Chapter 1

My husband, Damian Lewis, died in an accident, and I spent two years locked away in grief, unable to face the world.

Meanwhile, my poor cousin—the one who'd been stuck in an abusive marriage—was out there swiping my credit card and reinventing herself as the beautiful, kindhearted wife everyone adored.

By the time I finally pulled myself together and decided to start living again, I discovered she'd already painted me as mentally unstable, and no one would come near me.

In the end, she teamed up with my housekeeper to lock me inside my own home, and they tortured me until I died. She took over my entire life.

But now I'm back, and I'm watching this polished imposter play the perfect wife.

Good. The higher she climbs, the harder she'll fall.

*****

One mom gushed, "Mrs. Lewis is so gorgeous and generous. She's sponsored every single event at our preschool—must be at least a few million dollars over the past two years, right?"

Another mom chimed in eagerly, "Exactly. We're so grateful to Mrs. Lewis. My son is so lucky to attend the same preschool as your precious boy."

My head was spinning, and when I opened my eyes, I saw Charlotte Lane standing in the center of a crowd of moms, looking absolutely smug as compliment after compliment rolled in. She was eating it up.

I stared at the immaculately dressed woman in front of me. She was wearing the latest haute couture that luxury brands had sent to me, and she had my expensive diamond jewelry draped around her neck.

The gnawing hunger in my stomach snapped me back to reality.

I'd been reborn.

I thought back to my past life, remembering how she'd knelt before me and begged me to take her in. The contrast between that woman and the one standing here now was staggering.

Back then, her husband had beaten her black and blue, and her own family had refused to take her in. She'd knelt outside my door, pleading with me to give her a way to survive.

I'd felt sorry for her, so I let her stay on as a housekeeper.

Not long after that, Damian was killed in a hit-and-run by a drug addict.

I was devastated and locked myself away from the world.

And she took that opportunity to take over the entire Lewis family, posing as my cousin. She became Damian's wife in everyone's eyes, and she even made my one-year-old son, Samuel Lewis, call her mom.

The housekeepers and drivers all treated her like she owned the place, and they forgot all about me—the real Mrs. Lewis.

They even helped her torture me to death for a little bit of money.

In the end, Charlotte completely replaced me and got to live the life she could only dream about.

Now, watching Charlotte bask in all that attention with everyone fawning over her, the first thing I did was cancel her supplementary card—the one with the 400 thousand dollar monthly limit.

She wanted to spend my money and steal my life? She could dream on.

The kindergarten director came over with a bright smile, holding a bill in her hands. "Mrs. Lewis, here's the itemized cost for today's event. Could you take a quick look and handle the reimbursement? Thank you so much."

Charlotte didn't even glance at the bill. "No need to be so formal, I'll pay right now."

She casually pulled out the supplementary card I'd given her, and the director stood there with the card reader, ready and waiting.

But a few seconds later, her smile froze.

The card reader flashed "Insufficient Funds" across its screen.

Panic flickered in Charlotte's eyes, and she scanned the crowd until she spotted me in the corner. Her gaze locked onto mine, practically begging me to transfer money right now.

I turned and walked away without even glancing at her twice.

I was supposed to be the one at the parent-teacher conference today, but Charlotte said she'd been dealing with the principal all year and knew her way around better.

So I didn't argue with her, and I just tagged along to check out Samuel's school.

I didn't expect to walk in and watch Charlotte blow through my money like it was nothing, putting on a show for everyone. She'd spent millions in one year just to get a few compliments from other people, and she didn't even bat an eye.

This kindergarten was the most elite school in the area, and every kid here was either a young master or a little princess from some wealthy family.

Did she really think she was the only one with money? The other parents were probably laughing behind her back, calling her a sucker.

Real wealthy people kept a low profile. Every single one of them.

The second I stepped outside, my phone started buzzing like crazy. It rang over a dozen times before I finally picked up.

Charlotte said, "Vivian Wynn, what the hell is this? Why isn't the card working? Transfer me the money right now, or you're making Samuel look bad. All the wealthy wives are staring at me right now. Are you seriously trying to humiliate me on purpose?"

She was right about one thing—I absolutely was doing this on purpose.

I didn't say a word. I just hung up and blocked her number.

Let her keep up her little performance. I wanted to see how long she could last.

My son was just a kid. What did he need a reputation for?

The only person getting embarrassed here was her.