Promises
          Chapter 9  
 

He sighed as he entered the tall thick gate. He had promised himself he would never come here. He never wanted to set foot in this place, but under the circumstances, he had no choice.
"Visitor for Carmen Santos," he heard someone say.
Danny stood in front of a glass panel, waiting to see the woman he had once known as his mother. Now, there were only feelings of hatred and betrayal. He was somewhat stunned when she entered the room. She looked so different from the last time he had seen her.
It had been over a year ago in the courtroom, the day the judge sentenced her to twenty years in jail. He never did understand how Ben got her off with that easy of a sentence. Considering the numerous charges against her, including the attempted murder of her daughter-in-law, she should be in here for life. But he knew Ben Warren and assumed he had probably blackmailed the judge. That day she had been a striking presence in one of her classic business suits with perfectly done make-up and hair.
Now though, she was so different. She was dressed in an orange jumpsuit with no makeup and her hair was pulled back away from her face. She looked a little pale and her once fiery eyes were lifeless. He pushed away a pang of sympathy that started to emerge. She tried to kill Michelle once, Danny reminded himself, she could have easily done it again.
He caught a sudden spark in her eyes, when she looked through the glass and saw he was her visitor. She smiled as she sat down reaching for the phone. Danny followed slowly, not returning her smile.
"Daniel," she smiled. "I'm so glad to see you. I have missed you so much."
"Save it," Danny snapped. "I didn't come for a social visit."
Carmen's smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "I thought maybe by your being here that you had forgiven me."
"Forgiven you?" he shouted into the phone. "Are you kidding me? You tried to kill my wife. I meant what I told you in the courtroom. I will never forgive you for that."
"Then why are you here?" she asked coldly.
"I need to know what was used to poison Michelle?" he asked point blank.
"Poison Michelle?" she asked confused. "Daniel, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Come on, mother," he demanded. "No one else wants Michelle dead, but you. Your plan didn't work though, because she's not dead."
"I didn't have anything to do with this," she snapped. "I'm locked up in a jail cell in case you've forgotten."
"No, I remember exactly where you are," Danny said. "I also remember what kind of monster you are. I know you still have contacts on the outside. So who did your dirty work for you this time?"
"I already told you," her voice rose. "I don't know anything. Check my visitor records if you don't believe me. My lawyer and your sister have been the only visitors I've had since I've been in here. I swear to you on your father's grave that I had nothing to do with this."
"Don't you dare talk about him," Danny warned.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Go to Ben. He can help you find out who did this to Michelle. Whether or not you believe me, I want you to be happy Daniel. I've had a lot of time to think since I've been in here. I know Michelle makes you happy and I want the two of you to have a wonderful life together. I know I interfered with that happiness in the past, but I promise you I have changed."
"You will never change," Danny smirked.
"I have," she pleaded. "Please, believe me. The Santos still have enemies lurking out there. Someone is after Michelle. For your sake and for hers, please find out who it is before it's too late."
A sudden chill crept up Danny's spine. What if she was telling the truth? What if the person after Michelle was still out there, waiting for the next opportunity to get to her? Glaring at his mother, he hung up the phone without saying good-bye. He got up and walked away despite her protests to pick the phone back up. He turned away not wanting to see a guard come lead his mother, sobbing, back to her jail cell.
He got outside as fast as he could. He took a deep breath of the late evening air. Frank could come check on the visitors records later. He needed to get back to the hospital to be with Michelle. There were so many feelings boiling inside of him right now. He needed to talk to someone. Normally he turned to Michelle, but she couldn't deal with all of this right now. She had to concentrate on getting stronger for her and their baby. No, he knew what he needed to do.
He pulled out his cell phone as he cranked his car. "Hey it's me. Can you meet me at the hospital?"