As Timothy was Tessa's brother and someone Nicholas thought highly of, Edward figured that words of consolation from Timothy would be more effective than his own.
"President Sawyer, President Reinhart is here. I'll go and see what they've discovered about the car."
As Edward was turning to leave, he caught Timothy's gaze.
He signaled Timothy with a look to ask the latter to say a few words of comfort to Nicholas.
Timothy got the message and nodded lightly before walking over to Nicholas.
"How are things going, Nicholas? Have they found Kieran yet?"
"They're still looking for him. Why did you come here?" Nicholas asked but his eyes remained fixed on the search out on the river.
Timothy didn't mind. "I saw the news on the television," he replied. "Tess is very worried about you so she asked me to come and take a look to see if I can help you out with anything."
He patted Nicholas on the shoulder.
"Kieran will be fine. A man as smart as him would've surely found a way to escape. We just haven't found him yet."
"I hope that's the case."
Nicholas pursed his lips.
Thus, the two men stood by the river and waited.
A little while later, Edward came back with a serious expression. "President Sawyer, the police have just informed me that the brakes on the car had been sabotaged."
Nicholas' expression darkened even further.
Things didn't stop there as Edward's next words made him even more furious.
"The car belongs to you, so this means that the perpetrator was targeting you. It just so happened that Master Kieran borrowed your car."
"Look into it! Run a thorough investigation! I want to know who has the gall to plot against me," Nicholas instructed harshly through clenched teeth.
Edward nodded. "I've already instructed people to check the security cameras at the office. I'm sure we'll have a lead soon enough."
"Good. Go there and keep an eye on things. If you find anything, let me know at once," Nicholas commanded.
Edward nodded and left.
Timothy's expression was grim as well, but at the same time, he was a little relieved.
Thank goodness it wasn't Nicholas who met with the accident. Otherwise, I can't imagine how destroyed Tess would be.
With that thought in mind, Timothy felt the urge to contribute in some way.
"You should go and rest for a while, Nicholas. Call Tess. She's very worried about you. I'll keep an eye on things here, and if there's any news about Kieran, I'll inform you right away."
"I'll give her a call first."
Nicholas didn't agree to rest, but he got his phone out and walked a little further away.
He couldn't rest when Kieran hadn't been found yet.
Tessa answered almost immediately and her anxious voice filtered through the speakers.
"Have they found Kieran?"
"No, but they've fished out the car. I've instructed the rescue team to carry on with the search. I won't be going back tonight. I want to stay here and wait to see if they find anything."
Nicholas gave her a summary of the current situation.
Tessa grew even more worried. "It's been so long. Why haven't they found him yet? Are they looking in the wrong place? Or did someone else rescue him already?"
She offered a few possibilities in the hopes that they would be of help.
Nicholas narrowed his eyes and answered, "We can't rule those out. I'll arrange for them to search further downstream."
Although the leader of the rescue team had said that there most likely hadn't been any boats out on the river earlier, it wasn't for certain, so Nicholas wasn't going to overlook any possibilities.
"I'll leave Mom and Dad to you," Nicholas added. "Help me take good care of them."
"I will," Tessa promised.
They exchanged a few more words before hanging up.
Tessa went back to the living room and saw the butler walking over to her.
"Madam Sawyer is awake, Young Madam. She wants to see you."
"I got it," Tessa replied before heading upstairs.
When she entered the room, she saw Stefania sitting up in bed looking ghostly pale.
Stefania noticed Tessa coming in and swiftly asked, "You talked to Nicholas, right? What did he say? Have they found Kieran?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Always Been Yours (Tessa and Nicholas)