The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella)

Chapter 2057

Arabella almost let the whole affair slip her mind, but there was still time. "I'll let him know I'm headed to the auction first, then the

dinner party."

"I'll swing by to pick you up later," Jack said, and then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he added, "Oh, right. To keep then from

catching wind of Stinger, I've cooked up a little distraction. It won't hold them off forever. Sooner or later they'll catch on. We need

to squeeze all the intel we can out of Stinger, and fast."

"Got it," Arabella replied before hanging up and slipping into scasual wear.

At half-past five, Jack rolled up in his car to fetch her.

They made their way to a desolate stretch on the outskirts of town, where an enormous abandoned factory stood. It was, without a

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doubt, the location for the auction Jack had mentioned.

From the outside, the factory looked eerily silent, as if it could be haunted.

The weather was foul that day, and even in the early evening, the sky was ominously dark, as if it could collapse at any moment.

Just then, Arabella's phone rang.

It was her college buddy, Barry.

"Bella, have you heard from Joyce? | texted her a bunch last night, called her like crazy, and she hasn't gotten back toall day."

Jack gestured at his watch, indicating they were running out of time. It was already six o'clock.

Arabella gave a slight nod, signaling him to go ahead.

With no choice, Jack strapped the paper wristband, needed for entry, onto Arabella's wrist and headed in first.

"I think something's up; she wouldn't just go MIA. And now Adair just called me, too, saying Mya's gone off the grid since last night.

He called her folks today, and they said she planned a trip with Joyce. They supposedly left last night."

Barry grew more anxious, "But they would've told us if they were going away."

"Did you guys have a fight or something?" Arabella asked softly.

"No, we all went to the amusement park yesterday. Around six, when the park was closing, Joyce mentioned she had family coming

over for dinner, so she had to head back and couldn't join us for a bite. | walked her to the alley since her folks were on the

balcony, and | didn't want to intrude. | got home, texted her to check in, called her, but nothing."

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Barry's concern was palpable as he continued, "Mya went hfor dinner, too. Adair walked her to her building, saw her go in, and

left. But then she also dropped off the radar. We've checked the surveillance around Joyce's and Mya's places, but there's nothing."

The more they found no leads, the more Barry and Adair worried.

"Don't jump to conclusions. I'll have someone look into it. We'll probably have an update soon."

"Thanks, Bella."

As soon as Arabella ended the call, a beam of headlights washed over her.

Squinting slightly, she saw an unfamiliar vehicle stop in front of her. A figure emerged, wearing a black ski mask. One hand held a

menacing weapon at the ready, and in the other, a smartphone with a photo on the screen.

Joyce and Mya were tied up with ropes, their faces bruised and battered, clearly having taken a beating.