Chapter 6 - The Unraveling of Dr. Aris
By midnight, Spencer was sitting in an interrogation room at the 4th Precinct, handcuffed to an iron ring on the wall.
Sarah Lin, Detective Miller, and I sat in a private viewing room behind a one-way mirror, watching two senior state investigators present Spencer with the evidence we had collected over the past six hours.
"Mr. Parker," the lead investigator said, slapping a heavy stack of printed documents onto the metal table. "Your wife’s ledger provided us with thirty-two specific dates and bank transfer accounts linked to Dr. Michael Aris."
Spencer sat with his head down, his high-priced criminal defense attorney sitting beside him looking increasingly sick to his stomach.
"Three hours ago," the investigator continued, "federal agents raided Dr. Aris’s former medical office in Evanston. They recovered a hidden hard drive containing illegal genetic screening files for over forty patients—including your wife, Chloe Parker."
Spencer’s attorney leaned over, whispered frantically in Spencer’s ear, and then sat back, folding his hands.
"My client has no statement to make at this time," the attorney said flatly.
"He doesn't need to make a statement," Detective Miller said, stepping up to the glass on our side of the mirror and speaking through the wall mic. "Because fifteen minutes ago, Julianna Vance walked into the precinct lobby with her legal counsel."
Spencer’s head snapped up. His eyes widened in absolute terror as he stared at the one-way glass.
"Julianna Vance has provided a sworn statement," Miller announced over the speaker. "She confirmed that you provided her with twenty thousand dollars in cash last week to purchase an illegal, fake ultrasound report to present to your wife. She also turned over two years of text messages where you explicitly detailed your plan to declare Chloe mentally unfit after the birth of your son so you could retain sole custody."
"That’s a lie!" Spencer screamed, slamming his cuffed hands against the table. "She’s bitter! She’s trying to shake me down for child support!"
"We also have the medical examiner's report from your wife's 2022 procedure, Spencer," Miller added coldly. "The tissue samples retained in the state archive show high concentrations of mifepristone—a compound your wife was never prescribed by her primary physician, but which appears twelve times in your personal cash ledger under Dr. Aris’s notes."
The defense attorney turned to Spencer, his face pale. "Spencer... is this true?"
Spencer didn't answer. He collapsed forward onto the table, sobbing hysterically into his arms as the reality of a multi-count federal indictment settled over his shoulders like an iron coffin.
In the precinct lobby, I found Julianna Vance sitting on a wooden bench, wrapped in her cream coat, holding a cup of hot water. Her eyes were red, and her swollen belly was visible beneath her unbuttoned coat.
I walked over and sat down beside her.
She looked up at me, her hands trembling around her paper cup. "Are you... are you Chloe's mother?"
"I am," I said softly.
Julianna wiped a tear from her cheek. "I’m so sorry, Mrs. Parker. I swear to God I didn't know about the miscarriages. I didn't know what he was doing to her. He told me she was crazy... he told me she was keeping him hostage with fake medical reports..."
"He told everyone what they needed to hear to get what he wanted, Julianna," I said gently, reaching out to place my hand over hers. "You saved my daughter's life today by leaving that envelope under the cake."
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"I just wanted her to know the truth before he took her baby," Julianna whispered, fresh tears spilling over her eyes. "He was going to destroy both of us."
"He’s not going to destroy anyone ever again," I said.
