Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

On the other side of the island, a man slowly approached from directly across Simone.

Tina narrowed her eyes-it was Ruud.

Simone lowered her head and called out in a deep, respectful voice, "Boss!"

Ruud's brows furrowed with a cold sharpness, his tone chilly. "You were followed. Three o'clock direction."

Simone's eyes gleamed with vigilance. She swiftly moved in that direction, raising her hand to strike.

Jared pulled Tina aside in a quick motion, dodging the attack. As Simone turned, her gaze filled with surprise. She retracted her movements and shook her head helplessly.

Looking up at Ruud, Simone saw him shake his head with a faint, resigned smile, motioning for them to come over.

Simone walked forward, with Jared and Tina following behind. Standing before Ruud, Ruud cast a sharp glance at Jared, then shifted his gaze to his daughter with a look of pride he couldn't conceal.

Simone smiled faintly. "So, someone managed to follow me undetected. Turns out it was you two-Jared and Tina. No wonder."

Tina responded with a light laugh. "Aunt, you're impressive too. You fooled all of us!"

Simone pressed her lips together without answering.

Jared was silent for a moment before looking at Simone. "No explanation?"

Simone understood Jared's unspoken question but didn't respond. Instead, she turned to Ruud.

Ruud sighed softly. It had been so hard to arrange a meeting with Simone without raising suspicion, yet his daughter and son-in-law had still uncovered it. Helplessly, he said, "Simone, you might as well explain here. Their mission now shares the same purpose as ours did back then."

Simone nodded in understanding. Her voice, clear and melodic, broke the silence. "Back then, I deliberately approached Victor. To win his trust, I pretended to love him, even breaking ties with my family."noveldrama

Jared's pupils contracted as he processed her words, stunned.

He had never considered this possibility. Even he had believed his aunt truly loved Victor. If the entire Farrell family learned this, it would be nothing short of shocking.

Ruud's expression remained calm, though a flicker of light crossed his eyes.

Simone continued, her face shadowed by the memories of the past, pain etched into her expression. "To get close to him, to earn his trust, I gave my all. But Victor was cunning and cautious. No matter how hard I tried, I could never fully gain his trust."

"In the end, I had no choice but to sacrifice myself to win his heart." As she said this, Simone felt a wave of nausea; the mere thought of Victor repulsed her.

Jared's eyes were filled with shock, his demeanor darkening as a cold, menacing aura enveloped him.

Tina gently stroked his back, her touch soothing. Simone's sacrifices for the mission were unimaginably heavy for any woman to bear.

Ruud sighed deeply, his voice heavy with regret. "Simone, the sacrifices you made for the mission will not go unnoticed. The country will reward you. When you infiltrated Victor's inner circle, we tried to contact you countless times but failed. Later, when your daughter Ella told us you'd become a vegetative state, hidden by Victor, we had already suspected the worst. We searched tirelessly but found nothing."

Simone's voice lowered, her tone somber as a murderous gleam flickered in her eyes. "When I married Victor, he outwardly treated me with care and affection. But he was always cautious and ruthlessly cruel. One time, for Ella's sake, I accidentally exposed myself. He played his part perfectly, waiting for an unguarded moment before drugging me."

"At that time, I was completely paralyzed, unable to make a sound. He imprisoned me in the Bailey family's residence. Before I could be moved, he crippled me there. Later, when he needed to use me again, he poisoned me and abandoned me in the countryside."

Ruud sighed again, the pain evident in his expression. "As your superior, I failed to protect you. I let you endure such suffering. I will report this to the nation and ensure you receive the highest honor, though it is a poor consolation for what you've endured."

Simone shook her head gently, her expression calm as if she had already come to terms with the past. "Boss, you don't need to feel guilty. That decision was mine alone, and you all tried your best to dissuade me. I chose to complete the mission, and the consequences were mine to bear."

"Besides, once you accept a mission, you must be ready for anything, even the worst outcomes."

Jared's chest tightened painfully as he listened. The aunt he remembered from childhood-a radiant, beautiful woman-had endured so much suffering.

Tina spoke softly, her voice tender. "Aunt, Victor isn't dead. Jared and I faked his death and locked him in a cell. He's suffering every day, paying for the harm he caused you."

Simone looked at Jared with gratitude, her eyes softening. She nodded. "Tina, Jared, meeting you both is the heavens' way of compensating me. Without you, I wouldn't be here now."

Tina turned to Ruud, her tone cold and steady. "So, during the trial, we fought tooth and nail to win the case, only for you to try and take him away after the defeat."

Ruud, seeing the anger in his daughter's eyes, quickly explained, "Because we've been waiting for this moment for years."

"At that time, we discovered someone playing a dangerous game, threatening national security. We investigated many leads and ultimately found only faint traces pointing to Victor. That's why we sent Simone undercover, to get close to him and gain his trust."

Tina nodded slightly, her tone calm but firm. "The mastermind is Claudia. She's been scheming for years. But the woman in red I met last time seemed very young..."

Ruud frowned. "We've confirmed that all the major incidents threatening national security in recent years are tied to Claudia. She is the mastermind behind it all." "But could she, like Li Zhuo, have used a disguise?" Tina's brows furrowed in thought, her tone heavy.

"That's unlikely," she said. "I've studied disguise techniques extensively. If she were using one, I would've recognized it immediately."

Jared's lips curled into a cold smile. "No rush. With the Langdon and Bailey families gone, she'll be the one in trouble now."

He turned to Ruud. "As for Victor, if you need to reopen the case for questioning, I can take you to his secret cell for interrogation."

Ruud nodded. "For now, it's not necessary. If the day comes that we need it, I'll seek you out."

After all, they had already gathered most of the key information from Victor.