Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee by KIKI

Chapter 1004: The Heart She Waited for Twenty Years

Before Hayden could speak another word, Claudia waved her hand, silencing him instantly.

"Today, I'm in a good mood," she said with a wicked grin. "I'll spare your life just so you can witness everything unfold-watch them die one by one and become part of my grand plan."

Hayden's eyes widened in rage. If looks could kill, he would have murdered the old witch a thousand times over and fed her corpse to the fish.

Her "grand plan"? What nonsense. It was nothing more than the delusions of a madwoman. Immortality? If she was so powerful, why hadn't she ascended to the heavens already?

Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything-his body was paralyzed, leaving only his eyes able to move. He couldn't even speak. If he could go back two minutes, he would have screamed at Serena and Jared to run. The old witch was coming for their lives, and if even one of them escaped, there would still be hope to warn others.

But now, they were all trapped. Who would save them?

Before activating the ritual, Claudia's hands began to glow with a strange energy, and a white mist spread through the air. Everyone inside the ritual circle started gasping for air. Hayden, who had been glaring at her moments ago, rolled his eyes back and fainted.

Ten meters away, Tina and Jared stood still, watching the scene unfold with cold, unmoving eyes.

Claudia frowned as she noticed Tina appeared entirely unaffected. With a wave of her hand, she increased her power to thirty percent, but the result was the same-no effect.

Her expression darkened. "This is impossible!"

Tina, tired of pretending, smirked faintly. "There's nothing impossible about it. I was never poisoned in the first place."

Suspicion flickered in Claudia's eyes, but she quickly dismissed it, assuming Tina was bluffing. Her red lips curved into a sinister smile. "If you're not poisoned, why would you follow me here?"

Tina's tone was calm, but her gaze was sharp as a blade. "I came here not to be controlled by you, but to watch how you destroy yourself."

schemes long ago. Initially, she thought the poison was in the jade pendant, but Oliver's strong reaction made her realize she had come into contact with

just the pendant-it was

had been

poisons and planted them in Oliver's body over the years, creating the illusion of a long-term build- up. When these poisons combined, they formed a

had been nothing more than a vessel for Claudia's plan

lethal and incurable, but the toxin smeared on Oliver's skin only caused mental disorientation. Over time, it would

her brain without damaging her body. That's why neither the Warren family nor her master could diagnose the problem

years. When applying the toxin, he must have realized its nature. At first, he believed it was the same as the poison already in his body. But Oliver, unwilling to let her suffer the same pain as he did, had endured excruciating agony to keep her from

Oliver's words, she might never have realized the poison was on his

consciousness, Oliver had believed the "Nancy" standing before him was the mother he had yearned for all

pain alone, never suspecting that his "mother" had already

Jared stepped in front of Tina, his brows furrowed in concern. Even though they had taken antidote pills before entering, he still couldn't bear to see her remain in such a

on his hand, signaling that she

her calm demeanor cracking. "You can't possibly be unpoisoned. When did you

shoulder to shoulder with Jared, her eyes fixed coldly on Claudia's face. "The moment you appeared,

"You're not Nancy!"

out a sharp laugh. "I perfected Nancy's traces. You couldn't possibly

die because of your arrogance. You even thought of people like Nancy's ex-husband. No matter how deeply my people dug, it was all within your plans. The more

Claudia's face darken as if she had swallowed a fly, Tina sneered. "Do you

extort money from the Reed family, but as soon as he heard Oliver was gravely ill, he fled in panic. If he wasn't hiding something,

'ask' him a few questions. That was all it

had already been achieved. "A useless man. Even if he

red veil she wore fluttered in the wind as she aimed her power directly at Jared. "I only want your lives. None