By the time Adam arrived, Joseph had already gotten out of bed.
"What are you doing here?" he asked puzzledly.
"I'm still worried about the whole situation with Remus' family so I came to discuss things with you."
Adam sat on the couch and shared his concerns. "Nicholas won't let things slide so easily. He and Kieran are close. I'm sure he'll do a thorough investigation."
Joseph chuckled.
"Doesn't that work exactly in our favor? I'd be more worried if that punk doesn't investigate the accident and focuses on our accounts instead."
"Aren't you afraid that he might link the accident back to us?" Adam stared anxiously at Joseph.
"Relax, Adam," Joseph laughed. "It can't be traced back to us. I had them prepare for all possibilities. Even if Nicholas looks into it, he'll only find what we want him to find."
Even so, Adam was still uneasy.
"That's not enough. I'm still worried."
"Why don't I have them do it again then? It'd be good for us too. If something happens to both Nicholas and Kieran, Remus' family would be thrown into chaos, and we can even take advantage of that situation to reap some benefits for ourselves."
The success of this attempt got to Joseph's head. He wanted to double down and do it again with Nicholas as the target.
However, Adam talked him out of it. "There's no point trying to do it again now. Nicholas will surely be on his guard."
Thus, Joseph gave up on that idea.
It was only a spur-of-the-moment suggestion. In reality, he knew he couldn't make a move against Nicholas now.
Before Joseph could speak, Adam stated, "Now that Nicholas is busy looking for Kieran, think of a way to delay Nicholas' investigations. I'll do my best to fudge the accounts and get rid of all the information that could be used against us."
Meanwhile, it was late at night back in Xerthania.
The rescue team had been searching for two hours but there was still no sign of Kieran.
Nicholas stood by the river with a grim expression. The pressuring aura that emanated from him made it hard for others to breathe around him.
Dozens of boats were scattered along the river as the rescue team searched the water.
Another half hour passed, and the leader of the rescue team walked over to Nicholas.
"President Sawyer, we found Master Kieran's car earlier, but he wasn't inside. He must've escaped from the car," the man informed.
Nicholas was frowning hard as he instructed coolly, "Since you didn't find him, keep looking."
"Well, we've searched for hours now and there's still no sign of Master Kieran. I suspect that Master Kieran… must have sunk somewhere. There's… a chance that he didn't survive."
The man's voice grew fainter toward the end and his calves began trembling.
The look in Nicholas' eyes was far too terrifying.
Edward quickly came forward to mediate the situation. He didn't want the leader of the rescue team to be scared out of his wits. That would only delay the rescue mission even further.
Thanks to that, the man was able to exhale in relief.
Edward voiced a possibility.
"Is it possible that Master Kieran was swimming in the river and a passing boat saved him?"
"That's extremely unlikely."
The man shook his head and explained, "We checked the situation earlier and found that no boats have passed by the river, so… it's best if President Sawyer is mentally prepared for the worst."
He carefully eyed Nicholas again.
Nicholas clenched his fists. He couldn't accept this outcome.
He didn't believe that something happened to Kieran.
He's a quick-witted man. I'm sure he must be hiding somewhere waiting for us to save him.
"Whether dead or alive, I won't stop until he's found. Keep searching!" Nicholas snarled through gritted teeth. His eyes were bloodshot.
The leader of the rescue team had no choice but to arrange for his team to carry on with the search.
Edward could sense Nicholas' intense grief and sorrow. He wanted to comfort the latter, but he didn't know what to say.
Fortunately, he was able to sigh in relief as he noticed Timothy approaching.
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