Lucas nodded.
"How do you know?"
"I've been checking."
The boy seemed to consider that answer.
"Do you think Rick will come to the garage again?"
"Probably."
Lucas's shoulders tightened.
"But we'll handle it properly."
"What does that mean?"
"It means we won't fight him in the parking lot, and we won't do anything that puts you in more danger. We'll make sure the people who can help know what's happening."
Lucas looked down at the photograph.
"Rick says nobody cares what happens to people like us."
Daniel tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"Rick is wrong."
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm sitting here, aren't I?"
Lucas looked at him.
For the first time, the boy seemed to consider that possibility.
When they arrived at the hospital, Daniel parked near the entrance and walked with Lucas toward the reception desk.
The receptionist listened to their request and checked the information Daniel had brought.
After several minutes, a nurse approached them.
"Are you Lucas Hayes?"
The boy nodded immediately.
The nurse smiled gently.
"Your mother has been asking about you."
Lucas's face changed.
"Can I see her?"
"Let me check with the doctor first."
The nurse disappeared down the corridor.
Lucas stood perfectly still.
Daniel placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Take a breath."
"What if she doesn't want to see me?"
Daniel frowned.
"Why wouldn't she?"
"Because I left home."
"You left because you were frightened."
Lucas looked away.
"She might think I abandoned her."
Daniel crouched slightly.
"Listen to me. You're ten years old. You're not responsible for fixing every problem in your family. You're allowed to be frightened. You're allowed to ask for help."
Lucas swallowed.
"Do you think she'll understand?"
"I think she wants to see you."
The nurse returned.
"She's ready."
Lucas hurried down the corridor, then stopped at the doorway to his mother's room.
Daniel followed at a distance.
Inside, Emily Hayes lay in a hospital bed beneath a white blanket. She looked thinner than the woman in the photograph, with pale skin and dark circles beneath her eyes. An intravenous line ran into her arm, and a monitor beside the bed displayed her heartbeat.
But when she saw Lucas, she sat up as quickly as her condition allowed.
"Lucas!"
The boy ran to her.
"Mom!"
She wrapped her arms around him, holding him against her chest.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Emily began to cry.
"I thought something had happened to you," she whispered. "I thought I'd lost you, too."
Lucas buried his face against her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Mom."
"No, sweetheart. No."
She held him tighter.
"Don't apologize."
Lucas pulled back enough to look at her.
"Rick said you didn't want me here."
Emily went completely still.
"What?"
"He said you were too sick to see me. He said I was making everything worse."
Her expression changed.
For a moment, she looked as though she had forgotten her own illness.
"Lucas, I have never said that."
The boy began crying again.
Emily kissed his forehead.
"I love you. Nothing will ever change that."
Daniel remained near the doorway, giving them space.
After a while, Emily looked up and saw him.
Her eyes widened.
"Daniel?"
He nodded.
"Hello, Emily."
She stared at him as though she were seeing a ghost.
"Michael said you might come."
Daniel felt a lump form in his throat.
"Michael told you about me?"
"Of course he did."
She looked toward Lucas, who was still holding her hand.
"He talked about you all the time."
Daniel looked down.
"I wish I'd known."
Emily's expression softened.
"So do I."
A doctor entered the room a few minutes later and explained that Emily was being treated for a serious but manageable medical condition. She had experienced complications that required extended care, and her recovery depended on regular treatment and a stable environment.
The doctor also explained that Emily had been under considerable stress.
Daniel listened carefully.
He did not assume that the illness had been caused by Rick. He did not make accusations the medical facts could not support.
But when the doctor left, Emily asked Lucas to step into the corridor with a nurse for a few minutes.
Then she looked at Daniel.
"Has Rick found you?"
"Yes."
Emily closed her eyes.
"I was afraid he would."
"What's going on?"
She took a slow breath.
"Rick came into our lives after Michael died. He told me he had known Michael through business. He said he could help me manage the estate and deal with the paperwork."
Daniel said nothing.
"At first, he seemed helpful. He drove me to appointments, paid a few bills, and offered to repair things around the house. I was grieving, and Lucas was very young. I didn't question him enough."
"What changed?"
Emily looked toward the window.
"After a few months, he began telling me that Michael had left debts. He said creditors were going to take the house unless I signed certain documents. He told me he could protect us if I gave him permission to manage the property."
"Did you sign?"
"Some documents. I thought they were temporary authorizations."
"Did you read them?"
Emily looked ashamed.
"Not carefully enough."
Daniel felt anger rising, but he kept his voice calm.
"What did he do with them?"
"I don't know everything. But I later discovered that he had used them to claim control over some of Michael's belongings. He said the motorcycle was legally his to sell."
"Was it?"
"No."
Emily looked directly at him.
"The motorcycle belonged to Michael. He left it to Lucas."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Do you have proof?"
"I have a copy of the will. Rick took the original documents, but I hid a photocopy before he could find it."
"Where?"
Emily hesitated.
"In a safety deposit box."
Daniel waited.
"I couldn't get to it after I became ill. Rick told me he would retrieve the papers, but he never brought them back."
"Do you remember the bank?"
"Millbrook Community Bank. The box is under my name."
Daniel nodded.
"That helps."
Emily took his hand.
"Daniel, there's something else."
He looked at her.
"Michael wasn't just investigating stolen motorcycles."
She glanced toward the door, making sure Lucas was still with the nurse.
"He discovered that someone was using a vehicle-recovery business to take possession of motorcycles under false pretenses. Some were reported stolen. Others belonged to people who had fallen behind on payments. The paperwork was manipulated, and the vehicles were resold."
Daniel remembered the notebook.
"Northbridge Recovery Services."
Emily's face went pale.
"You found the notebook?"
"Yes."
She closed her eyes.
"Then Rick will know you have it."
"Why?"
"Because he has been searching for it for years."
Daniel sat back.
"What exactly is in that notebook?"
"Names. Dates. Vehicle identification numbers. Payment records. Michael believed the information could prove that several people had been cheated."
"Why didn't he take it to the police?"
"He tried."
Daniel looked at her sharply.
Emily continued.
"He spoke to someone he trusted. He arranged to meet an investigator outside town. But the meeting never happened. Michael returned home frightened. He said someone had warned him to stop asking questions."
"Did he tell you who?"
"No."
"Did he say anything about Rick?"
Emily shook her head.
"Not at the time."
Daniel rubbed his face.
"Why did Michael disappear?"
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
"He didn't disappear willingly."
Daniel stopped moving.
"What do you mean?"
Emily struggled to sit more upright.
"Michael left home one evening and never came back. At first, I thought he had gone to meet you. He had been talking about the two of you making peace."
Daniel felt the words strike deep.
"He wanted to see me?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Two days before he died."
Daniel stared at her.
"He died?"
Emily looked at him in disbelief.
"Daniel, you didn't know?"
He shook his head slowly.
"No. I thought he had left town."
Emily covered her mouth.
"Oh, Daniel."
For several seconds, the room seemed to spin around him.
He gripped the edge of the chair.
"How did he die?"
"His motorcycle was found on a country road. The official report said it was an accident. They told me he had lost control and struck a barrier."
Daniel stared at the floor.