From CEO Wife To Federal Prisoner

I had spent three years abroad recuperating from a prolonged illness, during which time I befriended a few fellow socialites from minor elite families.

Upon returning to the States, finally healthy, one of themGiainvited me to an exclusive ladies' luncheon. Everyone there was a stranger.

When someone politely asked which "Mrs." I was, I began: "My husband is the CEO of Crestwood Global"

Before I could finish, a womana high-society fixtureleapt from the crowd and slapped me across the face, sending me reeling.

"Who the hell are you, some stray from the gutters, to try and steal my identity?"

Stunned, I asked if she had misheard me.

She sneered. "Ive been coming to this salon for two years. Everyone here knows I am the Crestwood wife. Didn't you even bother to check?"

Heads nodded all around me, their gazes filled with cruel amusement and mockery.

Just then, the CEO of Crestwood Global arrived to pick up the womanit was my husband, Brandon, whom I hadn't seen in months.

He saw me, stumbled, and immediately dropped to his knees, his face sheet-white and slick with cold sweat.

I reached out and patted his cheek, a laugh catching in my throat. "You, my glorified employee, dare to keep a mistress and let her flaunt my name?"

My friend, Gia Rossi, had invited me to the socialite luncheon.

I figured since I hadn't told Brandon I was back in the States, a few extra hours wouldn't hurt. Whether I walked in now or later, it would be a surprisethough I was already starting to feel it might not be a good one. I decided to head to the salon first.

The room was filled with faces I didn't recognize.

Gia and I had barely stepped into the grand hall when a small group of women approached, all smiles.

One younger woman with bleached blonde hair, Bella Pierce, saw the Birkin on my arm and her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "That bag isn't that the limited edition Herms from the Paris collection a few days ago? Only one made globally, right?"

"Pardon me, but which Mrs. are you? We haven't seen you here before."

I replied, "My husband is the CEO of Crestwood Global"

Before the full sentence was out, a striking, dark-haired woman launched herself from the small crowd and smacked me hard across the face, knocking me to the ground.

"You common trash! Who the hell are you to try and steal my identity?"

Gia gasped, quickly helping me up and glaring murderously at the woman. "What is your problem? You just walk in and assault someone?"

I was completely blindsided, taking a long moment to process what happened. When I finally spoke, my voice was dangerously level.

"Madam, you must be mistaken."

The womantall, perfectly manicuredcrossed her arms, looking down her nose at me.

"Mistaken? I've been attending these salons for two years. Ask any lady herewho doesn't know that I am the Crestwood Global CEO's wife?" She paused for dramatic effect. "You little tramp with a death wish, if you're going to impersonate a high-profile wife, shouldn't you at least do some basic research?"

She let out a dismissive, ugly little laugh. "Then again, someone from your low station wouldn't know any better."

I was lost. She claimed to be the wife of the Crestwood Global CEO?

Then who was I?

The women surrounding us instantly turned frosty.

One snickered. "Calling yourself the Crestwood wife in front of Piper Cole? That's just pathetic."

"Seriously. Impersonating the wife of some B-list company is one thing, but the Crestwood wife? And to do it to the real one's face? The audacity!"

"I knew it!" Bella cried, quickly linking arms with the woman named Piper. "That bagit must be a cheap knockoff!" She pointed a newly sharpened nail at me, her voice ringing with self-righteous indignation. "You! Apologize to Mrs. Cole now!"

A genuine, cold amusement flickered through me. I ignored Bella and addressed the squatter.

"Is your husband Brandon Shaw? Does he know what kind of woman he married?"

Bella's voice went up an octave. "Watch your mouth! You can't just throw around Mr. Shaw's name! Do you really think you're his wife? Have some shame!"

"Security! Get this nobody out of here! What are you letting just anyone walk in?"

A security guard started moving toward me, but my mind was spinning too fast to focus on him. All I could think waswhat was Brandon's relationship with this woman?

"It's fine," Piper said, waving a hand and giving a light, superior laugh. "Ladies, let's not let this low-class drama ruin our afternoon. She can stay here if she wants."

She scanned the room, then looked back at me with contempt. "Better yet, why don't I invite everyone back to my place for the salon? I'd hate for some poor little ugly duckling to try and hard-leech off my status again."

After Piper swept out with her entourage, Gia looked at me, her brow furrowed with concern.

"Ana, what is going on? Is there a misunderstanding? Did Brandon"

It was too much of a coincidence. This "Piper Cole" appears out of nowhere, steals my identity, and is linked to Brandon. I had to know the truth.

I swallowed the knot of rising panic. "To the Atherton Estate. Let's hear what Brandon has to say."

When we reached the gates of my own house, the driveway was crammed with luxury vehicles. And walking straight toward the front door of my villa was Piper's entire posse.

An edge of genuine rage sharpened my voice. "Are you planning to hold your luncheon here?"

Bella whipped around, recognized me, and rolled her eyes.

"Why are you still following us? Didn't Piper make it clear you aren't welcome?"

"Your skin is unbelievably thick, lady."

I was so furious I laughed. "You're going to host your salon in my house?"

"Your house?" A beat of silence, and then the whole group burst into cruel, collective laughter.

Piper covered her mouth delicately, then dropped her hands, crossing them over her chest. She looked down at me from her perch on the stone steps.

"What, not only are you impersonating me, but now you're stalking me to my home?"

"Honestly, even if you were cured of whatever mental illness you have, you'd still be drooling."

She shouted a command. "Mr. Jenkins! Get this deluded trespasser out of here!"

An older man I didn't recognizecertainly not the long-time groundskeeperemerged from the house, grabbing a broom from the porch and starting toward us.

I snapped, "Don't you dare."

Perhaps the sheer coldness of my tone gave him pause, because the broom never dropped.

I glanced inside. The staff were all new faces. My former household staff were gone.

I turned to the old man. "Are you new here?"

He faltered, looking nervously at Piper.

Bella cut in impatiently.

"Listen, lady. We all know your sad little charade. How do you have the nerve to follow us here? Are you seriously acting out a fantasy? Is this some kind of sick performance art?"

"Do you have no sense of self-respect?"

"Or do you have some kind of delusion disorder? Because let me tell youPiper is the wife Mr. Shaw officially introduced at the Crestwood Gala. You need to recognize your place, even in your dreams!"

"Seriously! What kind of psycho shows up on someone else's doorstep like this? This is insane!"

The others chuckled.

Piper sighed dramatically. "It's fine, Bella. I'm a good person. I'll let them in to see the place."

She feigned a soft sadness. "It's just she's crossing a line. She actually said this estate is hers."

"This penthouse was a birthday gift from Brandon. I'm actually sick to my stomach!"

Bella instantly turned back into a lapdog, barking at me. "Can't you see Mrs. Shaw is about to cry? What are you still doing standing here, you shameless little tramp? Get out!"

"And Security! Why are you letting this trash in? You are completely incompetent! I'll have my husband arrange to fire you all tomorrow!"

"Enough!" My control shattered. The rage I'd been holding back boiled over.

"All of you, right now, get away from my front door!"

"Or I'm calling the police!"

A flicker of genuine anxiety crossed Piper's eyes before she composed herself.

She challenged me coolly. "You say this is your house? What proof do you have?"

I shot back, "Are you serious? I need to show you proof to enter my own home?"

Bella immediately chimed in with scorn.

"Still talking tough? I bet you can't produce a single piece of evidence!"

I took a deep breath, wanting desperately to ignore these insipid idiots but forced to play their game. "The security system is keyed to my fingerprint. And my password."

Piper barked a short, triumphant laugh. She shrugged, tilting her head.

"That's it? Go on, then. Try."

The group parted, making a mockery of a space for me.

Seeing her absolute confidence, a chill of dread ran through me, but I stepped up and placed my hand on the scanner.

Failure. Repeatedly. My password was rejected.

Then, Piper casually placed her own hand on the pad. The lock clicked open immediately.

Bella was ecstatic. She crossed her arms and blocked my path.

"Who is the woman of this house? I think we all know now."

"Low-class is low-class. Crawling back, begging for another public humiliation."

"First impersonating the CEO's wife, now the homeowner. What's next? I think she's genuinely unstable. Maybe we should call the police."

"I've had enough!" Gia rolled up her sleeves and shoved Bella aside. "Who are you calling unstable?"

"And who are you? Ana is the legitimate, legal wife of the CEO of Crestwood Global! She was overseas for a few years, and you, you opportunistic little squatting bitch, stole her house!"

She pointed at Piper. "Who's the shameless one? You, the thief who took over her life! You're the one who needs to crawl into a hole!"

Piper's face went from smug to toxic. She grit her teeth. "What did you say?"

"I said you're a nest"

Gia was cut off as Bella, recovering quickly, slapped her across the face, sending her stumbling.

"Gia! How dare you speak to Piper like that?"

"You must be insane to offend Mrs. Shaw just to defend a pathetic imposter!"

"Get on your knees and apologize to Piper! Unless you want to be permanently blacklisted from this city!"

"An apology isn't enough," Piper sneered, her eyes burning with fury as she stalked toward us.

I was focused on helping Gia up when Piper shoved me violently, then kicked me as I lay on the marble floor.

"You're going to get on your knees and apologize to me!"

I was so stunned by the sheer nerve of her attack that I laughed, a sharp, humorless sound. "Apologize to you? Do you think you're worthy?"

"You owe me an apology for that first slap!"

Piper's smile was cold and arrogant.

"My slap was an honor for someone like you!"

"If you don't apologize, I can make one call and ensure you're run out of New York City!"

I decided normal communication was impossible with these people. I stood up and dusted off my clothes.

"Wow. That's a bold claim. You must be really powerful to talk like that."

In my two-plus decades of life, I had never encountered such blatant, unhinged arrogance.

Piper gave a scoff of contempt. "Crestwood Global can crush a nobody like you as easily as crushing an ant."

"What, scared now? Then get down and apologize! And give me ten forehead-to-floor kowtows!"

"Oh yes, I'm absolutely terrified. Though, crushing me isn't quite as simple for Crestwood Global as you think," I said, my voice light but dangerous. "But you, my deara certified lunaticI'm truly not afraid of."

"After all, you know better than anyone whether you are the actual wife or not."

I gestured to Bella, then looked directly at Piper.

"This girl says you were 'officially announced' as Brandon's wife at a gala, but I didn't see a single headline, and it seems like very few in the actual inner circles know about it. What kind of official announcement is that?"

"And I recall the current Crestwood Global CEO's wife has always been intensely private, never appearing at public functions."

"But that doesn't mean just anyone can show up and steal her identity!"

Piper's face was scarlet with panic and rage. "You wait right there!"

She instantly pulled out her phone and video-called Brandon.

It connected immediately. It was indeed my husband, the man I hadn't seen in three years.

Brandon's face was all softness and smiles, his voice a low, soothing purr.

"Honey, why are you calling now? Didn't you just leave for the luncheon?"

I took a long, steadying breath. So, it was true. My live-in, puppet CEO husband was cheating!

Piper turned her phone so that her smug, victorious faceand ourswas visible, then she turned back to the screen, her voice sickeningly sweet.

"Oh, nothing much. I just suddenly missed you."

"I'm busy with work right now, sweetie. You wait for me patiently at home, I'll be back as soon as I can."

Piper giggled. "Okay, darling. I won't bother you. I'll wait for you at home."

She ended the call, then looked at Gia and me, her face glowing with triumph.

"See? The CEO of Crestwood Global, Brandon Shaw, is my husband."

"You wanted proof? There's your proof!"

The other women were buzzing with excitement.

"I actually saw the Crestwood Global CEO! He's real!"

"I want to see what these two imposters have to say now!"

Piper pointed at us. "You two! One of you stole my identity, the other verbally abused me! Get down on your knees and apologize, or this won't end well for you!"

She poked a finger into my cheek, mocking me.

"Especially you! I want you to beg. Ten kowtows!"

I instantly grabbed her wrist and shoved her hand away.

My face went cold, my eyes frozen. "Is that so? I'm curious to see what 'crap' Mr. Shaw is going to come up with."

I, too, pulled out my phone and dialed Brandon's number.