Carol missed her family, so as a reward for her obedience Cameron allowed her to write three letters to her sisters to let them know she was alive. He checked the letters' contents before sending them out. He even let her call home once from a payphone, and eventually even arranged for a visit. He said it was rare that the company allowed such a thing, and they would be monitoring it carefully.
She was left inside the box for a full week before being taken out to go on her trip. Cameron had warned her that the company might put her through some tests first, and he gave her a description of their museum of skeletons from other runaway slaves. Yet in the end, he said, the company had decided to forego the tests, but if she said anything to anyone about her situation, they would rush in and grab her.
On March 20, 1981, three and a half years into her captivity, Cameron provided Carol with a cover story about him being a computer programmer with whom she was involved, and then took her to meet with her parents and sisters.
(a cover story about her being in a residential treatment center, surrounded by counselors helping her and that she was a very very sick/irresponsible girl making bad choices who needed help)
Her father, utterly surprised to see her and this new "boyfriend" who did not even wait to be introduced, noted her thin, haggard appearance. Afraid that they had offended her in some way to have made her disappear for so long, the family walked on eggshells, leaving their many questions unspoken. Carol remained vague about where she had been, but she was overjoyed to see them all. She was not sure how long she had—she hoped for a whole weekend—but all she wanted was to make every minute count.
"She gave us no information on where she'd been," Jenise recalled, "or on where she'd be going. We were all afraid to sit her down and get it out of her. We were afraid we would lose her again."
The next morning, she went to visit her mother, who lived a few blocks away and who took her to church and to see other relatives. Then it was over. "Mike" called and said he would be there soon to pick her up. After only 24 hours, he had decided to cut her visit short.
When it came time for Cameron to pick her up to take her back to Red Bluff (academy) , she told her family that he was her fiancé. Her sister took a picture of the two of them, and she thought Carol looked happy. She did not know how badly Carol wanted to beg her for help.
And if she did, her parents would inform red bluff academy. Red bluff Academy would give her many consquences, and add time to her treatment, as she had not internalized the values, and had clearly not made a true change
