Chapter 13: The Mother Waiting in Ohio
The address on Frank's final investigation report belonged to a nursing home outside Columbus, Ohio.
Margaret read it three times.
Then she looked at Eleanor.
“Is she really there?””
Eleanor nodded.
“The report was updated eighteen months before Frank died. I can't guarantee she's still at that facility, but we have enough information to begin.””
Daniel was already reaching for his motorcycle keys.
“I'm going.””
Marcus stepped in front of him.
“Not alone.””
“I didn't ask you to come.””
“Good. Because I'm coming anyway.””
Cole grabbed his jacket.
“Same here.””
Ethan began gathering the documents.
“I'm staying until we know how to protect Margaret's legal interests. Peter and Eleanor need to handle the trust.””
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't want anybody getting hurt because of me.””
Marcus looked him straight in the eyes.
“Brother, we've ridden through snowstorms, broken-down highways, and hospital parking lots together. You're not riding into this alone.””
Daniel looked down.
For once, he didn't argue.
Margaret approached him.
“May I ask you something?””
“Of course.””
“Would you let me come?””
Daniel looked surprised.
“Margaret, it's a long drive.””
“I've waited thirty years to meet my sister again. I won't wait another day if there's a chance she's alive.””
Daniel gently touched her arm.
“Then we'll go together.””
Vanessa offered to stay with Lily.
Peter agreed to accompany them, explaining that the facility might require legal documentation before releasing any information.
Before they left, Eleanor handed Margaret a sealed envelope.
“Frank left this with me. He instructed me to give it to you if you ever found Helen.””
Margaret turned it over.
Her husband's handwriting covered the front.
For the two sisters who should never have been separated.
She slipped it into her purse.
At 7:15 the following morning, four motorcycles and Margaret's sedan pulled out of Maple Ridge.
The journey took nearly eight hours.
Nobody spoke much during the first half.
Daniel rode behind Marcus, his thoughts moving faster than the road beneath them.
He kept remembering his adoptive mother.
Patricia had always made Thanksgiving special. She used to place an extra chair at the table and say there was always room for somebody who needed a family.
When she died, Daniel had kept her handwritten recipes.
Now he was traveling to meet a woman who had given birth to him but might not even recognize his face.
Marcus noticed him growing quiet at a rest stop.
“You okay?””
Daniel stared at the coffee in his hand.
“What if she doesn't want to see me?””
Marcus leaned against the motorcycle.
“Then we'll respect that.””
“What if she never wanted me?””
Marcus looked at him.
“Your adoptive mother told you that you were chosen, didn't she?””
Daniel nodded.
“Then believe the woman who raised you. Not the man who spent decades keeping secrets.””
Daniel took a breath.
“Thanks.””
“Don't thank me yet. Buy me a sandwich.””
Daniel laughed for the first time that morning.
By 3:40 p.m., they reached Rosewood's successor facility.
The original nursing home had closed years earlier. Its residents had been transferred to a modern care center called Willow Creek Residence.
Peter went inside first.
A receptionist looked up.
“Good afternoon. Can I help you?””
Peter introduced himself and explained that they were searching for a former resident named Helen Whitmore.
The receptionist typed something into the computer.
Her expression changed.
“I'm sorry. We can't release private medical information.””
Peter presented the authorization letter Eleanor had prepared.
The receptionist examined it.
“Please wait.””
She disappeared into an office.
Five minutes later, a woman in her sixties approached.
“I’m Dr. Caroline Miller, the facility director. You're asking about Helen Bell?””
Margaret froze.
“Bell?””
Dr. Miller nodded.
“She was admitted under that surname.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Is she alive?””
The doctor looked at him carefully.
“Yes.””
Margaret grabbed the edge of the counter.
“Can I see her?””
Dr. Miller hesitated.
“Mrs. Bell has significant memory difficulties. She doesn't always recognize visitors. Some days she speaks very little.””
Margaret's eyes filled.
“I understand.””
“There's another concern. She has a legal guardian.””
Peter frowned.
“Who?””
Dr. Miller checked the file.
“Thomas Bell.””
Daniel's face hardened.
“Of course.””
Peter immediately requested the guardianship records.
Dr. Miller looked uncomfortable.
“There may be a problem. Thomas Bell visited two weeks ago. He left written instructions that no one claiming to be related to Mrs. Bell should be allowed to visit without his approval.””
Margaret stared at her.
“He has no right to keep me away from my sister.””
Peter opened his briefcase.
“Then we'll establish her legal rights and challenge any improper restrictions.””
Dr. Miller looked toward the hallway.
“There's something else you should know.””
“What?”” Daniel asked.
“Mrs. Bell has been asking about two boys.””
Margaret covered her mouth.
“What boys?””
Dr. Miller checked the notes.
“She calls them Richard and Daniel.””
Daniel went completely still.
Dr. Miller continued.
“She has been asking whether they've come home for Thanksgiving.””
Margaret began crying.
For nearly fifty years, Helen had remembered the children she had lost.
And now, after all those years, one of them was standing less than twenty feet away.
“Please,” Daniel whispered.
“Can I see her?””
Dr. Miller nodded.
“I'll ask her nurse.””
They were led down a quiet corridor.
At the end was a small room overlooking a garden.
An elderly woman sat beside the window.
Her silver hair was neatly brushed. A knitted blanket covered her legs. On the table beside her rested a photograph of two babies.
Daniel stopped breathing.
He recognized the photograph.
The same one Eleanor had shown them.
The nurse approached.
“Helen, you have visitors.””
The woman turned slowly.
Margaret stepped forward.
“Helen?””
The elderly woman's eyes narrowed.
For a moment, there was no recognition.
Then her lips parted.
“Margaret?””
Margaret dropped her purse.
“Oh, Helen.””
The sisters reached for each other.
Margaret knelt beside the chair, crying into Helen's hands.
“I thought you were dead.””
Helen began trembling.
“I thought you'd forgotten me.””
“Never.””
Helen looked past her sister.
Her gaze landed on Daniel.
The room became completely silent.
She studied his face.
Then her eyes moved to the birthmark near his ear.
“Danny?””
Daniel's knees nearly gave way.
“I'm here.””
Helen reached toward him.
“My baby.””
Daniel dropped beside her chair.
She touched his face with both hands.
“You're so big.””
Daniel laughed through his tears.
“I'm forty-seven, Mom.””
Helen looked confused.
Then she smiled.
“I know.””
She kissed his forehead.
“My Danny.””
Marcus quietly turned away.
Even Cole wiped his eyes.
But the reunion was interrupted when Dr. Miller entered the room holding a telephone.
“I'm sorry,” she said.
“We have a problem.””
Peter turned.
“What happened?””
“Thomas Bell just called.””
Margaret's expression hardened.
“What did he say?””
Dr. Miller swallowed.
“He's on his way here.””
May you like
Then she added something worse.
“He says Helen is being discharged tonight.””
