Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

Master Tam froze for a moment, then slowly recounted what he had discovered.

"The ancient texts do mention it. Before extracting the heart, the ritualist must first experience extreme highs and lows in life-profound joy and sorrow-to achieve the best results."

"Finally, all the blood in their body must be poured into the formation's core to fuel the artifact's activation. Only then will the ritual be complete."

Master Tam finished speaking, clearly disgusted by the methods he was describing.

"What kind of creature is this Claudia? Even the most twisted minds couldn't come up with something like this, yet she treats it like a textbook. Isn't that worse than being a psychopath?"

"She even dares to target my son-in-law's life. Does she think she's invincible? Let me know when you catch her. I'll deal with her personally."

Tina narrowed her eyes, a cold smile spreading across her face. "She wants my life and Uncle's? She's reached the end of the road. Claudia can go straight to hell."

Using Uncle's life as a lever to toy with her emotions-Claudia's audacity was staggering. Dealing with her was one thing, but if she dared to involve Uncle, Tina would show her what true cruelty meant.

Jared noticed the shift in her mood and gently clasped her hand. "Tina, don't waste your energy on someone like her. If she wants to come after me, let's see if she even has the ability."

The warmth of Jared's palm traveled through Tina's fingertips, calming her heart. She nodded, forcing herself to rein in her emotions.

She turned back to Master Tam and asked, "Master, you mentioned two key elements earlier. What's the other one?"

Master Tam, still fuming about Claudia's depravity, paused at Tina's question. "Didn't I tell you about it yesterday?"

Tina's eyes flickered. "You mean... the artifact used to activate the formation is the Jade Armour?"

Jared's expression tensed at these words.

This artifact was currently in Tina's possession. It seemed Claudia had already figured that out.

Master Tam, unaware of this, sighed with regret. "Exactly. At first, I thought it was just a treasure that could enhance one's abilities. I never imagined its true purpose was tied to something like this. The Langdon family must have known how important it was. They kept it hidden for centuries without letting any rumors slip."

Tina raised an eyebrow, glancing at her irate master. "Master, are you sure the Langdon family knew about this?"

Master Tam hesitated. "It's impossible they didn't. The Langdon family are incredibly shrewd. If they didn't know its true purpose, why would they guard it so carefully?"

"Besides, I've heard this artifact isn't easy to control. Especially when used as part of a formation-it's highly unstable and can self-destruct if mishandled. Naturally, that would also spell disaster for the user."

Tina and Jared exchanged a look, neither speaking.

It seemed the Langdon family had anticipated that Claudia would eventually use them

as sacrificial pawns. That was why they had been so willing to give up the Jade Armour.

Tina fell silent suddenly. Master Tam blinked, thinking his precious disciple had been scared into silence.

"Why aren't you saying anything, girl? Did this scare you?"

"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, that Claudia won't lay a finger on you. If she dares show up, I'll kill her on sight. Two of her? I'll kill them both. It'll be a good way to vent your anger."

Tina looked at her master's exaggerated display of reassurance, her lips twitching. "Thank you, Master."

Master Tam laughed heartily. "There's no need for thanks between us. Just don't eye my collection of treasures after the baby is born."

Tina was speechless. Of all things, her master was still hung up on the time she extorted him.

Before they parted, Tina reminded him not to reveal her pregnancy. Master Tam, for once, adopted a serious expression and waved her off. "Don't worry. I can keep this secret."

Tina stared at him, already beginning to feel uneasy.

On the way back, Tina mulled over the information she had learned from her master. Suddenly, she recalled something she had overlooked-the Swanson family.

If Claudia needed Orion Woodwind's powers as a fallback, her usual method was to extract what she needed and eliminate the person afterward. Mercy wasn't in her vocabulary.

Why, then, would she leave a powerless man like Orion alive? What did she want from the Swanson family?

As Tina pondered, a hand suddenly reached out and pressed gently against her furrowed brow before pulling her into a warm embrace.

"Don't overthink," Jared said softly. "Do you want our child to be a quiet, unsmiling little girl when she's born?"

A daughter should be like Tina, he thought-bright-eyed, with a radiant smile. That would be perfect.

Tina gave him a look, half exasperated and half amused. "How are you so sure it's a girl? Master was probably just teasing you."

Jared's lips quirked into a smile as his gaze dropped to her still-flat stomach, his eyes full of affection. "I believe it."

Tina raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to look at him. "You're not one of those people with a gender preference, are you?"

Jared responded without hesitation. "Of course not. We'll have both a son and a daughter eventually, so it doesn't matter."

Tina was speechless. Uncle had clearly been thoroughly fooled by Master. He even remembered every word verbatim.

At a red light, Jared instructed Nathan, "Head to the hospital first."

Tina looked at him curiously. "Why?"

Jared smiled at her. "Did you forget? Today's your prenatal checkup."

Prenatal checkup?

Tina blinked. She had no memory of this.

Jared, noticing her surprise, explained in a low voice, "After your last hospital visit, the doctor set up a file based on your pregnancy timeline. They'll notify us when it's time for a checkup."

"But you don't need to worry about any of this-I'll keep track of it all."

Tina was speechless.

People said pregnancy made women forgetful. She must already be losing her mind. She had completely forgotten about basic things like setting up a file and scheduling checkups.

Meanwhile, Uncle had learned so much about pregnancy that he could probably work in obstetrics himself.noveldrama

Still, a trip to the hospital wasn't a bad idea. She could check on Oliver as well.

After her checkup, Tina told Jared she wanted to visit Oliver's private ward.

Nathan had stationed people there, and when Tina arrived, they greeted her respectfully as "Madam" before opening the door to the room.

Inside, a caregiver was tending to Oliver. Hearing someone enter, she looked up and greeted Tina as "Miss Reed."

Tina glanced at Oliver, who lay on the bed, and asked, "Has anyone come by today?"

"Miss Reed, Oliver's aunt stopped by this morning."

Upon hearing it was Jennie, Tina asked no further questions.

The caregiver packed up her things and left.

Tina began administering acupuncture. The situation was the same as last time-the needles quickly turned black.

After removing the needles, Tina reached out to check Oliver's pulse. But just as her fingers were about to touch his skin, she remembered his reaction last time.

She turned, grabbed a tissue from the table, and placed it on his wrist before pressing her fingers down.