Goodbye, Mr. Regret

"Why do you keep pressing about this?"

Vince's irritation was palpable. "Is it because you realize you couldn't keep it hidden and now you want to dig for answers? How do you even have the nerve?"

He still wasn't satisfied, and pressed on, "Did you really think you could keep this a secret? She knows what she looked like as a kid, doesn't she? Even if you manage to hide it for a while, she'll find out sooner or later. So tell me when did you find out?"

"You still haven't answered my question."

Timothy's expression remained unreadable, calm as ever.

"You're always like this. If I don't talk, you won't either, is that it?”

"That's right."

Vince was so angry it made his chest ache.

"Fine, I'll spell it out. It's just—she looks alike. There are plenty of shows about kids separated from their families, lost and found. Jessy does paper-cutting, my grandfather loves paper-cutting, and then she's taken Daisy as her goddaughter. She's got this strange connection to our family."

Timothy wasn't feeling well; his body was weak and his mind wasn't as sharp as usual.

A server brought over their coffees. Timothy took his cup and sipped.

Yates noticed a deep indentation on the first knuckle of Timothy's right index finger, a trace of blood seeping out.

Yates pressed his lips together. Just how tightly had Timothy been clenching his fist?

mouthfuls of coffee in

face of it, made

see everything, and Yates had even

when you strung all three things

had only said Daisy reminded

never have suspected anything.

were two

thing you're looking for

special

what planted the

had asked Herbert whether Jessica was his biological daughter, confirmed the birthmark, and made a phone call. At that point,

up, "Vince, don't you think Sheila

that. When he'd called Sheila to go to the hospital and check

comments were exactly what had made him suspicious. Frowning, he wondered aloud,

when did you find out? Did you let Sheila in on it

thin line. That day at the hospital, when he'd gotten

Sheila had gone off to find

Timothy stood up. "I have something to

me when you found out. And when I went to Jessy's place to ask for her childhood photos, she said she couldn't find a single one.

ignored Vince's question and hurried

you let him outmaneuver you again. You told him exactly what you wanted to know, but he

cutting him some slack because he's

sip of his coffee. "From what you were saying, I'd bet Sheila knew exactly what she was doing. She deliberately dropped

rushed off-do you think he's going to