The Boss' Niece (Spencer Reid)

74. Claims

CASSIDY
I wasn't going to lie and say that I wasn't nervous, because I was. I was nervous about finding out why Joanne Walten had hired this lady to follow and watch me.

My first thought was that Joanne was a family member or a friend of someone that the BAU had arrested or possibly killed. But then that thought quickly disappeared when I reminded myself that revenge being carried about by family or friends is never usually this calm. It usually involves threats or acts of violence, not someone casually following someone else around, watching them.

As requested by Spencer, I kept my badge and gun close to me. I didn't want to scare Stephanie off, so I kept my gun in my bag and my badge in my jacket pocket.

I wasn't exactly sure what Stephanie had found out about me, so I decided to keep my jacket closed and my rings covered. The last thing I wanted to do was to add my marriage and my pregnancy to the file that she was compiling about me.

Penelope had given me a photo of Stephanie, so when I saw her at the meeting place, I took a deep breath in and out, trying to relax. I had lied to Emily, telling her that I needed a few hours just to relax and ground myself before getting back on the case.

"You must be Stephanie Cooper." I sat down at the table, seeing a surprised look on her face.

"You're-" Before she could continue, I exhaled.

"I know that you know who I am." I shook my head.

"Let's get straight to the point, shall we? Why were you hired, Stephanie? I know you're a Private Investigator and I know that a woman named Joanne Walten hired you. But why?" I asked, watching her closely.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Reid, but I am not at liberty to say, you know, client confidentiality and all." She smiled.

"How long have you been following me for?" I asked, confused.

"A week." She admitted.

"And in the week, how much information about me did you acquire?" I asked.

"I know that you recently married a man named Spencer Reid. Your dad's name is Sean Hotchner, related to Aaron Hotchner, former Unit Chief of the Behavioural Analysis Unit." She listed the general things a Private Investigator would find out.

"I will ask you again. Why did Joanne Walten hire you?" I attempted this same question again.

"And I will tell you again that I am not at liberty to say, due to client confidentiality." She glared at me.

"Okay. Apparently me asking nicely didn't work, so I'll let you know that you are stalking an FBI Agent, which is illegal." I informed her.

"Okay, okay, first of all, I'm not stalking you. I am being paid to follow you and gather intel about you. That's all. As for what you just said, you're an FBI Agent?" She stared at me.

"Yes, I am. I am a member of the BAU. So, let me remind you that you're secretly following, watching and gathering intel on an FBI Agent. If I were you, I'd tell me why you were hired, or my technical analyst within the BAU will find out for me." I explained, staring at her.

"Fine. Joanne Walten, the woman who hired me, she is your mother." Stephanie revealed.
My face dropped.

Joanne Walten was my mother?

"Are you sure?" I wanted to make sure that this woman was telling the truth.

"All I know is this woman - Joanne Walten - came to me and paid me a hefty amount of money, so that I could find you and get as much intel on you as I could. I did my research on her as well, to make sure I wasn't being hired by a criminal. The worst thing she's done is not paid a parking ticket on time." Stephanie explained.

Feeling my phone buzz, I pulled it out, making sure that my jacket didn't move too much. She knew about my marriage, but not about my pregnancy. I wanted to keep it that way. I read Penelope's message and looked up at Stephanie.

"My friend - the technical analyst - has just given me Joanne's number and address. As much as I would like to say that it was a pleasure meeting you, I'd be lying." I exhaled, standing up. I quickly turned around and grabbed my bag and walked off, hoping she hadn't seen my slight baby bump.

I decided to hold off going to speak to Joanne Walten until after the case was solved and we were back in Quantico. When I had seen the address that Penelope had given to me, I was slightly shocked to see that Joanne lived within Virginia.

———
(After The Case, Back In Quantico)

Once the case was finished, the team and I headed home, my mind racing with the idea of meeting the woman who was claiming to be my mother. I had never met my mother. I had grown up with my father and without ever knowing a single thing about my mother. I didn't know anything, even if she was dead or alive.

So, with a day off, Spencer and I decided to go and see Joanne. Both of us hid our hands, - to avoid her seeing our wedding rings - as well as me keeping my jacket closed to avoid her seeing my baby bump. We silenced our phones and stood at the front of Joanne's house. Knocking on the door, we both exhaled just moments before Joanne opened the door, confused.

"Hello. Can I help you?" She asked.

"Are you Joanne Walten?" I asked.

"Yes, yes I am." She nodded.

"Hi. I'm Cassidy Reid. I'm the woman that you hired Stephanie Cooper to find and gather intel on." I revealed, watching as her face dropped.

"Oh. Wow. I didn't expect you to find me, like, at all." She exhaled, letting us in.

"Well, I have connections." I had no intention of telling her anything about me. I was sure that Stephanie hadn't given her any updates about what I told her, so what she knew up to now, I only hoped was my name and nothing else.

"I'm guessing you want to know why I hired Ms. Cooper, correct?" She asked. I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from her. I nodded, playing along.

"Fine. I hired her because I wanted to find out how my daughter- you were doing." She smiled.

"Excuse me?" Spencer almost gasped.

"How do you know that you're my mother?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't forget giving birth to you." She chuckled.

"Well, clearly you did, considering you gave up on raising me." I hissed.

"Okay, Cassidy. That's not fair." Joanne exhaled.

"No. What's not fair is me having to grow up without a mother. I grew up with a father who did drugs and would leave me with my grandparents for extended periods of time and my mother wasn't even around." I shook my head.

"Cassidy, I'm here now. I want to get to know you. I want to try and become the mother I never tried to be when you were a baby." She smiled, trying to comfort me.

"That's not happening. You have NO proof that you're my mother, so I want you to cease Stephanie's investigation into me and my life. And I don't want to hear from you until you have something that proves that you're my mother." I shook my head, leaving the house, Spencer quickly following me.