Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee by KIKI

Chapter 778: Miss Bailey, Your Mother Is in My Hands

Elsa stared in stunned silence at the thin, yellowed sheet of paper in Tina's hand.

Neatly written on it were several formulas-some familiar, others completely foreign to her.

The black ink strokes, elegant and precise, resembled the type of calligraphy that seemed suited only to ancient scholars in period dramas. Even the paper carried a coarse texture, much like traditional stationery from centuries ago. Elsa blinked, her thoughts finally catching up. Suddenly, she understood Tina's intention. "You're saying... use these fake formulas to trade for my parents' ashes?"

Tina nodded.

Courtney flipped through the formulas repeatedly, her brow furrowed. "But will this really work? Tina, what are these formulas even for?"

"These came from Wraith," Tina replied calmly. "They're not highly toxic, and even with long-term use, they won't cause serious harm-at most, they'll just give someone an upset stomach."

Tina guided Elsa back to the couch and pressed her temples, her exhaustion showing. "Victor probably won't know the formulas' authenticity. And there's no way the Langdon family patriarch would show up personally to retrieve them. Using these as bait is the perfect plan."

She paused, her tone shifting slightly. "Besides..."

"What?" Jared asked, sitting down beside her, his sharp gaze fixed on her expression.

"I have a backup plan," Tina said with a sly smirk.

"A backup plan?" Jared's eyes narrowed, his suspicion evident. He had never trusted anyone from the Bailey family-not even Tina's cousin.

Tina patted his hand reassuringly. "We won't know if she can be trusted until we try, right?"

Without hesitation, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found Ella Bailey's number. She quickly typed up a text message:

mother is in my hands.

stood up, wrapping her arm around Jared's. "Let's head back and get some rest.

muttered through a yawn, stretching as he made his way to his room. His exhaustion was infectious-Cole yawned right after, tears welling in his eyes as

already drugged them. If they act up, just rough them up," Cole added lazily as he disappeared into his

doors closing echoed

a confused glance with Jayden. "Are they... mining coal

his head as he recalled Hayden's earlier messages in the chat group. He decided against sharing the details, not wanting to add to Jared's irritation. Turning to leave, he ignored Courtney's questioning look. "Ask Serena later. For now, let's

couch, her worry written all over her

trusted Ella Bailey, but she believed in Tina's calm, resolute demeanor. It was enough to make her relax, even if

Finally, an hour had

doorbell rang, loud and

one hand instinctively reaching for the weapon tucked at her waist as she cautiously approached the door. Outside,

What the hell does

frantic pounding on the door, mixed with Nathan's attempts to

the living room. Elsa was the first to

Bailey. I'll go

down.

Nathan, with no

she said flatly as Ella

what the hell this

to Mr. Farrell about visiting home. We ended up chatting longer than expected." "What's going

said she needed

out of my way! Tina