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:

hands.

back and get some rest.

need some sleep too," Hayden 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 he rubbed at them. "Jayden, handle

them

of doors closing echoed

living room, exchanged a confused glance with

well be," Dexter muttered, shaking his head as he recalled Hayden's earlier messages in the chat group. He decided against sharing the details, not wanting

on the couch, her worry written

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

passed slowly. Finally, an hour had gone

rang, loud

of her sandwich when the shrill sound startled her. She quickly stood, one hand instinctively

here! What the hell does that

by frantic pounding on the door, mixed with

the others in the

Bailey. I'll go get

down.

saw Ella Bailey and Nathan, with no one else in

flatly as

know what the hell this message is supposed to mean!" Ella demanded,

"Logan held us up. He wanted me to pass a message to Mr. Farrell about visiting home. We ended up chatting longer than expected." "What's going on?" he asked, motioning toward Ella, who was pacing like

shrugged. "Tina said she needed her help. That's all I

blocked by Jayden and Dexter, grew increasingly agitated. "Get out of