Ana

I have just finishes my morning run and I feel fabulous. I walk into our local coffee shop and get my regular English breakfast tea and find a table to relax. I am sitting here thinking how the hell I got this far in life. Well let me tell you my story.

I was born on the 21 September 1989 to Carla Megan Jacobs. I was 2 days old when my dad Sam Jacobs was found dead in an alleyway near our town house. Apparently the murder was unsolved due to evidence being compromised. This was the main reason I chose the job I have.

Anyway Carla didn't take long to grieve and married 3 weeks later. Husband number 2 Saul Stanley lasted an entire month and then divorced her. Sadly mom was left single again with an unwanted baby. 2 months later mom met Raymond Steele. Things with him were so different that he even legally gave me his last name. I was then known as Anastasia Rose Steele. I was 4 years old and dad had just collected me from school. When we got home mom had a male guest over and things started to get bad from there. Of course I didn't know what had happened at the time but soon figured out mom was having an affair and husband number 3 was soon gone.

Of course Ray always stayed in contact with me until my 6th birthday when mom met Bob Morton. After the wedding everything changed. Firstly he made mom sell our house and we moved into a rotten flat. He started off as a nice guy, then he started drinking and I would find myself hiding in my closet to drown out the shouting and screaming. School was my biggest escape so I would just study till it all went away. I took every extra class or activity I could at school so I didn't have to go home early. Of course because of this I was always top of my class. Not than anyone in my family noticed.

Then when I was in 5th grade the beatings started. I was only 10 at the time and didn't understand why this was happening to me. He would beat me so bad that I could not attend school because of the marks. Never once did Carla step in and help me. Carla got smart and made me home school because the school was wanting to know why I missed so many days. To tell you the truth it was the best thing she could have ever done for me because it allowed me to push myself to such an extent that I was doing two years worth of schooling in one year. Because of this I was able to graduate at 14 years old.

When I got my last results I was so happy I borrowed a measly $2 from a passed out Morton and went to call Ray to tell him I was ready to move in with him because I wanted to attend the college in Portland. I had already applied and because of my excellent results I was accepted with a full scholarship into medicine. Of course Ray was so excited he promised to pick me up first thing the next morning. Me being so naïve ran home and told my parents what was happening and that I was finally moving out. I guess things did not go according to my plans and that night Morton beat me so badly I was admitted to the ER with 6 broken ribs, a concussion, a fractured wrist and a very badly broken right ankle. The ER doctors also found 6 cigarette burns on my back between my shoulder blades. The burning started when I turned 10 but nobody knew. He would always burn the same spots. When the investigation started Carla covered for Morton and said there was no way it was him because they were together the entire time this happened to me. They both made it sound like I snuck out the house to see a boy and when mom went looking for me she found me like this in an alleyway. This broke my heart and from that day I moved in with Ray in Portland and never looked back.

I was with Ray 3 weeks after being released from hospital and still healing when I found a new best friends and now family Alex. I was sitting in the park studying forensics and he came and sat next to me without even asking. He took my book from me and said in such a cool tone at the time.

"Hell no you are too young to be looking at gross things like this little lady?" That day was the first day I laughed since the beatings. From there on we where inseparable. I would always introduce him as my older brother and he would introduce me as his baby sister. His family accepted me with no questions asked. Just by looking at him you would never say he is a computer geek. At the time he was 4 years older than me but we clicked instantly. He was studying computer science on the highest level and I soon realized he was a genies on the computer.

This was the fist person I ever told about what used to happen to me with Morton and Carla. He was so angry that we sat together and tracked Morton and started making his life miserable. He would clean Morton's bank accounts out almost weekly and send the police on raids of his house. We even applied for a credit card on his name and went on a Christmas shopping spree. After that we found out Morten changed his identity and went into hiding. This was even more frightening for me because now I didn't know who to look out for. Being around Alex so mush I learnt how to hack into almost every system out there. We also took defensive training together and martial arts and we participated in a lot of extreme sports. I vowed I will never sit back and let another person hurt me again. Ray was into fishing and that's where I learnt how to captain a boat. Ray insisted Alex and I get our skippers license so he didn't have to bother with steering the boat when fishing was clearly more interesting.

Of course almost all of my physical scars healed but the emotional ones still get to me at times. I have certain triggers that can cause me to totally withdrawal. The other thing that broke my heart was when I was told I will never be able to wear a beautiful stilettos heal because of the severalty of my broken ankle. So I stick to simple flat shoes and sneakers. Not that it bothers me anymore. Living with Ray was like a dream come true and I found me a big brother to look after me. I finally had a real family and they were not even blood relatives.

I went to the college in Portland as planned and Graduated two years early with a bachelor's degree in medicine. Then 4 years later I got my MD and studied a further 4 years in anatomic, clinical and forensic pathology. Alex and I graduated the same time. This was a very hard time for me knowing I will not get to see Alex everyday. Even though we moved to the same state we didn't see each other often but spoke every day. It was very hard for me in the beginning but I got used to it.

I done my 1 year fellowship in forensic pathology at Seattle Grace Hospital. I moved in to a digs with fellow colleagues because of my fear of being alone but still my nights were scary and lonely so to take my mind off it all I studied online. I done every course I could find in crime scene investigation and any other course I could take with regards to solving a murders or security systems. I suppose when Carla told me of my biological fathers murder it just stuck with me. I am the best at what I do because I refuse for any murder to be unsolved or compromised like my fathers was. I now even set up my own security systems at home because of my fear of Morton coming to finish the job.

I work privately from home in Seattle. Of course the only work I get is from the FBI and that is way more work than I can handle. I hate to turn a case away but I can only handle so much work.

Of course every once to often I get a call from Carla looking for this and that. I don't hold a grudge against her because she is my mother after all and she will have to account for her own actions. I know Alex will have my neck if he found out I was giving her money. She is now married for the 5th time to a Stanley Riley who has 6 kids of his own so in actually fact I have 6 siblings I have never met. Alex supplied me with a file on all their information. Lately I found out mom is pregnant with twins and it makes me sick. How could she be so stupid?

The hardest part of my life was when Ray passed away 2 years ago in a head on by a drunk driver. This was a very hard time for me and the same time I met my second best friend Kate. She was the leading reporter on my dads story. We have been inseparable ever since. I bought a condo and we moved in together. Kate always asks me why I don't date but how do you tell someone it's because of one of your mothers sick husbands. I did try to date a few times but as soon as my date would pick up a drink I would panic and see Morton so I gave up and refused to date because it seemed like everybody loved to drink. I don't think I will ever marry either because I will probably be like Carla and that would kill me. So I dedicate all my time to my work and Kate and Alex.

I still get to speak to Alex every day and that always cheers me up. Oh did I forget to mention he is a computer specialist in the Pentagon now and has access to everything your heart desires. I know he still looks out for me and had all my records and personal information sealed. If anyone tries to do a background check on me they will get an entire file of a false identity which is actually so funny. He is my personal go to guy for everything. He told me he has a surprise coming up for me and I cant wait to find out what it is.