Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

Vivienne's body turned cold as ice as she sank into despair.

Her bones ached from the chill, an unrelenting reminder of Victor's cruelty. She had always known just how ruthless he could be, but today, she witnessed the true extent of his mercilessness. This time, his target wasn't an outsider-it was her brother.

A dreadful thought crossed her mind: what if one day, she or Kelly stood in the way of Victor's interests? Would he cast them aside just as easily, without hesitation or remorse?

"But... all those people were connected through Uncle," Kelly muttered, glancing at her mother's pale, ashen face. She pursed her lips, reluctant but determined to reason with Victor. "If Uncle goes to jail, won't those people get dragged into it too? And if they start digging, what if they trace it back to us..."

She deliberately left the sentence unfinished, but Victor suddenly froze mid-thought.

For the first time, he was struck by the implications of Phil Walker's financial transactions. The man was already a liability; allowing him to drag the Bailey family down with him was unacceptable.

Victor's cold eyes flickered briefly with calculation. He patted Kelly's hand and said, "You've thought this through. Don't worry, your uncle won't go to jail. I've already arranged for someone to handle the accounts. There's no way this will implicate the Bailey family."

He continued, his voice steady, "He'll just make a brief appearance behind bars. I've spoken with the right people-he'll be released in due time."

Kelly nodded, though her gaze shifted to the screen. Her eyes landed on Jared, who was leaning close to Tina, whispering, before flicking back to Tina herself. Jealousy flashed in her expression, but she quickly masked it with a sly smile. She tugged at Victor's arm. "Why go through all that trouble? Isn't Ella the granddaughter of the Farrell family? Let her plead with Tina. I'm sure Logan would agree." Victor instinctively shook his head. "No way. Our relationship with the Farrell family-"

Vivienne, catching her daughter's subtle signal, quickly composed herself. She wiped away her tears and spoke cautiously, "I know what you're worried about. But that's the grudge between our generation and the Farrell family. Everyone says grandparents dote on their grandchildren. Ella is Logan's granddaughter-there's no way he wouldn't care about her."

She paused, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening, before leaning closer to Victor. "Besides, weren't you worried about the Farrell family taking that woman back? This is the perfect chance to have Ella test the waters."

"Achoo!"

Wrapped in a blanket in her air-conditioned room, Ella Bailey sneezed.

She glanced at Luke Gill, who was seated at her dressing table, intently watching a livestream. "I swear, if you've got time to sit around watching this, why don't you go to the study? What are you doing in my room?"

Without even looking her way, Luke replied, "We're in the same boat now, Ella. Naturally, I need to be close by in case something comes up and we need to discuss it."

Ella scoffed, mumbling under her breath, "Who's in the same boat as you?" She shifted uncomfortably in her blanket and added, "What's there to discuss? Tina's targeting Phil Walker, not you."

Luke's hand paused mid-motion as he propped his chin on it.

His gaze finally shifted from the screen to Ella's eyes, filled with an unreadable intensity. "She's not just after Phil Walker. What she really wants is to bring down the entire Bailey family." Ella's heart skipped a beat.Content © provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

She stared at him, half-shocked and half-skeptical, trying to mask her growing curiosity. "What are you talking about, Luke? I know you've been stressed about your lawsuits lately, but don't let it make you delusional. Tina's not that capable. She's barely managing to deal with Phil Walker as it is!"

Though her words dripped with disbelief, her sharp eyes remained fixed on Luke. She tightened her blanket around her shoulders. "If it weren't for Mrs. Ogden's terrible parenting and Pippa Ogden's rebellion, Tina wouldn't have stood a chance against Phil Walker's people today."

As she rambled on, Luke's smile grew wider and more enigmatic.

When she finally stopped, he shook his head slowly. "No, she's doing all of this for attention. Just wait-next, she'll accuse Phil Walker of taking bribes."

He leaned back and added ominously, "And if I'm right, it will inevitably implicate the Bailey family. My guess? This is all to avenge her mother. Jared seems to hate Victor quite a bit, after all."

Luke's tone was calm, but it sent a shiver down Ella's spine.

This man-no wonder he once fooled Elsa entirely on his own. His mind was sharp, terrifyingly so. The fact that he'd pieced this all together made Ella uneasy. Luckily, he didn't seem to know the deeper layers of Tina's plans.

Otherwise, she might really have to discuss taking care of him with Tina first.

Ella kept her expression neutral as she replied, "The Farrell family has always despised Victor. But if you think Phil Walker alone can take him down, you're underestimating him."

She nodded toward Kylie Lambert, who was sitting nervously in the witness box, and smirked. "And what's the deal with that celebrity? Did you bring her in to help Phil Walker? Trying to get him off the hook?"

Luke didn't seem surprised that she'd figured it out. Instead, he smiled, unabashed about his ambitions. "Of course. I want the Bailey family to thrive, not just survive. If Tina really manages to take it over through Phil Walker, then all my efforts would've been for nothing."

He paused, a shadow crossing his face. "But that woman... she's much smarter than I expected."

Lost in thought, Luke frowned deeply. Ella's instincts screamed at her to leave, but just as she shifted to make her escape, Luke grabbed her wrist.

"Ella, why don't you head to the Farrell family tonight and see what you can find out?"

Ella nearly cursed out loud.

She narrowed her sharp, phoenix-like eyes at him. "Do you think a little too highly of yourself?"

Luke tightened his grip, refusing to let her leave. His gaze turned cold and calculating. "It's just a simple task, Ella. You wouldn't refuse to help with something so minor, would you?"

Ella sneered. "If it's so minor, why don't you do it yourself? Luke Gill, are you even a man?"

The absurdity of the situation infuriated her. Was he seriously asking her to go to the Farrell family on his behalf? The image of him as a shameless freeloader, living off others, was seared into her mind. If it weren't for Tina and Ruud's plans, sh would've abandoned this mess long ago.

Now, having to humor this despicable man was almost unbearable.

A flicker of anger flashed in Luke's eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. He leaned closer, gripping Ella's chin and pulling her toward him. "Why don't you find out if I'm a man or not tonight?"

He smirked. "After all, we haven't even consummated our marriage yet. Victor's waiting for you to have a son to carry on the family legacy."

Ella's eyes widened in fury.

Her training kicked in. With a swift motion, she struck Luke's shoulder with all her strength.

Caught completely off guard, Luke flew backward, blood spurting from his mouth as he hit the ground with a loud thud.