Eric receives letters, messages and cards, apparently from his dead wife, Elizabeth. Amy Wyatt (Chelsea Halfpenny), Eric and Val's foster daughter, is the original suspect, but the culprit is revealed to be Elizabeth's son, Michael. Michael, who had been to jail repeatedly, confronts Eric at Elizabeth's grave, and follows him back to the Grange, the B&B that Eric co-owns with Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen). He threatens to tell Val about his past; he leaves initially, but later tells Amy that he is demanding Eric pay him a lot of money or he will reveal Eric is a murderer. Eric produces a tyre iron and threatens Michael; when Michael returns to confront Eric again, Val tells him that the coroner's report states that Elizabeth was killed by falling debris. Val tells Michael that it is time to stop blaming Eric. He agrees and after a calm discussion, Eric persuades Michael to take the money he asked for and use it to start again. Michael then leaves the village.