Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee by KIKI

Chapter 547: Who Sent the Strawberry Cake?

"Damn it!" Hayden was shocked for a full half hour upon seeing the notification for the personnel appointment. He had been comforting Jason, cautioning him about the new director possibly giving them a hard time, but ultimately, it was Hayden himself who ended up in trouble! It turned out he was the fool, and he had been completely oblivious to it. Courtney patted Hayden on the shoulder, her expression one of sympathy, "Captain, please take good care of us from now on."

Jason walked over, placed the third squad's emblem into his drawer, and addressed Courtney, "Don't call me captain just yet. We'll all redraw lots to decide which group we'll be in." Courtney blinked, skeptical that she could end up in Jason's team through a simple choice between two options! When the entire bureau began the redraw, Courtney opened her lot; seeing the number "1" appear, she felt as if the sky had fallen.

Jason glanced at her and patted her shoulder, "Teammate, please take good care of us from now on." Teammate, my ass, she thought, it was more like a cursed fate. Courtney ruffled her hair, her greatest worry not about who the captain was. Instead, it was whether she would continue on her original missions amidst this massive reshuffle at the X Bureau. Her concerns were not unfounded. "Starting now, Squad One is under martial law. All missions are temporarily halted, no unauthorized exits," Linden announced at the morning meeting.

As a member of Squad One, Courtney naturally had to stay within the X Bureau, ready to receive orders at any time. After the meeting, Jared returned to his office. Looking at the new distribution of team members, he furrowed his brows slightly. What exactly was Linden trying to accomplish with such a grand reshuffle within the X Bureau? Squad One was now directly under Linden's command, the reason given being that the chief, Nathan, was out.

Jason and Hayden entered together, Hayden speaking up, "Mr. Farrell, this reshuffle might be fine, but having Squad One directly under the director-doesn't that seem problematic?" Jared leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced, gently touching each fingertip, "Has the director spoken to you?"

"No, why would he? To apologize to me!" Hayden retorted bitterly. Suddenly losing power was uncomfortable for anyone. Although Hayden never cared much about the extent of his authority-having joined the X Bureau mainly to follow Jared-he couldn't just overlook being targeted for no reason. Everyone knew he was Jared's man, and the Cohen family and the Farrell family had been close for generations. Wasn't this clearly an attempt to strip Jared of his power and sideline the deputy director?

"Just wait until he contacts you," Jared replied, not elaborating further. Linden had mentioned yesterday about assigning Hayden a secret mission, but since it hadn't been issued yet, he couldn't say more. Jason couldn't help but speak up, "Captain, now that Squad One is directly under the director, isn't this just a power grab? When the special squad was established, it was stated that the chief would have full command, not the director." Everyone could see Linden's intention of diluting Jared's power and isolating him.

As they were discussing, Jared's office phone, which had a ringtone exclusive to the director's office, rang. Jared gestured for silence with a "shush" and answered the call. "Chief Farrell, come to my office. I need to discuss a personal matter with you."

it was a personal matter, which surprised Jared. He

you need

They tried calling Miss

they indeed came from the Reed family. The

Reed and Shaw families as a businessman. His identity as the head of the Shaw family

Ashbury's upper-class, though all somehow

decline. He pocketed the invitations and said, "I'll ask Tina.

meet this legendary niece and see what has our deputy so captivated," Linden said with a light tone, his words tinged with jest. Jared gave

to the window, watching Jared drive away, the smile slowly tightening on his lips and

sat in the living room, staring at a

poorly made, the strawberries placed

Jared hadn't made

Jennie were away on business, Zackary was at a summer camp, and Courtney

had been alone

Jared, then

the strong, familiar scent from last night. She had tried to open her eyes but couldn't. Upon waking, she had thought it was just a dream. But