The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 2094

The mention of Serena sent Stinger into a frenzy, his hands gripping the railing as if he could bend the bars with his bare rage. "Let me out! I'm gonna make her pay for what she did to my folks. An eye for an eye; I'm gonna get vengeance for my parents."

Just thinking about the indignities his parents suffered before their deaths filled him with an uncontrollable urge to flay Serena alive, to exact every ounce of pain she owed.

Arabella spoke with an eerie calm, "Killing her won't bring your parents back to life. If they were still around, they'd want you to keep living, and to live well."

Stinger's eyes reddened further, and despite his best efforts, tears breached his defenses and cascaded down his cheeks.

After he had his moment to grieve, Arabella prodded, "Was the operation Erik ran doing the dirty work for Lucas and Beverly?"

Stinger was taken aback and asked, "How did you figure that out?"

"There's no deep-seated vendetta between Serena and the Collins couple. No motive to hit their company unless Erik's death was linked to them. Serena is notorious for holding a grudge; if she knew they were behind her biological father's death, she'd seek revenge."

"And how did you guess I was with the Lott family, working for them?"

"I did my homework on you. It started when I found out Yolanda had neither the cash nor the connections to hire someone to kill me. Digging deeper, I stumbled upon your ties to Erik."

"So, you figured it out."

"Over the years, following Erik's orders, did you indirectly handle a lot of dirty work for Lucas and Beverly?"

"Not a lot," Stinger replied, his gaze growing distant. "I saw Erik as a father. Whatever he asked of me, I did without question, never thought to keep evidence for my own protection."

After every job, Stinger would destroy any evidence, fearing it might come back to haunt him.