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."

was a personal matter, which surprised Jared. He straightened his clothes and headed to the chief's

do you need me for?" Jared

the Reed family. "My spouse wants you and Miss Reed to attend a dinner tonight. They tried calling

took the invitations and saw they indeed came from the Reed family. The occasion

to the people of the Reed and Shaw families as a businessman. His identity as the head of the Shaw family served as excellent cover. His

host many of Ashbury's upper-class, though all somehow related to the

Reed family and Tina, Jared didn't immediately accept nor decline. He pocketed the invitations and said, "I'll ask Tina. If she

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

away, the smile slowly tightening on his lips and then

living room, staring at a strawberry

made, the strawberries placed haphazardly,

hadn't

away on business, Zackary was at a summer

she had been

not Jared,

her eyes but couldn't. Upon waking, she