Daniel was extremely close with his mother and her unexpected death left him heartbroken. He resented his father for re-marrying only 6 months after becoming widowed, and took out his frustrations on his stepmother, Maggie Evans Collins. He was very cruel to her and often played tricks on her in order to drive her out of the house. When his mother's twin sister, Alexis Stokes, arrived at Collinwood, he was sure it his mother had returned from the grave, as she had promised him she would (991).