Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Vince texted Sheila the hospital address and the floor number.

She arrived not long after.

Timothy still hadn't come out.

He and Jessica had both made it out alive, though Timothy's back was covered in cuts and scrapes. Whether the blast had done any damage to his internal organs was still unclear.

They'd already been a fair distance from the car when it exploded, so hopefully, things wouldn't turn out too badly.

Sheila was nearly in tears from worry. "What happened to him? Why did the car blow up?"

This was no small accident.

Vince, who'd actually been at the scene, was a lot calmer, though he kept the details to himself.

"When I got there, the car was already in flames," he said simply.

He wanted Sheila to feel the urgency-if she did, she'd figure out what to do next. And in the end, he knew, her greatest concern was still Timothy's safety.

Vince offered what comfort he could. "Let's just wait. He should be out of surgery soon."

"And Jessica? Is she alright?"

"With Timothy there, she's fine. Not a scratch on her," Vince replied.

Sheila's fists clenched so tightly her nails left deep crescents in her skin.

about Jessica now-cared enough to put her life before his

safe, that's all I care about. By the way, I saw your Christmas Eve post— Yates commented that Daisy looks a lot like Daisy. I looked at their photo together, and honestly,

eyes flickered. "You think so

much attention-lots of people are similar in those ways. So when Yates commented, he'd brushed it off. But now, hearing it from Sheila as well, a strange feeling

back, you had Timothy help you run a search for Salome Zimmerman. Any progress on that? Any

hide his disappointment. "None of the people we

know what they say when you think you've hit a dead end, a new path opens up. Maybe one day you'll find her out of the blue. Salome was always so kind-hearted; the universe won't be cruel to her. She has to be alive, maybe just waiting somewhere for you to find her. I've seen so many

couldn't hold it in

why Timothy hadn't revealed Jessica's true identity yet-likely, he was afraid that if Jessica gained the support

might leave

once, but Timothy still refused to let

was really the reason, it hit

for her was almost greater than for his relatives-

She wouldn't allow it.

Timothy

kept the conversation casual, just

well. She couldn't do anything

silent, lost

her words were having the intended effect on

more obvious, she added, "I never would have guessed your grandfather was into paper crafts. Daisy must really

so good.

and

and now she's officially Daisy's goddaughter. You seem really fond of her as well. Are you