Chapter 5
The private dining room went dead silent.
All three of them stared at me with expressions ranging from horror to disbelief.
Noah leapt up like he’d been electrocuted. “Riley! What are you talking about?!”
Camden sat frozen in shock, mumbling “impossible” under his breath.
Valerie’s eyes welled with tears, acting like I hadn’t just taken an exam, but bombed the entire
testing center.
The whole scene was so ridiculous I almost laughed.
After a tense moment, Noah’s voice cracked with anger. “Do you have ANY idea how hard Valerie prepared for these Finals?!”
I calmly dabbed the corner of my mouth with my napkin. “So…?”
“So you should have stayed in your damn dorm!” Camden shrieked, his voice–painfully shrill. “What gives you the right to-”
“What gives me the right?” I let out a soft laugh. “The fact that it IS my right. The fact that it’s MY
future.”
Valerie suddenly let out a dramatic whimper, practically collapsing into Noah’s arms.
He scrambled to catch her, looking so panicked you’d think she’d been shot.
“Riley! This is completely unreasonable!” Noah shouted. “You have the Crawford fortune behind you! What does Valerie have? You can take exams or leave whenever you want. Why couldn’t you be more considerate instead of destroying Valerie’s future?”
I watched this absurd theater unfold with bitter amusement.
Tilting my head in mock confusion, I asked: “How exactly did I destroy anything?”
Camden jumped up to join the chorus: “You’ve got billions waiting for you in Europe! Why did you have to compete with Valerie for valedictorian?”
15:32
Chapter 5
Valerie timed a perfectly fragile sob, weakly clutching Noah’s sleeve. “Stop… it’s not her fault I’m not good enough.”
I nearly burst out laughing.
Instead, I put on my most innocent face. “What’s everyone freaking out about? I just estimated my score based on the practice tests available online!”
The air froze for a second.
“…What?” Valerie’s voice shot up an octave before she quickly reined it in.
“You know those practice Finals with answer keys online?” I casually sipped my juice. “I was bored, so I just checked my answers against the solutions.”
Camden exhaled dramatically, collapsing back into his chair. “Jesus, Riley, you nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought you actually took the exams…”
Noah’s expression remained dark. “That kind of joke isn’t funny.”
“Joke?” I set down my glass, my eyes gradually hardening. “Your reactions didn’t exactly suggest you thought I was joking.”
All three faces simultaneously froze.
Valerie forced a smile. “We were just… worried about you.”
“Worried about what?” I stared directly into her eyes. “Worried I actually took the exams? Or worried I scored higher than you?”
“Riley!” Noah cut in sharply. “That’s enough!”
Just then, the private room door swung open.
Jack stood in the doorway, immaculate in his tailored suit.
His gaze swept across everyone before settling on me. “Riley, our flight leaves in two hours. Finish your meal and let’s go.”
Here he was, rushing me again.
I wiped my mouth unhurriedly. “Got it.”
15:32
They Stole My Identity. I Stole Their Future
Chapter 5
Just as everyone started to relax, I suddenly linked my arm through Noah’s. “But I want to bring my boyfriend with me.”
Noah’s face instantly drained of color.
Jack narrowed his eyes. “What did you say?”
I looked up at him with the most innocent smile I could muster. “Since you’ve already arranged everything for me to study abroad, adding one more person shouldn’t be difficult, right?”
MyIdentity I Stole Their Future
