Episode 5 of Season 2 of "Found" kicks off with a haunting flashback to a pivotal moment 23 years prior, precisely 52 days after Gabi and Lacey's narrow escape. Gina, determined to help Lacey shed the shadows of her harrowing ordeal, enrolled her in art therapy. Yet, Lacey's creations remained a tangled mess of black crayon strokes, prompting Gina's deepest fears that her young charge had lost her innate spark of joy. Meanwhile, Gabi's heart was heavy with concern for her father, who stubbornly refused to embark on a therapeutic journey alongside her.
In the present, Lacey grapples with recalling the harrowing details of Sir's second abduction. As she attempts to piece together her narrative for Trent, the fragments elude her grasp. Trent, sensing an opportunity, delicately steers the conversation towards the company, hinting at potential suspicions towards Gabi's involvement in Sir's escape. Lacey, steadfast in her loyalty, shields Gabi and urges Trent to explore other avenues to reach her.
Elsewhere, Gabi's world is stirred by the unexpected return of Christian, who trails her to work with promises of assistance and revelations of his temporary abode. Within the office walls, Gabi is taken aback when Margaret contacts the Diaz family, informing them of a potential breakthrough in their seven-year-long search for Adella. The catalyst? The discovery of an abandoned child, whose resemblance to Adella's rumored son stirred Margaret's intuition. Adella, who vanished at 16 under a cloud of suspicion that her father had ended her life, remains a haunting mystery. Tragically, the boy, aged four, remains silent.
Despite her reservations, fueled by the lack of concrete evidence, Gabi embraces the challenge, her investigative instincts igniting. She issues directives with authority, unaware that Margaret has already anticipated many of her moves, including arranging for a DNA test with the police. Margaret's actions hint at her desire to ensure the case runs smoothly in Gabi's absence.
At the precinct, Trent informs Gabi that forensic analysis confirms the boy's jacket is stained with Adella's blood. Yet, his silence and the pending DNA results leave Trent inclined to wait. Gabi, sensing urgency, argues that the bloodstains suggest Adella may be in grave danger, and time is of the essence. She presents the boy with a photograph of Adella, and in a tender moment, he acknowledges her as his mother. With this crucial link established, the investigation takes a decisive turn.
The team initiates their investigation by engaging in a heartfelt conversation with Adella's parents. Margaret perceives a deep-seated distress in the mother's eyes, while the father's demeanor reveals a tumult of anger and apprehension, stemming from the police's erroneous accusation and presumption of Adella's demise. Subsequently, they break the news to the Diaz family, planting a seed of hope by suggesting that the boy, Matteo, could potentially be their grandson and Adella might still be alive.
They delve deeper into the circumstances surrounding Matteo's discovery and Adella's abduction, scrutinizing every aspect with meticulous attention. Their inquiry leads them to the detective who handled the case, Detective Edwards, who was unceremoniously dismissed from his duties years prior. Furthermore, they scrutinize Adella's boyfriend, Tyler, from the time she went missing. Intriguingly, Tyler had obtained a restraining order against Adella's father.
While others are busy chasing multiple leads, Gabi stages a press conference, appealing for the public's assistance in finding Adella. However, the media's insatiable curiosity is directed more towards the police's ineptitude in resolving the case. In an interview, Mr. Diaz voices his exasperation with the law enforcement authorities. Following this, Gabi and Dhan converse with Tyler, uncovering that Edwards had interrogated him multiple times yet failed to document these sessions. Tyler further reveals that Edwards seemed overly fixated on scapegoating Diaz for Adella's plight. Tyler expresses remorse for leaving Adella near her house on the fateful night and subsequently discarding her phone, but emphatically asserts his innocence in her disappearance.
Concurrently, Senior Trent steps in to lend his expertise to the case. A former police officer, he harbors insights into the investigation surrounding Adella's disappearance. Despite their troubled past, the tension between Gabi and Trent does not escape Senior Trent's notice. He subsequently cautions Gabi to maintain distance from Trent. Meanwhile, Detective Edwards contemplates suicide upon being confronted by Trent and Gabi. Once he regains composure, he confesses that he framed Mr. Diaz as a convenient scapegoat to close the case!
At Mosley and Associates, Lacey endeavors to engage Matteo in conversation, hoping to unravel clues. She notices a toy car in his possession, bearing the insignia of a local restaurant. However, their probe into the restaurant yields no fruitful results. On a separate front, Sir infiltrates Christian's hotel room, tasking him with delivering a message to Gabi. Christian attempts to reason with Sir, highlighting the pain he's causing Gabi, but Sir remains Unyielding, convinced that Gabi is his soul mate, convinced that she will return to him willingly. When Christians mentioned their mother's death, Sir did not admit that he was the murderer, but simply said that his mother had tortured him for many years, and that he had only endured the abuse on behalf of Christians.
After Christian hands over Sir's recording to Gabi, the team finds itself at odds, wrangling over the decision to listen to it. Margaret and Dex stand firmly against it, their patience worn thin by Sir's meddling in their case. Dhan remains indifferent, while Lacey pleads with Gabi to pull out all stops to rescue Adella. In the end, Gabi caves in and listens to the recording, envisioning a vivid conversation with Sir as he unfolds the intricate details.
The others watch Gabi engage in a soliloquy with a mixture of concern and bewilderment. Sir believes the kidnapper to be a voyeur who lurks in the shadows, residing not too far from the Diaz family. Meanwhile, they stumble upon a note tucked inside Matteo's jacket, penned by Adella herself, urging the police to escort Matteo to his grandparents and providing a description of their captor. The description leads them straight to the restaurant owner, who happens to be linked to Adella's disappearance seven years ago near his abode. They catch him in the act of absconding and place him under arrest. Subsequently, they uncover Adella hidden in his basement.
The team reunites Adella with her beloved family and her son, amid joyous tears and embraces. At the press conference, Trent publicly acknowledges the police's shortcomings in the case and apologizes for it. He announces the formation of a new task force to prevent future tragedies like the Diaz family's. He further stresses his desire for the police to fulfill their duties diligently, so that vigilantes like Gabi aren't compelled to take matters into their own hands. Gabi is stung by his remarks but gracefully exits the scene.
After the case is wrapped up, Gabi seeks out her colleagues and offers another apology, vowing to bear the consequences of her actions. Lacey then reveals a crucial piece of information: she recalls Sir conversing with someone during her captivity. It hints that Sir isn't a lone wolf but has a trusted accomplice.
The scene shifts to a poignant flashback of a young Lacey sketching Sir in jail, expressing her hope that her happiness would be fulfilled only after Sir is incarcerated. Recalling this, Gabi confides in Dhan that Trent will relentlessly pursue her until she's behind bars. Before that fateful day, she intends to set a few things right. Dhan suggests that Gabi might slip through the cracks, but she resolutely declines. Gabi enumerates a few things she needs to sort out before her impending downfall: ensuring Margaret finds her son, Sir faces justice, and Zeke stays out of harm's way. As they converse, Trent calls Dhan with a bombshell: Margaret has been arrested.
