(Pages) Display custom format, using reciprocal fields

[Sonya*]

I am trying to bypass the permission issue for reciprocal items. I have created a new field to pull and display reciprocal items on my own. The Display Custom Format:

{$record->_title} <!-- This works and return the title of the actual record -->
{$record->database()->database_id} <!-- This does not output anything -->
{{$reciprocalFields = $record->getReciprocalItems();}}
Linking items: {$reciprocalFields} <!-- Empty as well, although there are two databases linking to this one -->

It seems, I can have attributes of the record in Display Custom Format, but cannot have a value returned via the method. Right?

Question: how do I get the reciprocal fields into the Display Custom Format of the custom field?