When Spencer woke up the next morning he felt both nervous & relieved. He was nervous about how he'd be perceived for killing Ursula but relieved that he was no longer under her control.
"There's no turning back. I've gone past the point of no return. I don't care what happens to me. At least I'm free from Aunt Ursula's control. Hopefully when the truth comes out people will see her for who she really was. I did what I did for my own wellbeing. I guess now it's time to reveal the truth" thought Spencer as he got up & dressed himself. Ursula's corpse was still on the bed. Spencer sighed as he looked at it before getting in his wheelchair & gathering all the evidence he had against Ursula for her abusive & fraudulent ways. He then left the hotel room leaving a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the door to avoid causing a panic should the scene be stumbled upon. Spencer then went to the elevator & headed to ground level. He wheeled himself outside & decided to go to Mr Porter's.
"I don't know how long it'll take to reveal the truth but I'm ready. This is the only way. I must reveal the truth not only to expose Aunt Ursula but also to show how I was strung along unwillingly for several years as part of her game of lies. My life hopefully will get back on track starting today" said Spencer as he wheeled himself along. He arrived at Mr Porter's just as he was opening for the day. Spencer picked a table to sit at & looked over the menu while waiting for an opportunity to tell someone the truth. Meanwhile Elias & his inner circle were heading to school. As they went past Mr Porter's they saw Spencer by himself which made them a bit suspicious.
"Pull over Pasquale. We have to sort something out" said Elias.
"OK" said Pasquale as he parked by Mr Porter's. Colby, Constance, Elias & Kelly got out of the limo & approached Spencer unsure of why he was by himself.
"Good morning Spencer. Where's your aunt Ursula?" asked Colby in a confused voice.
"She's dead. I killed her last night" said Spencer with a sigh.
"What are you talking about?" asked Constance.
"Remember how she told you that I had all these injuries & illnesses yesterday? That was all a lie. For the last 7 years she's been lying about my health to swindle people in order to live lavishly without having to work for it" said Spencer in a sombre tone.
"I don't understand. How could she have faked it all?" asked Elias in a curious manner.
"I have the evidence here. Look" said Spencer as he showed the evidence he'd compiled. Colby, Constance, Elias & Kelly looked over the evidence of the abuse & fraud Ursula committed. They all gasped in shock at the extensive lengths to which it had gone.
"I can't believe this. How long has this been going on for?" asked Kelly.
"7 years. My parents did die in a car accident, but Ursula lied about me being involved in it. Since that day until yesterday she fabricated as many different health problems as possible that she could think of to get sympathy from others & manipulate them into donating cash, gifts, supposed necessities & other items she claimed she couldn't afford herself. She used her occupation as a nurse to fool everyone. Almost nobody knew the truth. I was an unwilling pawn in her game of lies. Last night I killed her by stabbing her in the heart. Running away wouldn't have worked as I'd be taken back to her & would be abused for it, I don't have any other living family I can go & live with & I felt like going to the authorities would've been nearly impossible since Ursula made sure she was around me as much as possible so I couldn't sneak off. I also feared she'd discredit my claims if I tried to expose her. I didn't know what else to do. Killing her was the only other way out I could think of" said Spencer in sadness.
"Do you even need the wheelchair?" asked Colby.
"No. I can walk perfectly fine" said Spencer as he stood up & walked around the table.
"Wow. I don't even know what to think of all this" said Constance in a surprised voice.
"I wanted to tell someone about this before turning myself in. I don't care what happens to me. At the very least I can say I'm not under Ursula's control anymore" said Spencer.
"Take this. It's money for bail & other legal costs you might have" said Elias as he wrote Spencer a cheque for $1,000,000.
"Thanks. I hope everything turns out OK. Don't worry about me. I can handle this" said Spencer in a reassuring tone.
"If you insist. We need to get to school. Good luck with the authorities" said Kelly as she & the others got back in the limo & headed to school. Spencer called the authorities where he confessed to what he did & why. 30 minutes later the police arrived at Mr Porter's where they found Spencer waiting. He willingly agreed to go with them without resistance. Other officers had gone to the hotel Spencer & Ursula were staying at. They found Ursula's corpse in the room & began investigating the scene as well as interviewing staff & other guests to see if they could provide any information about anything they'd heard or seen the previous evening. At the police station Spencer told his story & showed the officers the evidence he had. The officers looked over the evidence before taking it to the prosecutor's office to see what steps would be taken next. Spencer was placed in a cell charged with murder. He sat in the cell unsure of what his fate would be.
"I can't say I'm surprised by how this has played out so far. Whether or not I'll get a chance of a plea deal of some sort depends on what the prosecutors say. I'll accept whatever I get. I know what I did & I have nothing to hide. The more honest I am about this the better my outcome will be" said Spencer as he sat & waited for further developments. While this happened Elias & company arrived at school. They immediately told their friends about Spencer & what had happened which came as a surprise to them.
"I didn't see that coming at all" said Ace in a shocked manner.
"I was quite surprised myself when these guys told me after checking in with Spencer" said Constantine.
"Is he at the police station right now?" asked Carlos in uncertainty.
"As far as we know he turned himself in" said Cora with a sigh.
"I assume he'll be charged with murder for what he did" said Danny.
"He was smart enough to collect evidence proving that Ursula was abusing him & defrauding the community for years. That might help his case in court" said Elias in a hopeful voice.
"I guess we'll have to wait & see" said Katie as she shrugged.
"Elias gave him $1,000,000 to use for bail & other legal costs he might have in relation to the criminal proceedings" said Kelly.
"That's nice. Maybe after school we could go see if we're allowed to visit him" said Mayabella.
"It depends on whether the court will allow us to do so. Right now, all we can do is hope for the best" said Ryder as the bell rang signalling the beginning of the school day. The students headed to class after getting what they needed. Word quickly spread around school about Spencer. By recess almost everyone in school had found out. Other people in town also learnt of the unfolding events from hotel guests who explained what they knew. Spencer remained in a cell until midday when he was brought to Adventure Bay Courthouse. Inside the courtroom were a judge, prosecutor, defender, bailiff & public witnesses. Spencer took a deep breath to keep himself calm. Once everyone was seated the court session began.
"Spencer Harrison you have been charged with murder in the stabbing death of Ursula Harrison-Franklin. Despite this the prosecutor's office has looked at the evidence you provided regarding abuse & fraud Ursula committed. The lead prosecutor has concluded that there are significant mitigating circumstances in this case & has decided to offer you a plea deal. The deal is that if you agree to plead no contest to manslaughter you will not receive any form of detention in juvenile hall or prison. You will instead receive 7 years of probation which means you will be free to live in the community but there are some conditions you must abide by. Those conditions include regular therapy sessions for the duration of the probationary period, the requirement that you do not commit any further criminal offences during the probationary period & that you complete your high school education. Failure to comply will result in further legal consequences. Do you understand?" asked the judge.
"Yes. I plead no contest to manslaughter" said Spencer with a sigh of relief.
"Very well. I hereby hand down a probationary period of 7 years meaning you will be on probation until age 21. I hope you don't waste the opportunity in front of you & live a productive life" said the judge as he banged his gavel.
"Thank you your honour. I will do my best to live my life as productive as possible. Today is the 1ST day of my new life which I vow to make the most of" said Spencer as he began crying tears of joy. He then left the courtroom content with the verdict.
"This is amazing. I feel like a huge weight has just been lifted off my shoulders. Now I can live my life how I want. I'm going to make sure this whole incident won't have been all for nothing" said Spencer as he went to get himself something to eat. Back at school the students ate lunch. Just about everybody there had learned about Spencer & his actions by this point.
"Do you think there's a chance Spencer's story will become worldwide news?" asked Colby in a curious tone.
"If it does I can't say I'd be surprised. He was very smart to keep all that evidence against Ursula" said Constance.
"Agreed. I feel bad for him knowing now that he basically suffered in silence for the last 7 years" said Elias in a sympathetic manner.
"Me too. Nobody should be forced to live a lie like that. That'd be awful" said Kelly with a sigh.
"I'm sure now he'll be able to live more independently no matter what happens. As long as he makes the most of his life going forward he should become a productive member of society" said Ryder as everyone continued eating & discussing the recent events. The remainder of the school day came & went by quickly. After school finished everyone went to see if Spencer was still in custody. They were told of the court proceedings & how Spencer was free with 7 years of probation. Everyone was pleasantly surprised by this revelation.
"Looks like things worked out well for him" said Colby in relief.
"The evidence he gathered was arguably what helped. Without it he'd probably still be locked up" said Constance.
"I wonder where he is now" said Elias in an uncertain voice.
"Let's go have a look" said Kelly as everyone went to look for Spencer. They found him down on the beach in front of City Hall.
"Hi Spencer. We heard about the court session" said Colby with a smile.
"I couldn't be happier with the outcome. I must attend therapy, complete my high school education & avoid committing any further criminal offences during my probation period. Other than that, I'm completely free" said Spencer in an ecstatic tone.
"What are you going to do now in terms of finding somewhere to live?" asked Constance in a curious manner.
"I haven't fought that far ahead yet. I would like to live somewhere close to the beach. I haven't had the chance to come to a place like this for a long time" said Spencer.
"Maybe Captain Turbot & Francois could take you in. They live on nearby Seal Island" said Elias as he pointed to Seal Island.
"That'd be perfect. I love the ocean. It's so beautiful & mesmerising in many ways" said Spencer in eagerness.
"Should we give Captain Turbot a call & discuss this with him?" asked Kelly.
"I'm on it" said Ryder as he called Captain Turbot. A short time later Captain Turbot & Francois arrived on the beach where they were introduced to Spencer.
"Nice to meet you Spencer. I'm Horatio & this is my cousin Francois" said Captain Turbot as he shook Spencer's hand.
"It's a pleasure. I assume you've heard about what happened over the last 24 hours" said Spencer in an uncertain voice.
"Yes. We heard about it a few hours ago at lunch. Other people were discussing the situation" said Francois with a nod of confirmation.
"I see. Now that I'm free of Aunt Ursula's manipulation & lies I need a new home. I love the ocean & I hear you live nearby" said Spencer with an eager smile.
"We sure do. We also have a pup named Nikita. She's a Golden Retriever" said Captain Turbot.
"Nice. Would it be OK with you if I lived with you?" asked Spencer in a hopeful tone.
"I don't see why not. Me & Francois can file the official paperwork to legally adopt you" said Captain Turbot.
"That sounds fantastic. Thank you so much" said Spencer as he gave Captain Turbot & Francois a hug. The Turbot cousins went to City Hall & filled out the necessary paperwork making them Spencer's new legal guardians. For the rest of the day everyone stayed on the beach hanging out together. As night fell everyone headed home. When Spencer arrived at the house on Seal Island he took an instant liking to it.
"This is a nice little house. I'm going to like it here" said Spencer in a cheerful manner.
"Excellent. We look forward to sharing our passions with you" said Francois as Nikita walked over. Spencer introduced himself to her & pet her. Captain Turbot & Francois then made dinner for everyone. Later that night as everyone settled down for the evening Spencer lay awake wondering what his new life would be like.
"Even though I've known them for only a few hours Captain Turbot & Francois seem like fantastic people. They'll surely be much better to me than Ursula ever was. I look forward to getting my life back on track. No longer do I have to go along with a dirty plan unwillingly. My new life will be free from all that. A good proactive life is how I shall live & nobody will stop me from achieving that" thought Spencer as he fell asleep.
THE END
