Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee by KIKI

Chapter 776: She Turned Out to Be Jared's Aunt Hayden and Cole loaded everyone from the Bailey family, including Kael Bailey, into the vehicles. The moment they stepped into the house, an overpowering stench pushed them back outside. However, seeing Tina and the others frozen by the bedside, Hayden hesitated briefly before bracing himself and walking in.

The woman lying on the bed was a shadow of her former self. Her hair, tangled and dry like a bird's nest, was piled in clumps on the pillow. Her face was streaked with grime-black and white smears crisscrossing her features. It was unclear how long the Bailey family had neglected to clean her. If not for the faint rise and fall of her chest, Hayden might have thought she was already dead. Wait-no! Her features... They bore a resemblance to Mr. Farrell! Hayden's pupils contracted sharply as he pointed at the woman on the bed. His gaze flicked nervously to Jared, whose face remained unreadable, his expression darkening by the second. The oppressive atmosphere around Jared grew heavier, forcing Hayden to take a step back. It felt as though an invisible hand was choking him, leaving him stammering and unable to form a coherent sentence.

Finally, it was Tina who broke the suffocating silence. "Uncle, let's move her out first." Even she hadn't expected this.

Victor had gone too far.

They had only chere to retrieve a witness for Ashbury, yet they had stumbled upon someone Jared had searched for years without success-the eldest daughter of the Farrell family: Simone Farrell.

"Victor Bailey!" The torrential rain outside swallowed all traces of light. Inside the vehicle, no one had turned on the lights, leaving the interior bathed in the intermittent flashes of the high beams reflecting off the storm. Jared sat rigidly, his thin lips pressed into a hard line. His icy gaze pierced the darkness outside the window.

No one spoke. Tdragged on until, at last, Jared broke the silence. His voice, hoarse and chilling, cut through the oppressive atmosphere.

"Tina, I trust you. I know you can heal her." Jared's hardened expression softened ever so slightly. His rigid posture slackened as he leaned over, resting his head against Tina's shoulder.

"Tina, of course I believe in you. It's just..." His voice faltered.

He couldn't control it- The boiling hatred he felt toward Victor and the entire Bailey family.

Jared had assumed that, even if Victor didn't care for his aunt, he would at least keep her in sunknown hospital, cared for by professionals, if only for the sake of her identity. At the very least, she should have been kept alive. But the reality was far crueler.

In this remote, desolate village, there was no one but Kael Bailey and a few others.

When Jared had pulled back the blanket from Simone Farrell's body, even he, with all his composure, had felt his stomach churn.

At that moment, he understood the source of the stench that had lingered around the Bailey family's home. Beneath that filthy, yellowed blanket lay Simone's withered frame-her muscles shriveled, her wounds festering with maggots. Her body was speckled with stains of unknown origin, marking years of neglect and abuse.

In that instant, Jared wanted nothing more than to kill every last member of the Bailey family.

Only the sliver of rationality he clung to reminded him that they were still useful. But his heart burned with an unbearable mix of anguish for Simone and searing hatred for the Baileys.

Jared buried his head against Tina's abdomen, his eyes closed to hide the overwhelming rage within him.

Feeling the warmth of his breath seep through the thin fabric of her clothing, Tina's throat tightened. She gently ran her fingers through Jared's hair, her cool gaze hardening with resolve. "Uncle," she said softly, "the dead aren't worthy of anyone's hatred." Cole, seated in the driver's seat, glanced at Tina through the rearview mirror. His lips pressed into a thin line. He couldn't remember the last tSerena had shown such an icy expression. The hidden families were powerful, but Serena... she wasn't afraid.

Those who hurt the people Serena cared about-if they thought they could escape death, they'd have to see if she would allow it.

At that moment, Cole's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and said, "Serena, it's Jayden." "Give it to me," Tina replied.

Cole handed her the phone. Tina answered, and Jayden's voice cthrough, carrying a mixture of coldness and barely restrained anger.

"Miss Tina, there's been an incident!" "What has the Bailey family done this time?" Tina's tone was calm, but her eyes darkened. She didn't need to guess-Victor had undoubtedly stirred up more trouble. Courtney's voice cfrom the background as she tried to comfort Elsa. Then she approached Jayden and spoke into the phone.

"Tina, Victor had someone dig up Mrs. Dyer's parents' graves. He took their ashes and threatened to scatter them unless we hand over the formula within three days!" Tina's hand tightened around the phone. She took a deep breath before responding.

"How is Elsa right now?" Courtney glanced at Elsa, who was curled up on the sofa, her expression frantic and unstable. "Not well. She's been muttering about running out of tever since it happened. The Bailey family's actions have clearly pushed her over the edge. "Tina, what should we do now?" In the darkness, Tina's eyes gleamed coldly. "Wait for us at the villa. We'll be back soon." After a pause, she added, "And have Wraith prepare a completely secure room in the lab. I need to put someone in there." Courtney replied immediately, "Understood." Jared, still resting against Tina, spoke in a muffled voice. "What happened?"

Tina's abdomen tensed beneath Jared's weight, her muscles tightening reflexively. She let out a slow breath and said, "Victor dug up O Elsa's parents' graves. He's threatening to scatter their ashes unless we hand over the formula." "What the hell!" Hayden, who was driving, couldn't hold back a curse.

"Victor's not even human! First, he and the other hidden families ruined Elsa's life, and now, over sformula, he won't even spare her parents' remains?" Cole frowned. "The Bailey family has sunk to being nothing more than Langdon's lapdog. They'll do anything, no matter how vile. But they're playing with fire-they'll get what's coming to them."

"If Victor feared retribution, he wouldn't have allied with the Langdon family," Jared said, sitting up fram Tina's lap. He rubbed his temples, his voice laced with disgust. "The Bailey family has long since beca rotting cesspool, and Victor is the most putrid thing in it." "This time, it seems the Langdon family has given them an ultimatum," Jared added, his tone calm but his eyes hiding a storm of emotions.

Tina reached out and gently rubbed Jared's back. "If they're trash, then we'll send them where trash belongs. But first, there's something else we need to do." "Not all of the Bailey family are Langdon's dogs," she said.

Jared paused, surprised. "You mean Ella Bailey?"

Hayden exclaimed, "No way, Serena! Ella Bailey has always sided with her with her father and done horriblethings to the Dyer family. Don't forget, you toldyourself how she pushed Elsa to sell her blood!" Tina's voice was calm. "I don't know why she did those things, but I have a feeling she's not truly a bad person." She went on to recount how Ella Bailey had claimed to kidnap Elsa, only to leave her at a suburban mall instead.

Cole let out a low whistle. "So, what you're saying is, everything Ella's done might have been an act-maybe she had no choice?" Hayden frowned. "Could it be... for your aunt?"