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.

to put her life

she forced a smile anyway. "As long as Daisy's safe, that's all I care about. By the way, I saw your Christmas Eve post— Yates commented that

flickered. "You think so

paid much attention-lots of people are similar in those

remember when you first came back, you had Timothy help you run a search for Salome Zimmerman. Any progress

"None of the people we found

too discouraged. These things are never easy. You 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

it in

to understand why Timothy hadn't revealed Jessica's true identity yet-likely,

family, she might leave him

insisted on divorce more than once, but Timothy still refused to let her

was really the reason, it hit Sheila

was the person Timothy cared about most His concern for her was almost greater than for his relatives- unique, irreplaceable kind of affection. How could she stand to see

She wouldn't allow it.

she couldn't let Timothy find out about these

Vince, she kept the conversation casual, just like any

She couldn't do anything that

silent, lost in

words were having the intended effect

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

gotten so

and

You seem really fond of her as well. Are you actually thinking about competing with Timothy for Daisy's affection? He