The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella and Romeo) novel Chapter 1363

On the hospital bed lay a man with a face identical to that of Darren, except his heart and stomach had been stabbed over a dozen times. The wounds oozed blood, and their gaping maws were a horrific sight to behold.

Calvin felt a semblance of relief wash over him. "Darren, you've only got yourself to blame. You know, if you had just slept through and not woken up, I would have been there for you for the rest of your days. But tonight, you just had to wade into the Arlen family mess! You can't blame us for playing rough now."

"Darren, you've had it all these years: wealth, family, the works. Now it's time for your brothers to have a turn." Arlen interjected, unable to contain himself. "Don't worry, your wife is with your younger son, Sampson. He'll take good care of her. You elder son, Bard, would pass away by now, you two can leave the world together. As for the Griffith Group, we brothers will take the reins. You just rest easy, we'll see to it that you have a grand send-off."

At this point, Calvin couldn't help but ask, "With Darren gone, along with Bard and Eunice, how do we get their shares and assets transferred to us?"

"Yeah, they didn't sign anything, what if?"

Before Arlen could finish, he was interrupted with a chuckle, "You two numbskulls, scared witless, huh? Just use their hands to stamp the transfer papers later, right?"

"That makes sense. It's a shame about that girl, though. Heard she was quite the medic." Calvin's tone carried a hint of regret.

"If she can't be of use to us, then she's no use at all." Arlen said firmly. "Let's get those stamps done!"

Calvin wanted to feel that weight off his chest as soon as possible. Once Darren, Bard, and Eunice's stamps were on the transfer papers, everything would be settled.

He reached for Darren's hand, about to make the stamp, when suddenly something felt off.

"Hold on."

His voice caused all the brothers present to look up in confusion. "Calvin, what's wrong?"

"Something's off about Darren's hand." As Calvin examined it closely, it wasn't just the hand that was wrong. On closer inspection, the face and the limbs of the corpse seemed peculiar too. The features on the body before them looked strange. And the hands and feet seemed a tad chubbier and shorter than Darren's.

What on earth was going on?

"My dear brothers, what a clever scheme you've concocted!" Darren's voice startled the brothers, causing them to step back in fear, eyes darting between the bed and the door, "A ghost, a ghost!"