Kiara had visited a lot of hospitals, checking for Jeremy Rain. She moved from one clinic to the other, yet she found him not. Kiara was getting frustrated. She went back to the diary and re-read the part which said,
"…You know the country that I am most likely to go to; because I spoke about it a lot. I spoke about it to you, telling you that my dream was to one day visit that country…You know exactly where to find me, my love…"
"But Jeremy I am failing to find you!" she cried. "Is there any hint that I am missing?"
She sat down and started reading the letter again. Kiara had read the letter so many times that she could have easily recited it from her head. She knew it that well.
"Am I missing anything? What should I do? I have tried reading between the lines, but I can't find any clues, Jeremy!" Kiara looked up in pain, and tears ran from the corners of her eyes.
"Why can't I find this last clue, Jeremy! I managed to find out that you hid the diary under that bin, and I managed to realise that the body which was buried was not yours. Why then am I failing to break the last code? Where are you, Jeremy! Where on earth are you?" Kiara cried.
She felt worthless…useless.
"I thought I knew you, Jeremy! I thought I knew you until now!" the lady cried in resignation.
There was a knock on her door, and Kiara walked up to check. It was one of lodge staff members, reminding her that the money for the past two nights was now overdue.
"I thought guests paid on checking out!" she snapped angrily.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but we're still a small place, and as we notified you when you checked in, we usually give one day in advance before payments can be made. But if it is too much trouble for you, ma'am, you can pay when you check out."
"I'm coming with the payment soon!" she screamed and shut the door in the face of the man.
Left with her son in the room, Kiara started to count her money. She set aside the money for the lodge, and realised that she had no more for the child's diapers and food.
She went under the blankets and stated crying until sleep took her over.
Early in the morning, Kiara woke up and packed her bags. She decided to check out of the lodge. She paid all her dues and left.
"Where will we go, Ethan?" she spoke to her son. From the day that Kiara had found out that Jeremy was the child's father, she had started to call the little one "Ethan."
She regretted not bringing her educational certificates along. She had never gone anywhere with them, for when the Pinkertons took her, since she was locked in a room of the mansion anyway; Kiara never found reason to bring her credentials to the Pinkerton mansion.
She continued walking down a road, until she sat on the shade of a tree and called her mother.
"Kiara, my child," Aletha answered.
"Mamma, I am suffering now. I checked out of the lodge, I have run out of diapers and I am hungry," she burst into tears.
"My child. My poor child, why don't you come back home to me?" Aletha fought hard to control her own tears.
"I cannot come home until I find him, mamma." She bawled.
"You said you checked out of the lodge? Kiara, why did you wait until you had completely ran out, before telling me about your situation?"
"I don't know. My mind was fixed on finding Jeremy, and I forgot about other things."
"Go back to the lodge, my child. Go and take back your room. I will fly there tomorrow, and I will come and pay all your dues. And I will bring you back home." Aletha promised her daughter.
"Bring me back home? Can I come back home without the father of my child, mamma? I came here to find Jeremy, mamma! I cannot come back until I find him! I have to find him!"
Seeing that Kiara was becoming hysterical, Aletha quickly consoled her child with:
"Ok my dear, I hear you. Now go back to the lodge and check in again. I will pay everything when I come. And together we will look for Jeremy. I will help you."
"Will you help me, mamma?" Kiara sounded like a desperate five year old.
"I will surely help you."
"And daddy? Will he agree for you to come to me?" she asked her mother.
"Whether he agrees or not is another story. The fact is I am coming there tomorrow." Aletha promised her daughter.
***
With Travis' approval, on the following day Aletha flew to go and be with her daughter. Kiara was not waiting at the airport; and Aletha had honestly not expected to see her there. She took a cab and was on her way to the lodge.
When Kiara saw her mother, she burst into tears as the two ladies embraced each other. The mother also shed tears a little. She took her grandson and kissed him multiple times.
"How is he? Have the two of you eaten anything today? Let me take you somewhere to go and eat."
"Thank you mamma," Kiara smiled. "We ate the breakfast at the lodge. What I really need now is a pack of diapers for him. The one he's wearing now is the last one."
"Aww, my poor child. Why didn't you tell me sooner? You should come back home, Kiara. Jeremy will have to find a way of finding you."
***
Meanwhile, at the Pinkerton mansion, an elderly couple drove through the gate. Numerous security guards stopped them every few meters, asking a number of security questions. Finally they made it to the door, and they were ushered in by a maid.
"May we please see the young master Vine?" the man asked.
"Do you have an appointment?" the maid inquired.
"No, we don't have. But it is very urgent, please may we see him?"
The maid hesitated, but all the same she proceeded to go to the young master's room.
Vine was already in a foul mood, and he was getting dressed, ready to leave the mansion. He heard a knock on his door, and a shirtless Vine went to open. He saw a maid standing by his door, and he became even more irritated. Yet the girl, seeing the man's six pack, could not help but admire what a well built man he was. She tried to move her eyes away from his broad shoulders and his beautiful body, but her eyes stubbornly remained stuck there.
"Since when does every worthless person have the right to come and knock at my door? I thought there were some grades that can't be found knocking at my door!" Vine's insult came.
"I know, I know, young master," the maid said, "I have just been upgraded; one grade higher. I am now in grade T. I am replacing Rosaline, I'm sorry if lady Pinkerton had not informed you yet. I was…"
"Just get to the point and carry yourself away from here!" Vine's voice was deep and scary.
For a moment the young maid told herself that if working with Vine was going to be this tough, then she would have been happier as a grade S employee. Vine did not miss that the woman was failing to remove her eyes from his upper body; for she stared at his muscles with great admiration, and maybe lust. That drove Vine crazy.
"Can you stop drooling over me like that?" he growled.
"I… I am sorry, young master." The girl felt like she was just going to melt due to embarrassment.
"What do you need?" he asked her.
"Young master, there is a couple to see you," she said in a shaky voice.
"Who are they?"
"I...I did not ask. It is an elderly couple. I'm sorry they don't have an appointment. I can tell them to go if you can't see them. I…."
"Can you just stop blabbing? I will be there with them now." Vine slammed the door in the poor girl's face.
She sighed and left the place.
Downstairs, the couple sat next to each other, holding hands. Their faces looked very sad, and none spoke to the other. Every few minutes the man would squeeze his wife's hands, as if to reassure her of something, and she forced a smile.
Soon they heard footsteps from upstairs and looked up to see an immaculately dressed Vine walking towards them, his face as expressionless as any expressionless face can ever be. He lacked any emotion to the point that he appeared as a statue, as if there was no blood flowing through his veins.
"You called for me?" he asked.
The couple exchanged glances. They wondered if it was possible that Vine had failed to recognise them? The man stood up and stretched his hand with a smile,
"Have you forgotten us already? It's us, Mr and…."
"Mr and Mrs Patrol, I know you. How may I help you?" the young man spoke in a rude tone.
The old man slowly withdrew his stretched hand and took his seat.
"I said what do you want from me? I don't have all day!" Vine stated in a stern tone. It was hard to tell whether he was angry or rather in a hurry; or both?
"We…we're here to inform you that sadly, Gareth, our son, passed away. He was still in…"
"Sorry about that. Is there anything else?" Vine cut in.
Upon hearing that, Gareth's mother failed to control herself. She felt a stab in her heart, and she knew that she needed to let it out; the emotional pain.
"Young master, please have a heart. We just lost our only son, and we drove a long way to come and tell you in person that we have lost our son, and you respond in such a callous manner? We may not be as rich as you are, but we are all human beings with feelings. Please, my son served you for many years, many times sacrificing his life for you. Yet today, when we tell you that he is gone, you act like you're receiving news about the death of an ant? Really, my child?" the woman shed some tears.
Vine straightened the jacket of his suit, stood straight and responded. "First, I am not your child, so you shall not address me as such. Second, even if I sympathize with you, will it bring him back? He betrayed me, and that is enough to make his death meaningless to me. If that is all, you may leave. I have a busy day ahead of me. I have to clean up the mess that your son created."
The couple shook their heads and stood up to head for the door. The man hugged his crying wife dearly, and the woman, feeling all kinds of emotions, wailed even more as soon as she sat in the car.