can find sclues,"

Arabella whispered to Hans. "Make sure to tell Mom and Dad without anyone overhearing."

"Got it. You sure you don't need an extra pair of hands to help?"

"It's better if it's just me; | don't want to draw attention.”

"Alright, cup when you're done," Hans said before leaving.

Arabella closed the door, slipped on her gloves, and laid out her tools—a scalpel, shears, and bone cutters among others.

Elsewhere, Louisa was grappling with the news of Erik's death, her mind reeling with disbelief.

"Could Martin have poisoned him last night before delivering him to us? Was he afraid Erik would suffer more in our hands, so he

decided to strike first, give him a quick out? Was this a plan Martin and Erik had hatched together, or was it Martin acting alone?"

The thought that Martin might have double-crossed her sent Louisa spiraling into rage.

On the surface, Martin proposed a trade, but behind the scenes, he'd pulled a fast one.

Erik was the key to unraveling the truth behind the fire at the old health clinic—if only he could identify the mastermind, the whole

truth would emerge.

But now Erik was dead, and with him, all leads had cto a dead end!

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"Erik is Serena's biological father, after all. How could Martin just hand him over to face our wrath? So, it's either a faked death, a

ruse to slip by us, or,"

Kenneth's speculation was cut short by Hans's input, "It's likely a true death. Bella's diagnosis is never off, Kenneth."

If it were a faked death, Bella's medical expertise should have caught it.

"If it's a real death, then there's only one explanation—Martin poisoned Erik before the handoff, whether Erik was complicit or not."

"That Martin, playing us for fools! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" Louisa fumed, dialing Martin's number with a

vengeance.

Meanwhile, Martin sat on a bench outside the emergency room, surrounded by highly skilled doctors who had yet to bring Serena

back from death's door.

The light above the emergency room had been on all night and still, there was no good news.