But it was a step toward home.
Daniel found her in the living room.
"Was that Michael?"
She nodded.
"He wants to spend the weekend with us."
Daniel smiled.
"Then I had better practice making pancakes."
For the first time in many days, they laughed without feeling guilty.
Yet the investigation was far from over.
Two days later, Robert received a message from an unknown number. It contained a photograph of a document and a short warning.
Stop investigating the Carter family. You do not know what you are uncovering.
Robert forwarded the message to Daniel.
Daniel stared at the photograph. It showed a page from the original guardianship file. At the bottom was a signature that had not appeared on the first copy.
It belonged to a woman named Eleanor Hayes.
Eleanor had been Michael's temporary guardian after his birth. She was the woman who had eventually suffered a stroke and entered a care facility. According to the earlier records, she had been unable to speak clearly for several years.
But the photograph suggested she had signed a separate statement confirming that Victoria had voluntarily surrendered her parental rights.
Daniel immediately called Robert.
"Can Eleanor still communicate?"
"Sometimes. Her medical team says she can understand questions and respond with limited speech."
"Then we need to speak to her."
"Her doctor will have to approve it."
"Arrange it."
The next morning, Daniel and Victoria traveled to the care facility.
Eleanor was sitting beside a window when they entered. She was an elderly woman with silver hair and thin hands resting on a blanket. Her eyes followed them as they approached.
Victoria stopped at the doorway.
She recognized her.
Not from recent photographs, but from the hospital corridor ten years earlier. Eleanor had been the woman who told her that Michael needed temporary medical observation. She had reassured Victoria that the arrangement was only for a short time.
Victoria had believed her.
"Eleanor?" she whispered.
The old woman moved her eyes toward her.
"My name is Victoria."
Eleanor's fingers began to tremble.
Daniel pulled a chair beside the bed. A nurse explained that Eleanor could answer simple questions by nodding, shaking her head, or writing a few words with assistance.
Victoria sat down.
"I need to ask you about Michael."
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
Victoria took a breath.
"Did I ever sign away my rights?"
Eleanor slowly shook her head.
Victoria's face crumpled.
"Did you know I wanted him back?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Did you tell them that?"
Another nod.
"Who stopped you?"
Eleanor struggled to move her hand. The nurse placed a pen between her fingers and helped position a sheet of paper.
The old woman wrote slowly, pausing several times.
When she finished, Victoria read the words.
Richard threatened my daughter.
Daniel leaned forward.
"What did Richard threaten?"
Eleanor's breathing became uneven. The nurse gently encouraged her to rest, but she insisted on continuing.
She wrote another sentence.
He said my daughter would lose her job if I told the truth.
Victoria stared at the paper.
"Your daughter worked for the Carter family?"
Eleanor nodded.
Daniel looked at Robert's notes.
Eleanor's daughter, Patricia Hayes, had been employed as a personal assistant at one of the Carter family companies. She had left the position shortly after Michael's guardianship was extended.
"Did Richard make you sign the statement?" Daniel asked.
Eleanor nodded.
"Was Thomas there?"
She shook her head.
"Was my father there?"
Eleanor hesitated, then nodded.
Victoria felt sick.
Her father-in-law had been present when an elderly woman was pressured into signing a false statement. The lie had been planned carefully, with every person assigned a role.
Eleanor struggled to write again.
I am sorry. I tried to help you.
Victoria reached for her hand.
"I know you were afraid."
The old woman's eyes filled with tears.
"I believed him," Victoria whispered. "I believed everyone."
Eleanor squeezed her fingers weakly.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Eleanor pointed toward her bedside cabinet. The nurse opened it and removed a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of a young woman standing beside Eleanor. On the back was a handwritten phone number.
"Patricia," Robert said after examining it. "Her daughter."
Eleanor nodded.
Daniel understood.
"She knows something."
The old woman closed her eyes.
Victoria gently placed the photograph back inside the envelope.
"Thank you," she whispered. "You have already done more than you know."
As they left the facility, Robert made arrangements to contact Patricia.
But Patricia was not at her registered address. She had moved several times, changed her phone number, and had not maintained contact with the Carter family for years.
It took two days to locate her.
When Robert finally reached her, she refused to speak at first. She said she had no interest in reopening the past and wanted nothing to do with the Carter family.
Then Robert mentioned Michael.
There was a long silence.
Finally, Patricia agreed to meet.
She arrived at the investigator's office carrying an old leather bag. She looked nervous and kept glancing toward the door.
"I was told my mother was involved," she said.
"She was forced to sign a statement," Robert replied. "We believe you may know why."
Patricia looked at Daniel.
"Your father ruined my mother's life."
Daniel did not defend him.
"I believe you."
Patricia opened her bag and removed a small notebook.
"My mother kept records. She wrote down every instruction she received because she was afraid people would deny everything later."
Robert leaned forward.
"Do you still have the notebook?"
Patricia placed it on the table.
"I found it after her stroke. I kept it because I knew one day someone might need it."
Daniel opened the notebook carefully.
The pages contained dates, names, and brief descriptions of meetings. Some entries mentioned Thomas. Others mentioned Richard. Several referred to payments made after Michael's birth.
Then Daniel found an entry dated one week before the guardianship extension.
Richard says the boy must remain away from Victoria. Edward approved. Thomas will receive payment after the new papers are signed.
Below it was another entry.