My mind was spinning. We'd always had nannies coming and going, so Alexis still being here wasn’t surprising. But why was Ulrich here? He was a driver, so what was he doing in my house in the middle of the night?

And more importantly… who were they calling "son"? Pregnant? What the hell were they talking about?

A terrible feeling settled in my gut, a creeping unease that I tried to push away. Maybe I was overthinking things. Maybe this wasn’t what it sounded like. But then—I heard his voice.

That familiar, warm, easygoing voice that had been my comfort for years.

"I was already planning to propose," Spencer said, like it was no big deal. "It’s just a matter of time. No need to rush."

I went cold. Spencer’s last name was Sherman. That much I knew. And in all the years I had been with him, I had never once connected him to Alexis or Ulrich.

But now, suddenly, it all made sense. Had they given Spencer Alexis’s last name? Had they faked a name altogether? She never mentioned having a son, why?

Looking back, the signs had been there all along.

No wonder Alexis and Ulrich knew so much about my family's preferences from the moment they arrived. I had assumed they were just good at their jobs. Turns out, someone had been feeding them information.

No wonder Alexis always acted so pitiful in front of Spencer. She wasn’t trying to win his sympathy—she was trying to win over her own son.

I gripped the glass in my hand, my knuckles turning white. I had known Spencer was planning to propose. I had even played along, pretending not to notice so he could have his big romantic moment.

But now, it wasn’t a surprise. It was a setup, a scam.

"What if she doesn’t agree?" Ulrich’s voice cut through the air, sharp and smug. "Hmm, maybe we should start making other plan. If she gets pregnant, she won’t have a choice but to marry you."

A shiver ran down my spine. Then Spencer spoke again, his tone light, almost indifferent. "Yeah, I know."

The words knocked the breath out of me.

I had spent years with him, believing I knew him inside and out. But in this moment, everything, the laughter, the memories, the trust, felt like one big lie.

Spencer was never an orphan. That story was just another carefully crafted deception. And the worst part, he had let them into my home. Right under my nose.

If he claimed he had no ulterior motives, I wouldn’t believe him for a second.