By the time Joseph Thompson left the police station after meeting Randy Ziel and returned to Star Ocean City, it was already nine o'clock at night. Instead of driving directly back to his own home, he drove to the Ziel family's residential area, determined to be by Jaylene Ziel's side tonight no matter what.
For Jaylene, nothing could be more important than her father's life and well-being. With Nancy Scott gone, Randy was the only family Jaylene had left in this world.
Jaylene's experience was different from Joseph's, as he had grown up dealing with his parents' divorce and then lived with his father and stepmother in their newly formed family. When he was slightly older, he left home to attend boarding school and even studied abroad.
He had long grown accustomed to life without his parents around, used to living alone, and facing various difficulties by himself.
