Chapter Two

When Ana made a commitment, she moved quickly to honor it. After buying the necessary items for a toddler such as clothes, diapers, tippy-cups, baby-bed, dresser, and toys, her first mission was to rent a child friendly home with a large fenced-in yard. By July, they moved into a three-bedroom home in Seattle. She was fortunate that Grey & Associates had dealings with a Realtor Company that was very eager to help her.

Staci adjusted quickly to her new life. Ana decided it was because she and Amanda did resemble each other. Back home in Montesano they were jokingly called the "Bobbsie Twins" because they both had long brown hair, slim, and blue eyes. Staci looked so much like Ana that no questioned if they were mother and daughter. The only difference in them was that Staci had unusual gray eyes that sparkled when the light hit them and Ana had crystal blue eyes. Ana adored this little girl and proudly displayed her photograph in her office upon her walls and on her desk. Staci was now legally Anastasia Elizabeth Steele, the daughter of Ana Steele. Carrick used his contacts in the judicial pool and pushed through the homestudy and the adoption.

Ana found herself staring at the photograph of Staci and herself playing on the swingset that was built in the backyard. Staci was laughing as Ana kissed her on the cheek. She smiled at the memory. However, her attention went to the report that sat before her. Ana was disturbed by the information that was contained in these papers.

Background Check for Amanda Elizabeth Johnson

Name: Amanda Elizabeth Johnson, aka Mandy Johnson, aka Betsy Johnson

Birthdate: October 4, 1989

Place of Birth: Montesano, Washington

Parents: John Mark Johnson aka Jack Johnson and Sandra Elizabeth Crenshaw Johnson aka Sandy Johnson (parents are deceased)

Subject is an only child, with only one living blood relative, her maternal Aunt, Amanda Jane Crenshaw Hopkins, age 45, married with five children. The Aunt lives in Jackson Hole, WY.

Social Security Number: 555-55-5555

Education: Montesano Elementary School

Montesano Middle School

Montesano High School (did not graduate)

Employment: See notes

Last Known Address: 2121 Puckett Street, Apt. 3C, Seattle, WA (lease ended, September 2010, see notes)

Bank: Bank of America, 4568 Frazier Street, Seattle, WA: Account opened in 2009, monthly deposits noted (see notes) Account closed, September 2010.

Date of Death: Friday, June 17, 2011

Cause of Death: Auto Accident

Dependents: Anastasia Elizabeth Johnson

Born: Tuesday, June 1, 2010, Portland Memorial Hospital, Portland, Oregon

Weight: 5 lbs, 7 oz. Length: 20 inches

Attending Physician: Dr. Marcus Hamilton

Notes: Subject, Amanda Johnson was reported missing in 2004 by her parents. Subject was 14 years old. Considered a runaway. It is believed that the subject lived on the streets, places unknown. Subject reappears in 2008 in Seattle, WA working in various cafes as a waitress. Subject also worked at two different stripclubs as an exotic dancer. No addresses found. Subject is believed to live with fellow employees of said stripclubs. In 2009, subject is working at an exclusive BDSM club called The Monitor, 6969 Holly Drive, Seattle, WA, as a waitress. She worked there for two months then quit. After interviewing fellow employees, it is learned that the subject had become a Submissive. Subject is living at the last known address (see above). After investigating it is learned that the said property was leased by Grey Enterprises Holdings, Seattle, WA. While living at before mentioned address, subject's bank account received monthly deposits of $10,000 for three months, ending in October, 2009, from GEH, Inc. When lease ends, the subject appears to move to Portland, OR but could not find any lease or rental agreement in subject's name. It is believed that subject lived with friends. Subject gave birth in June, 2010 in Portland, OR. No address given on hospital admission papers, subject considered homeless. Social Services notified to address homeless problem. Subject moves into a woman's shelter in Portland, OR. She works for the shelter for a time, and then leaves with child. No known address for the next few months. In September 2010, subject moved to government housing in Seattle,WA, subject worked at Cups of Soup as a cashier, she also received food stamps and WIC for minor child. No father listed on Birth Certificate.

She moaned as she reread the information. Among the papers were explanations of the BDSM lifestyle for her reference. What made her stomach roll was that Amanda's apartment was leased by GEH and the monthly deposits came from GEH. Ana could only surmise that Christian Grey was Amanda's Dom and possibly the biological father of Staci.

"Oh, God," She breathed. "Anyone but the son of my employer. Anyone!" Ana decided that no one would ever find this information. She took all the papers and locked them in her wall safe for now, but made a mental note to take them to the bank later for safekeeping. Staci was now her daughter legally and she would take care of the little angel. Staci did not need a man like Christian Grey in her life. Ana had to protect the only piece of Amanda left so this information had to be buried and never seen again. She would just forget everything she learned and only look to the future of her child.

Ana left work early enough to make a trip to the bank to place Amanda's past into a safety deposit box. She went home to her child. Staci ran on chubby little legs to Ana as she came through the door. Ana swept Staci up into her arms and kissed her repeatedly. Staci's little hands cupped Ana's face and she kissed her back and said. "Mama." Ana felt the tears threaten to fall in pure joy. Staci called her Mama!

"Oh, baby-girl, I do love you." She hugged the little girl.

Kate watched with tears in her eyes also. She knew the sad story of how Ana became a mother at age 21. She smoothed back her blonde hair. "She has been asking for you all day." She declared. "She went from room to room looking for her Mama."

"You should have called me or brought her to the office." Ana said still holding Staci as she toed off her Jimmy Choos. " I am always available to my daughter."

"I have dinner ready, and I would like to go out tonight, unless you need me."

"Go on, Kate. Have a good night out. Staci and I are going to take a nice long bath and watch some TV." She kissed the top of Staci's head and took in her delightful scent. "It's been a long week and all I want to do is enjoy my baby girl."

Kate smiled at her employer. "You are a good Mom. Staci is a lucky little lady."

"You can take the weekend off also." Ana said as she sat down and let Staci climb over her. "Will you go see your parents?"

"I doubt it. My Dad is still pissed off at me for not taking that job that he offered me. He thinks I am wasting my time and talent being a nanny when I should be working for him or as a reporter. He doesn't see that I am taking some time to let that disastrous interview with Christian Grey die down and then maybe I will be considered for a job."

"I take it that Christian Grey had you blackballed."

"Yeah, he took exception to my opinion that he might be gay since he is never seen with a woman. He doesn't date. There are no photographs of him with a woman unless it's his mother, sister, or some family friend. He was pissed off and called in some favors and I can't even get an interview with Seattle Nooz."

"Wow, that is harsh. He should be used to such things being that he is a Fortune 500 member and considered the youngest and richest man under thirty in the United States. He needs to take a chill pill and get over himself."

"Well, he is an egotistical tyrant. He needs to be taken down a few pegs." Kate said lowly.

"I bet within a few months you will have a job in journalism. Don't worry, Kate. I have faith in you."

"Thank you, Ana, but it's going to hard to leave this little angel." She smiled at Staci who found Ana's cell phone and was punching the keypad with gusto. She was imitating her mother. "I think she likes cell phones."

"Maybe someday she will be a lawyer like her Mama." Ana kissed the top of Staci's head. "Go on Kate, get out of here and go have some fun!"

"You know, you could go with me. I've never seen you go out and have some fun."

"No, I want to be with Staci. She needs me more than I need to go out partying. I will not neglect my child." Not like my mother did to me. Her men friends and or husbands were always her priority, never me. Thank God for Ray Steele. He never took me for granted. He loves me and fought tooth and nail to get me back when Carla ran off with another man. God, I love that man. Even now, he supports my decision to be a mother at age twenty-one to my childhood friend's child. Maybe this weekend, Staci and I will go visit Daddy. He loves his little Anastasia as he calls her. Yes, it's time I see my Daddy and refresh my heart and soul in his loving home. Daddy always makes me feel safe and loved. "You go out and have fun, but be careful. Do you need a driver? I don't want you drinking and driving."

"Ana, calm down. I will take a taxi." She said with a smile. It felt good to have someone care about her. "I'm even leaving my car here."

"You can use the car service, you know. Actually, I will feel better if you would. I don't want anyone taking advantage of you."

"Ana."

"Kaaatttteee!" She drawled out. "Just use the car service and if you don't want to come back here…let me book a room for you at the Fairmont."

"Ana, don't. You are not responsible for me."

Ana's head shot up. "Yes, I am. You are in my employ and I consider you more than an employee. You are family now. You take care of my child and I do appreciate all that you do that is beyond your duties as nanny."

To hear those words brought tears to Kate's eyes. She never felt this way before, not even her parents made her feel this worthy and appreciated. "Thank you, Ana."

"No, thank you Kate for being so good to me and Staci." They shared a tender smile. "So, you will put my mind at ease and use the car service and the room at the Fairmont?"

"Yes, Ana…only because you guilted me into it."

"Whatever, you just know that I am correct on this matter of your safety." She noticed that Staci was still enamored of the cell phone. "She really does like that thing."

Ana's POV:

Kate's been gone for over four hours and Staci was bathed, fed, and she was sleeping soundly in her baby bed. I watch her sleep for a few minutes. She truly is a little angel. I can't believe how much I love her already. To be honest, I fell in love with her the first moment I saw her in the hospital after the car accident. When I look at Staci, I see Amanda when we were little girls. It's her smile. She has her mother's smile. I miss my friend. We had been close as children, then Carla fucked up our lives. She ran off with a lover taking me away from the only father I had known.

When I was taken away from Ray, Amanda was still living with her parents. I knew they had problems but I never would have guessed that Amanda's father would ever raise his hand to her. There had to be more going on in that household to make her run away. The story I was told was that Amanda and her father had an argument about her smoking. He spanked her and she ran away. Jack and Sandra searched for her for over a year, but ended up divorcing. Jack died three years later of a heart attack and Sandra died two years ago from breast cancer. I don't think Amanda ever knew that her parents had passed away.

I slowly back out of Staci's room and quietly shut her door. I know what I need to do. There are boxes of paperwork that belonged to Amanda. I found them when I cleaned out her small government subsidized apartment. I donated the furniture, Amanda and Staci's clothing, but I kept photographs and these boxes of paperwork.

I sit before the boxes. This was what was left of Amanda's short life. It's mostly bill receipts, newspaper clippings about me that surprise me a great deal. I guess Amanda kept tabs on me which makes me feel as if I was a horrible friend. I did think about her a great deal during those years that she was missing and I was in school, but I did not have the resources to look for her. I find a photograph that makes me tear up. It's Amanda and me dressed up for Halloween as Fairy Princesses. She was dressed in blue and I was dressed in pink. We both wore crowns and carried our magical wands. We have our arms about each other's shoulders and smiling big at the camera. What is funny, we both have our two front teeth missing. I believe that we are six or seven years old. I wipe away the tears. We were the Bobbsie twins!

I go to the next box and find manila folders. The top has writing on the tab but it's faded and I can't read it. I open the folder and I am almost sick. The first thing I see is a photograph of Amanda shackled with her arms stretched over her head and her legs spread apart with a bar or stick strapped to her ankles. She is naked. I squinted my eyes and see what looks like clamps on her nipples. Her head is thrown back and I can see red welts across her stomach, breasts, and thighs. I want to get sick when I read the note that is connected to it.

Miss Johnson,

This is just a friendly reminder of the NDA that you signed before you signed the contract. I warn you not to speak of our former relationship or me with anyone. I would hate to see this photograph made public.

I wish you a happy life in whatever you do.

Christian Grey

I reread the warning once again. I really do hate that man. He is evil. I don't see how he could be the son of Grace and Carrick Grey. Why would someone want to do this? What sick shit did he do to Amanda? Then I find the contract that they both signed. My stomach pitches and rolls as I read it. I cannot even imagine some of the acts listed. What are hard limits and soft limits? Oh, God, he controlled every aspect of her life from what she ate to what she wore and even how much she should sleep and exercise. She could not look at him unless permission was given and she could never touch him. The contract listed nipple clamps, butt plugs, vibrators, handcuffs, robe, chains, belts, whips, floggers, riding crops, and canes. Fuck, this is some hard-core shit.

Oh, God, Amanda…did you do this crap? Was your child conceived in this manner? The idea of Amanda tied up and impregnated breaks my heart. A child should be conceived in love, not some sadistic sex play to bring satisfaction to some sex freak. I think if I ever do meet Christian Grey I will be hard-pressed not to punch him in the face.

I sit in my little home office among Amanda's papers. My first reaction is to take all this crap to the press and expose The Great Christian Grey, but I have to think about Staci. If she was to learn about this situation, it would break her heart and I have no idea what kind of psychological harm she would experience. No child should be told that she was conceived while her mother was tied up and flogged. I gather all the papers that have any connection to Christian Grey and his lifestyle and place them in a large envelope. I will put all this in the safety deposit box just in case I need it in the future. Legally there's nothing I can do since Amanda was of age sexually. She went into this relationship on her own accord. I wonder if she knew that BDSM contracts couldn't be enforced in a court of law. The NDA agreement however is very enforceable, so that explains why she never told anyone. I pick up the rest of the papers. They would go into storage and I will have all her photographs professionally scraped book for Staci. I did keep a baby picture of Staci and it will sit on my desk at work. The other photograph of Amanda and me will stay here in my home office. Someday, I will show it to Staci and tell her how much I loved her biological mother and what happiness we had together.

"Oh, Amanda, why didn't you go to Ray? Daddy would have taken care of you. God, I miss you so much. You knew where I was, why didn't you call…write…anything? I would have found a way to help." I wipe the tears from my face. "I promise, Amanda, I will love and cherish Staci. She will never know coldness or hunger. I will keep her safe. She will have every opportunity. I promise, Amanda, Staci will be a happy and loved child."

Carrick's POV:

In all the years of being an attorney, Carrick had never seen someone so young so accomplished as his new law associate, Ana Steele. She proved herself a tough negotiator and knew business law, trial law, and family law like the back of her hand. He considered her his secret weapon because most people overlooked her because of her petite stature and her youth. His opponents never thought this young dynamo could sweep the floor with their asses.

He also admired her. She took responsibility very serious. She took in the orphaned daughter of her childhood friend and adopted her. Staci Johnson was now Staci Steele, the daughter of Anastasia Rose Steele. Not many young people would do that. She could have easily signed away her rights to the child and placed Staci in the foster care system in hopes that she would be adopted. Carrick sighed. Ana Steele was one of his finest accomplishments besides marrying his beloved Grace and having their three children. He was so glad that he kept in touch with Raymond Steele after the man divorced the flighty and goofy, Carla. When Ray finally got his daughter back and learned that Ana was a child prodigy, he contacted Carrick for advice. Together, Carrick and Ray decided to send her to a special academy for gifted students and watched her blossom. She rose to every challenge and more than met their expectations of her.

Ana, in Carrick's eyes was his daughter. Yes, he loved Mia to the sun and back, but there was something about Ana. Not that there is anything wrong with his three children, he loved them unconditionally. Elliot, the oldest worked in the construction business, actually he owned a very successful construction business. The young man worked hard and played hard. In a male chauvinist way, Carrick was secretly proud that his oldest son was such a ladies' man. It was rumored that Elliot slept with half the women in Seattle. Mia, his youngest was a year younger than Ana at age twenty, and she was still trying to find herself. Mia tried college twice but dropped out twice. She went to a prestigious cooking academy in Paris and finally graduated but never used her gift. Mia lived at home and became the cliché of a rich spoiled young woman. He made a mental note to speak with his beloved wife about their youngest soon.

Christian. Then there is Christian Grey, his middle son, his wife's favorite child even though she would never admit it to anyone, including herself. Christian, the troubled abused child that they adopted when he was four years old and he challenged their patience all through his life. Carrick was proud of Christian even though he had dropped out of Harvard right after his Junior year. However, Christian went on to become the youngest billionaire in the United States before his 25th birthday. Everything Christian did was a success except for one area…women! He never had a girlfriend. The family believed that Christian was gay. Carrick had no problem about that, but he wished his middle son would just come out of the closet and begin to share his life with his family.

Carrick smiled when he thought about today's courts proceedings. Ana had the judge and the jury eating out of her hand. No one expected this little thing to be so strong. She mopped up the other lawyer and made him look like a fool. She won her case for their client and made a tidy sum for the law firm. He wondered if he should introduce Ana to Elliot. It would be nice to have her in the family as a daughter-in-law. He would then have a Grey to leave his law firm to when he passed on. None of his children gravitated toward law, even though Christian did have the intelligence to do so, just not the interest. For some reason, Ana never met his children through the years but then again, when did she have the time. She was a Stepford student. She studied and studied more. This is why she graduated high school and college so quickly. She tested out of more than half her classes when going for her pre-law degree, and law school was a breeze. She studied law for her degree and for the bar exam at the same time. He knew lawyers that took the bar exam three or four times before they passed it. She was amazing.

"Gracie, my love." Carrick purred to his wife over the phone. "I was thinking of having company tonight for dinner. What do you think?"

"Well, this is our weekly family dinner, my dear. I don't get to see our children enough as it is, and half the time Christian doesn't even bother to show up."

"He won't be there tonight. He is in China." Carrick hated to hear the disappointment in his wife's voice. "I do have an ulterior motive and it involves Ana Steele and our oldest."

"Carrick Mason Grey, are you playing matchmaker?" She was laughing softly.

"Sort of. I just want them to meet and see if anything happens."

"Well, I think it is a wonderful idea. I adore Ana and always wanted her and Ray to be closer to us, but they had their reasons to keep their distance."

"Ray thought it best for Ana not to be influenced by our wealth. He wanted her to get a great education but not become a spoiled little…well you know."

"You mean, he didn't want her turning out like Mia." Grace took a deep breath. They needed to do something with their youngest. She was as a rudderless boat sent adrift on the open ocean. She had no direction and was happy to float about letting her parents and brothers take care of her. "Okay, Cary, invite Ana."

"Honey, thank you. Who knows, if everything works out, we might be planning a wedding."