After My Husband Had Her Steal My Identity
I froze, the phone feeling cold against my ear as my mind struggled to catch up.
That trust fund was my inheritance from my father. My name, and my name alone, was on it. How could the beneficiary possibly be changed?
I immediately called my husband, Brian. His voice was a warm, reassuring balm over the phone. “It’s probably just a scam, Eleanor. Don’t worry about it.”
“Oh,” I said, my tone deceptively light. “They must be pretty committed scammers, then. They even managed to bribe our family’s long-time fund manager.”
Brian’s voice hitched for a fraction of a second before he laughed it off. “These new AI voice scams are getting crazy sophisticated, you know? They can mimic anyone. Just ignore it for now. I’ll handle it when I get back to the States.”
I smiled and agreed. The moment we hung up, I was already drafting a text to my legal team, telling them to prepare the divorce papers.
Brian seemed to have forgotten.
My phone is protected by a military-grade firewall. No scam call is getting through.
1
After hanging up, I sent a concise text to my assistant.
【Find Brian’s current location. And find out who he changed my fund’s beneficiary to.】
That series of trust funds was worth billions. It was the bedrock of my family’s legacy, the source of my own power.
When my assistant sent back the location, I booked the first flight out.
As I approached the hotel, I could hear the staff whispering amongst themselves.
“I’m so jealous of Mrs. Croft. It’s only their third anniversary, and Mr. Croft bought out the entire auction for that jewelry set!”
“That’s not all! I heard he just added another three hundred million to her fund!”
My heart sank. A leaden weight settled in my stomach. Today was indeed my anniversary with Brian.
But it wasn’t our third. It was our seventh.
He was cheating on me. And he was trying to give my inheritance to his mistress.
I took a step toward the grand ballroom, ready to confront him, but a uniformed attendant immediately blocked my path.
“Whoa, whoa, who do you think you are? This is a private event, you can’t just walk in here.” His eyes raked over my simple, understated casual wear. “Dressed like you just rolled out of bed… You think this is the place for you? Get lost before you ruin the atmosphere for Mrs. Croft’s anniversary party.”
I glanced down at my clothes. It was true, I was dressed for comfort, not for a gala. For years, I had been the woman behind Brian, the invisible force propelling his success. I only ever stepped into the public eye when his company faced a crisis I needed to personally resolve.
Normally, I would have calmly explained the misunderstanding.
But right now, all I felt was a cold, simmering rage. A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
“I am Mrs. Croft.”
The attendants erupted in laughter, one of them doubling over as if I’d told the funniest joke in the world.
“You? Mrs. Croft? If Mr. Croft heard you say that, he’d die laughing!”
One of them poked the sleeve of my jacket, his tone dripping with contempt. “Is anything you’re wearing worth more than twenty bucks? And you have the nerve to call yourself Mrs. Croft? You must be desperate for a payday.”
In my thirty years of life, no one had ever dared to speak to me this way.
I was about to respond when a soft, feminine voice cut through the air.
“What’s going on here?”
I looked up. A woman in a stunning, champagne-colored mermaid gown was gliding toward us. The portly attendant who had been mocking me instantly transformed, his face crinkling into a fawning smile.
“Miss Reed! What are you doing out here? Please, go back inside and rest. Don’t tire yourself out.”
He then shot me a venomous glare. “We’re just dealing with some trash who wandered in. Dressed like she buys her clothes at a flea market and claiming to be Mrs. Croft. Shameless, trying to crash the party.” He turned his head and spat on the ground near my feet, the disdain in his eyes palpable. “Open your damn eyes and look! This is the woman Mr. Croft adores. The real Mrs. Croft!”
He jabbed a thumb in my direction. “And you… you’re nothing. Why don’t you go find a puddle and take a good long look at your pathetic self before you dare utter her name again?”
Mia Reed?
Wasn’t she the scholarship student Brian was sponsoring?
He’d told me her story years ago—parents passed away, brilliant student but couldn’t afford tuition. He’d convinced me to help fund her entire four-year degree. I even pulled some strings to get her a comfortable administrative job at his company after she graduated.
But how could she be Mrs. Croft?
Just then, another text from my assistant lit up my screen.
【Ms. Levinson, Brian Croft transferred the beneficiary status of your trust to a woman named Mia Reed.】
The world seemed to tilt on its axis. It all clicked into place.
I walked slowly toward Mia Reed, a cold smile playing on my lips.
“If you’re Mrs. Croft,” I said, my voice dangerously low, “then I’d like to know… who am I?”
2
The moment Mia saw me, the triumphant smirk on her face froze. She instinctively hid her hands behind her back, but not before I saw it.
The exquisite, one-of-a-kind diamond bracelet Brian had just won at that charity auction.
“Eleanor? What… what are you doing here?” Her voice trembled.
But she recovered in a heartbeat, her expression shifting into one of weary annoyance.
“Miss Levinson, I know you’ve had a crush on my husband for a long time, but you can’t just cause a scene like this.” Her voice dripped with false pity. “No matter how hard you throw yourself at him, he’s never going to be with you.”
Hearing this, the attendants shot me looks of pure disgust.
“So she’s a pathetic homewrecker! And she tried to impersonate the real wife? God, how shameless can you get?”
The whispers started, sharp and cruel.
“This is hilarious. If you’re going to be a gold digger, at least aim within your league!”
“Miss Reed is the one Mr. Croft cherishes. Does this woman really think she can compare?”
I said nothing. I simply took out my phone, my movements slow and deliberate, and pulled up the photo on my lock screen: a picture of Brian and me on our wedding day.
“A crush on your husband?” I held the phone up to her face, my voice as sharp as broken glass. “Mia, look at this photo and tell me again. Who is your husband?”
She glanced at the screen, then looked back at me with an expression of profound disappointment.
“I know you’ve resented me ever since I started helping you with your tuition, you were always jealous of how kind Brian was to me. But really, Eleanor… resorting to photoshop? You should have more self-respect.”
With a flourish, she pulled a marriage certificate from her clutch. There, in crisp black ink, were their names: Brian Croft and Mia Reed.
“This,” she said, tapping the embossed seal, “is the real deal. It can’t be faked.”
The attendant who had been harassing me shoved me backward.
“You see that? That is the real Mrs. Croft. You’re just some ungrateful charity case who got a little help and now thinks she can seduce a real man. Pathetic!”
“Get the hell out of here before you ruin everything! If you delay Mr. Croft and Miss Reed’s anniversary party, not even ten of your miserable lives would be enough to pay for it!”
Not enough to pay?
I almost laughed. I’d like to see if Brian had the guts to make me pay for anything.
When I met him, Brian Croft was just another intern at an investment bank, wearing a threadbare shirt that had been washed one too many times. At my father’s corporate galas, he didn’t even have the standing to hand a business card to a junior executive.
It was I who defied my father, who insisted he wasn’t beneath our family. It was I who pulled him into my own project team, who coached him, who handed him the multi-million dollar deals that made him a tech mogul.
“Brian Croft wouldn’t dare,” I muttered.
The words had barely left my lips when a stinging slap cracked across my face.
The attendant glared at me, his face twisted in disgust. “What, you’re still not done with your little act? Mrs. Croft is being nice to you, and you’re still pushing it.”
He then turned to Mia, his voice instantly becoming syrupy and obsequious. “Ma’am, a woman like this who doesn’t know her place needs to be taught a lesson! Otherwise, she’ll never stop! I say we should scratch up that pretty face of hers, maybe then she’ll stop trying to seduce Mr. Croft!”
“You’re pregnant, you can’t get worked up. I’ll drag her out of here myself and show her what happens when you cross the Crofts in this city!”
He lunged for me, his thick fingers reaching for my arm.
Suddenly, a familiar, commanding voice cut through the chaos from the entrance.
“Stop this at once! What do you think you’re doing?”
3
Brian stood there, radiating an aura of power in his custom-tailored suit. Everyone froze.
“Mr. Croft! This woman was impersonating your wife and even tried to attack her! We were just teaching her a lesson for you,” the attendant explained, fawning over him.
Mia immediately crumpled into Brian’s arms, bursting into tears. “Brian, it was horrible…”
Brian’s gaze swept over the scene, his brow furrowing in anger. He was about to speak when his eyes landed on me. He stiffened.
He took a half-step in my direction, but I was faster. I closed the distance between us and slapped him hard across the face. Twice.
The sharp, cracking sounds echoed in the stunned silence. Everyone stared, their jaws hanging open.
“Is she insane? She just hit Mr. Croft!”
“I thought she was just some broke wannabe, but… does she have a death wish?”
Brian’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
I ignored the whispers, a bitter smile on my face as I looked into his eyes. “What’s wrong? Can’t I hit you?” I gestured toward Mia. “Or are you going to defend her now?”
His jaw tightened, and he sighed, about to speak.
But then Mia clutched his sleeve, her voice a tearful whisper. “Brian, you promised me.”
He hesitated. A flicker of something—guilt? fear?—crossed his face before it was replaced by a mask of cold fury. He rounded on me, his voice booming.
“Eleanor! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Are you trying to make a scene? Have I spoiled you too much? Is that it?”
Make a scene? How dare he accuse me of anything?
“Brian, I have one question for you,” I said, my voice dangerously calm. “Is the child in her belly yours?”
At my words, fresh tears streamed down Mia’s face.
“Eleanor, I know you’ve been obsessed with my husband since I started sponsoring your education. I know you send him suggestive pictures late at night. I can ignore that, but how could you say something so vile about my unborn child?” Her voice broke. “Are you trying to force him to divorce me just so you can take my place?”
Brian’s expression softened as he looked at her. He pulled her closer, stroking her hair.
“Shh, it’s okay. I believe you.”
Then, he turned back to me, his face hard as stone.
“Eleanor, you’ve disappointed me more than I can say. Get your things and move out of the house. Today.”
His words struck me like a physical blow. I couldn’t believe it.
He was actually brazen enough to flip the entire narrative, to cast me in Mia’s role and present her as his wronged wife.
To make her… me.
Hearing Brian’s command, the attendant who had slapped me pointed a finger in my face and started shouting.
“The real Mrs. Croft was kind enough to sponsor you, and this is how you repay her? By trying to steal her husband? You’re an ungrateful snake!”
“Trying to destroy a happy marriage? Look in the mirror! You’re not worthy to even be in the same room as them!”
I ignored the insults, my eyes locked on Brian. I spoke each word slowly, deliberately, making sure he felt the weight of them.
“I fought with my own family for you, Brian. I built you up from nothing to where you are today. When you couldn’t even afford to eat, I gave you the seed money for your company.”
“And now you cheat on me, you have a child with another woman… Brian, how can you live with yourself?”
My words only seemed to make his face darken further with rage.
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