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.

closed the phone and stood up, wrapping her arm around Jared's. "Let's head back and get some rest. Courtney, let me know when Ella Bailey arrives." Courtney nodded.

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 the people

If they act up, just rough them up," Cole added lazily as he disappeared

closing echoed through

in the living room, exchanged a confused glance with Jayden. "Are they...

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

couch, her worry written all over

fully understand why Tina trusted Ella Bailey, but she believed in Tina's calm, resolute demeanor. It

Finally, an hour

doorbell rang,

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

the hell does

by frantic pounding on the door, mixed

the others in the living room. Elsa was

I'll go get

down.

saw Ella Bailey and Nathan, with no

flatly as Ella pushed past

hell this message is supposed to mean!"

visiting home. We ended up chatting longer than expected." "What's going on?" he asked, motioning toward

said she needed her

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