The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1777

Eunice stood there, her poise as cool and striking as ever, a hint of disdain curving her lips. "An apology for appearances? Spare us the fake remorse, really. You'll just make Bella sick."

"Right on the money, Eunice. No need for that," Bard chimed in with a dismissive wave. "It's not like those apologies ever meant anything to Bella before, did they?"

"Let's just drop it. Out of sight, out of mind," Darren sighed, shaking his head.

Just then, Arabella's phone buzzed again, drawing everyone's attention. Belinda, ever curious, was the first to query, "Bella, is that a new phone?"

"Romeo got it for me," Arabella replied. "The old one gave out. Before the plane landed at Reflections Villa, we swung by the headquarters. Someone delivered it up to the helipad. It's their latest model, hasn't even hit the market yet."

"That Romeo, always thinking ahead," Belinda's opinion of him soared. She'd seen the CCTV footage of Martha tossing Bella's phone from the eighteenth floor and had been toying with the idea of getting Bella a custom phone. Little did she know Romeo would beat her to the punch.

Arabella glanced at the new text message on her screen. It was a bank notification—she had just received ten million dollars, courtesy of Horace.

Soon after, a message from Horace popped up, [After that unfinished building went kaboom, seems like Sean's brains got a bit scrambled. He's not just handing over the island for free, he's thrown in an extra five million 'for candy'. That's ten million in total, I've wired it over to you!]

Since Steward only had Horace's banking details, he transferred ten million to Horace, who immediately forwarded the funds to Arabella.

Arabella couldn't fathom what Sean was playing at.

She typed back, [Beef up security on the island. If anyone tries to take it over or pulls any stunts, push back hard. Don't worry about the consequences.]

"Will do." Horace, puzzled by Sean's antics but thrilled for Boss' windfall, couldn't help himself, "Boss, you think Sean's got a crush on you? Dropping that kind of cash, he's definitely interested! I mean, you are drop-dead gorgeous."

It dawned on Louisa.

"Your brother's wild, acts on impulse, but he's got a good heart." She added, "He even asked me for your number a while back. I said no, and he went to your father. He cares about you."

Arabella had never met Sean, but she listened intently.

"Your brother, he's had it tough. Left the family business to Hans and struck out on his own. He's had his share of hardships. He's the one who handles the dirty work, keeping our hands clean. He's the shield."

"Back when Hans first took over, an envious relative nearly got him in a car accident. We had no proof it was him, but your brother didn't hesitate—put that relative in the hospital. He's always been a law unto himself, and they knew we couldn't rein him in."

But it wasn't about control. He was destroying his image on purpose, using his own methods to protect his family from the shadows.