Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Stole Spencer’s Future
Spencer returned to the mansion with Pamela and two police detectives.
The photograph of Jocelyn lay inside a clear evidence sleeve on the nursery table. She appeared younger than Spencer expected, perhaps twenty-nine, with Charlee’s eyes and Conrad Warren’s unmistakable jawline.
On the back was the threat.
Give us the flash drive, or the next bag will be empty.
Casey stood near Dexter’s crib, furious.
“This placement is no longer safe.”
Spencer faced her.
“The intruder entered while six guards were outside.”
“That proves my point.”
“It proves moving Dexter through public roads would make him more vulnerable.”
“You are emotionally involved.”
“He may be my son.”
“He may also be the product of a crime.”
Spencer’s expression hardened.
“He is not a crime.”
Casey fell silent.
Pamela began crying again.
“This is my fault.”
“No,” Spencer said. “Your crime created the opportunity. Someone else chose to hurt him.”
The distinction was not forgiveness. Pamela understood that.
Lucas arrived with a cybersecurity specialist named Nina Park. They inserted Jocelyn’s flash drive into an isolated computer that had no connection to the mansion’s network.
The drive contained thirty-seven files.
Bank transfers.
Audio recordings.
Property deeds.
Clinic records.
And a video labeled FOR SPENCER.
Spencer played it.
Jocelyn appeared on screen, visibly pregnant and sitting in a dim room. She looked exhausted.
“If you’re watching this,” she began, “Everett knows I found the records.”
Spencer leaned closer.
Jocelyn explained that Everett had approached her eleven months earlier. He offered $500,000, housing, and lifelong medical care if she agreed to become a surrogate using material from an anonymous donor.
She believed the donor was unrelated.
Months later, she overheard Everett speaking with a physician. She learned the genetic material belonged to Spencer.
“I wanted to end the pregnancy,” Jocelyn said through tears. “Not because I didn’t love the baby, but because Everett lied about everything. The doctor said the pregnancy was too advanced and dangerous to terminate. I decided I would give birth, tell Spencer the truth, and surrender myself to the authorities if necessary.”
Charlee’s grandmother had been correct. Jocelyn was Spencer’s half sister, making Dexter the result of unauthorized genetic manipulation between close relatives.
Spencer felt physically ill.
But Jocelyn’s message continued.
“Everett does not care about the baby as a person. He needs a biological Warren heir.”
Lucas paused the recording.
“Why?”
Nina opened one of the legal files.
“Because Conrad Warren established a hidden family trust.”
Spencer stared at her.
“What trust?”
“A controlling block of Warren Biomedical stock was placed into a succession structure thirty-one years ago. It transfers to the youngest verified biological descendant of Conrad Warren when that descendant reaches legal adulthood.”
“I’ve never seen this.”
“It was concealed through offshore entities.”
Lucas read the trust terms.
“If no descendant exists, the shares revert to the Warren Charitable Foundation.”
Spencer understood immediately.
Everett controlled the foundation.
“If Dexter is recognized as my biological son,” he said, “Everett could attempt to control his inheritance.”
“Especially if you were dead or declared unfit,” Lucas added.
Pamela covered her mouth.
“He created Dexter as a financial instrument.”
Spencer looked at the sleeping newborn.
“No. He tried to.”
Nina opened another file.
It showed transfers from foundation accounts into companies linked to Everett. More than $180 million had disappeared over fifteen years.
Jocelyn had found evidence of the theft.
In the video, she described confronting Everett.
“He told me I had two choices. I could cooperate and raise the baby under his control, or I could disappear. I pretended to agree. But I copied everything.”
Her voice trembled.
“If something happens to me, Everett did it. And Spencer, I am sorry. I didn’t know you were the donor until it was too late. This child is innocent. Please don’t hate him because of what they did to us.”
The video ended.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Spencer walked to the crib.
Dexter’s hand moved in his sleep.
“He thought I would reject the baby,” Spencer said.
Lucas nodded slowly.
“That may explain why Dexter was left outside your house. Everett expected the infant to die or be taken into the system. Either outcome would bury the trust issue.”
“But someone placed the letter on the blanket,” Casey said. “Someone wanted Spencer to know.”
“Jocelyn,” Pamela whispered. “She may still be alive.”
Spencer turned.
“You said she disappeared before delivery.”
“I was told she did. But the clinic records show a patient identified only as Jane C. gave birth six days ago.”
Nina examined the metadata.
“The physician who signed the record is Dr. Malcolm Voss.”
Lucas searched the name.
“He operates a private surgical facility outside Bellwood.”
Spencer reached for his coat.
Casey blocked him.
“You cannot storm a medical facility.”
“Watch me.”
“Spencer.”
It was the first time she had used his first name.
He stopped.
“If Everett is involved, he expects you to react emotionally,” she said. “He wants you reckless.”
“My sister may be imprisoned.”
“And if you walk into a trap, Dexter loses both biological parents.”
The words struck him.
Casey continued more gently.
“Let the police obtain a warrant.”
“That could take hours.”
“Then use those hours to protect the children.”
Spencer hated that she was right.
Detectives began preparing the warrant while Nina searched the facility’s corporate records. Pamela agreed to provide a full statement in exchange for no guarantees regarding prosecution.
Spencer found Charlee in the library with Florence, who had been discharged into temporary home care. The little girl was drawing a picture of Dexter beneath a large yellow sun.
“Is my mom alive?” Charlee asked without looking up.
Spencer sat beside her.
“We found a video she made.”
Charlee’s crayon stopped.
“Did she talk about me?”
“Yes.”
That was a lie. Jocelyn had not mentioned Charlee directly in the recorded message.
Charlee looked at him.
“What did she say?”
Spencer felt Florence watching him.
“She said she was trying to come home.”
The girl’s eyes filled with tears.
“She left me.”
“She may have been trying to protect you.”
“That’s what Grandma says whenever grown-ups make bad choices.”
Florence lowered her gaze.
Charlee pushed the drawing away.
“My mom promised she would never disappear like my dad.”
Spencer understood broken promises better than he wanted to admit.
“Sometimes people are taken before they can keep a promise.”
“Did someone take her?”
“We think so.”
“Then go find her.”
“I will.”
“No.” Charlee stood. “You always say things like a boss. Say it like family.”
Spencer looked at her.
“I don’t know how.”
Charlee’s face crumpled.
“Then learn.”
She ran from the room.
Florence sighed.
“She’s angry because she’s scared.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Spencer turned toward her.
“You raised Jocelyn alone?”
“Yes.”
“My father never helped?”
“He gave me money once. I threw it at him.”
“That sounds expensive.”
Florence almost smiled.
“He deserved worse.”
“Why didn’t you tell me I had a sister?”
“I tried.”
Spencer frowned.
“When?”
“After Conrad died. I sent three letters.”
“I never received them.”
“Everett answered the last one. He said you wanted no contact.”
Spencer’s anger sharpened.
“He controlled my mail then.”
“He controlled more than you realized.”
Spencer looked through the library windows at the rain-soaked courtyard.
“I spent my entire life believing I was alone.”
“So did Jocelyn.”
The words carried no cruelty, only truth.
His phone rang.
The warrant had been approved.
Police entered Dr. Voss’s clinic shortly after midnight. Spencer waited in a command vehicle outside despite every instinct urging him to go inside.
Twenty minutes passed.
Then forty.
Finally, a detective emerged.
“We found a secured basement room.”
Spencer stood.
“Was Jocelyn there?”
“There was evidence someone had been held there. Blood, restraints, medical supplies.”
“But no Jocelyn?”
“No.”
“Dr. Voss?”
“Gone.”
Spencer’s hope collapsed.
The detective handed him a plastic evidence bag containing a bracelet.
Charlee’s name was engraved on it.
“Where did you find this?”
“Beside the restraints.”
Spencer recognized the bracelet from Jocelyn’s photograph. It had belonged to her daughter.
“She was there,” he said.
“We believe so.”
A second officer approached.
“We found surveillance footage from six days ago.”
The video showed a weak woman being wheeled from the clinic into a black van shortly after giving birth.
Everett stood beside the van.
But the most shocking figure appeared behind him.
Mabel Reed.
Spencer stared at the frozen image of his housekeeper.
The woman who had raised him after his mother died.
The woman currently inside the mansion with Dexter and Charlee.
He called security immediately.
No one answered.
He called Casey.
Her phone went straight to voicemail.
Then Charlee called him from Mabel’s phone.
She was whispering.
“Uncle Spencer?”
It was the first time she had called him that.
His heart pounded.
“Charlee, where are you?”
“In the nursery closet.”
“Where’s Dexter?”
“With me.”
“Where is Mabel?”
“She told the guards there was a gas leak. Everyone went outside.”
“Listen carefully. Lock the closet door.”
“I did.”
“Stay quiet. I’m coming.”
“There’s someone in the room.”
A floorboard creaked through the phone.
Charlee stopped breathing.
Then Mabel’s voice came from the other side of the closet door.
“Charlee, sweetheart, open the door.”
Spencer grabbed the command vehicle’s keys.
“Do not open it.”
Mabel knocked again.
“I’m trying to protect you.”
Charlee whispered into the phone.
“She has a needle.”
Spencer drove toward the mansion as though every second were stealing someone he loved.
May you like
Behind him, police vehicles followed with sirens cutting through the night.
On the phone, the closet handle began to turn.
