“I feel like I have,” I replied.
A silence fell before he offered, “Want to talk about it?”
“It’s all so insane. You know Shannon’s friend? The blonde?”
He shifted a little in his seat. “Uh huh.”
“She’s been lying about her identity. She was Cai’s mother, but she got pregnant really young, so her parents made the decision to raise the baby as their own and pretend to everyone that Margie was his sister. She moved away to Canada twenty years ago and hasn’t been heard from since. Well, until now. She obviously reinvented her life and, for some reason, found cause to befriend Shannon.”
“Shit,” Dixon swore. “They told you all this? The parents?”
“They seemed pretty ashamed, but yeah, they came clean. They feel terrible about what Margie might be doing, asked for her address so they could go speak to her, perhaps convince her to get help.”
“Did you give it to them?”
“No. That’s not my place. Maybe after I can prove she’s behind all the crazy shit that’s been happening, I will. But even then … I don’t know … it’s so hard to hate her knowing what she’s been through, but at the same time, if she’s the catfish, she needs to be arrested or something for causing so much havoc in our lives. I just don’t know what to think right now.”
“Have you told Shannon?”
I nodded. “She’s in shock and refuses to believe any of it yet. She loves Margie and doesn’t want to think she could do something like this.” Exhaling heavily, I rubbed my jaw. “Can you drop me back at my parents’ house? I need to talk to my dad.”
“Sure thing.”
We drove in quiet, and we were almost to the house when my dad started calling me. I silenced my phone since I was only a few minutes away and would prefer to talk everything through with him in person. He called again just as we pulled into the drive. There was also a text.
Dad: We need to talk. Come to the house asap. Make sure you’re alone.
Huh. Seemed ominous. Wouldn’t it be funny if Dad had figured out Margie was the catfish right at the same time I had?
“Jace, where are you?” he asked when I answered.
“I’m just outside. What’s the big rush? I was looking for you earlier, but the house was empty.”
“Listen, it’s been a busy morning. A lot’s come to light, and we need to talk. Are you alone?”
“Yes, but—”
“Good. Come inside.”
I shook my head, vaguely aware of Dixon pulling away, probably off to park down the street and watch for suspicious activity. I opened the front door and stepped inside, finding my parents in the kitchen, alongside my manager, Angelica, and another man I didn’t recognise. He looked mid-forties, with short, dark hair, a bit of a military vibe.
“Okay, good. You’re all here. I have a lot to tell you,” I said and realised that they were all incredibly tense, and it seemed to be down to the presence of the military guy. “Who are you?” I asked, and my dad stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“Jace, this is Robert Ansary.”
“Okay.” I looked to Dad again, wondering why he sounded so grave.
“His identity was used in a catfish scam, just like yours was, by the same person who’s been impersonating you.”
Wait, what? “So you know who it is? Who’s been behind all this?”
“He goes by the name of Dixon Levitt now,” Robert Ansary explained. “Though by all accounts that’s another false identity.”
Time froze while my attention went from my dad to Robert and then back to my dad. “What? No. Dixon is—”
“An imposter. Identity thief. Scammer extraordinaire,” Dad finished. “He’d been masquerading as this poor gentleman here for years until he got found out and had to find a new identity.”
This was way too much to comprehend, especially since I’d just been about to announce that Margie was the culprit, and I’d been completely wrong. I had to sit down.
