My Roommate Married a Fraud and Tried to Steal My Fortune

I came back from break to find my roommate ready to lay down the law.

Zelda Heath, from now on your monthly allowance is capped at a thousand dollars. I'll talk to your parents and have them wire you a thousand, max.

Also, I hear you've got two mansions and three cars in your name. You're transferring all of them to me.

"And those designer pieces of yours? Hand them over. Going forward, nothing you wear can cost more than two hundred bucks."

I stared at her, stunned. "On what authority?"

"On the authority of me dating your brother. We're headed for the altar." Annette Whitney lifted her chin. "I'm your future sister-in-law. Oldest sister-in-law is basically a second mother. What I say goes."

"You're a girl. The second you get married, everything you own belongs to your husband's family. Your brother, on the other hand, is the one who'll inherit the business."

"Really, I'm doing you a favor. You throw money around like water, and all that does is attract men who are after your wallet. Tone it down, live simply, and you'll find a man who actually loves you for you. Don't you think?"

Her logic almost sounded reasonable. Almost. Except for one glaring problem: I was an only child. I didn't have a brother.

"Zelda, your brother told me you get a hundred thousand a month in spending money. This month's already been deposited, so we'll start the new rules next month."

"That means you owe me ninety-nine thousand from this month. Transfer it. Now."

I laughed. "Are you messing with me right now?"

"I'm dead serious. Transfer the money!"

I picked up my phone and sent her nine dollars and ninety-nine cents. "Go buy yourself a smoothie and stop bothering me."

I had unfinished homework stacking up, and Annette wouldn't stop buzzing in my ear like a broken alarm.

"I said ninety-nine thousand, not nine ninety-nine! What is this, pocket change for a panhandler?"

"If you don't want it, just hit decline and stop wasting my time!"

Then Annette's eyes landed on the bag sitting on my desk. Brand new, straight from Herms.

"You bought another bag? That doesn't look cheap. How much?"

"The bag itself was around thirty thousand. But with the required purchase history, about a hundred and fifty on top."

Annette shot to her feet. "What? You're telling me you spent close to two hundred grand on a bag?"

Erica Edwards, my other roommate, didn't look up from her textbook. "Zelda's a trust-fund heiress. Buying a bag is like us grabbing a Coke from the vending machine. Why the shock?"

"And put that down before you damage it. You couldn't afford to replace it."

"You don't know anything!" Annette clutched the bag tighter. "Every cent she spends is mine now. She's spending my money!"

Erica set her pen down. "Zelda's money has nothing to do with you. Even if you are dating her brother, half the family fortune is still hers. Why shouldn't she spend it?"

Annette shoved Erica hard enough to send her stumbling. "God, you really are Zelda's little lapdog, aren't you? Always running your mouth for her. How much is she paying you?"

Her gaze dropped to Erica's wrist. "That jade bracelet. She bought that for you, didn't she? Take it off. Give it to me."

"Are you insane? My mom gave me this."

I stepped forward and pulled Erica behind me. "Enough. What is wrong with you, Annette? Even jokes have limits."

"Who's joking?" Her voice pitched higher, cracking at the edges. "The Heath fortune goes to your brother and your brother alone! You're just a girl. What right do you have to any of it? Now transfer me that ninety-nine thousand. Right. Now."

She yanked open my closet, scooped out every bag and piece of jewelry I'd stored inside, and dumped the whole collection onto her own desk.

"All of this is mine now." She surveyed the pile with a magnanimous little shrug. "Secondhand, sure, but I suppose I can make do."

I stood there, frozen. It hit me then that Annette wasn't playing some elaborate joke.

I pointed at her, my voice low and steady. "You. Right now. Put every single thing back where you found it."

Annette's voice shot up about three octaves.

"Zelda Heath, did everything I just said go in one ear and out the other?! I'm your sister-in-law! From now on, you do what I say!"

"Not only are all your designer stuff mine, but your house, your cars, your money all mine!"

I actually laughed. "You really do just say whatever you dream up, don't you?"

"Annette, I know your family's pretty ordinary, and I get that you're envious of what mine has. But I'm an only child. There is no older brother. So your dream of being my sister-in-law? Dead on arrival."

"What?! You'd actually disown your own brother over a few things? Wow, you're really something!"

I sighed, exhausted. "Annette, how many times do I have to say this? I'm an only child. No brothers. No sisters."

"Fine. I'm calling your brother right now. He needs to know his precious little sister is out here telling people she's an only child."

"You'd cut off your own family for the inheritance? Unbelievable! Your brother has been so good to you, and you stand there saying he doesn't exist. That's cold."

The call connected.

"Hey, Abner, Zelda's actually claiming she doesn't have a brother. I'm furious. Here, I'm putting her on. You talk to her."

Annette shoved the phone at me. "Here. Your brother wants a word."

I took it. "Abner Heath?"

His voice came through low and deliberate, barely above a whisper.

"I'm almost at your dorm. Come downstairs. We'll talk face to face."

Before I could get a word in, he hung up.

"So the 'brother' you're talking about is Abner Heath?"

I thought back. Abner had shown up at campus before, riding in my family's Rolls-Royce to come see me. Other students had spotted him. Was that how this whole misunderstanding started?

"Obviously. We've been together three months now, and we're headed for marriage."

"He's our chauffeur's son. He even asked me out once, and I turned him down. You're telling me you've been dating him and he told you he's my brother?"

Annette's face twisted with anger.

"Zelda Heath, how dare you talk about your own brother like that! He invited me to your family's mansion. The staff there called him 'young master.' Don't even try to fool me!"

Her phone buzzed. She answered, then immediately grabbed my arm and hauled me toward the door.

"Your brother's downstairs. He told me to bring you down. Get ready for an earful!"

The second we stepped outside, Abner pulled me away from her.

"I need a minute alone with my sister!"

He dragged me around a corner, out of earshot.

"Zelda, please. I'll find the right time to come clean to Annette myself. I swear I'll tell her everything. Just don't blow my cover, okay? If she finds out now, she'll dump me on the spot."

"I really love her. I can't lose her."

"She's only with you because she thinks you're my brother. She's in love with my family's money, not you."

"That's not true! She's not like that! She told me herself, she's with me because she likes me, not because of the money!"

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. "Then why don't you dare tell her the truth? You're really something, lying to yourself like that."

"Do you even know what she did?"

I laid out everything Annette had pulled every last detail.

His jaw tightened. "She actually went that far? Zelda, I'll talk to her about it, I promise. But telling her who I really am... let me do that on my own terms."

"Please. Think about what my mom did for you. When you were in that car accident as a kid, she risked her own life pulling you out of the wreck. For her sake, just do me this one favor."

I drew a long breath. "Fine. As long as she stays out of my face, I don't care."

Abner lit up, thanking me over and over, practically tripping over his own gratitude.

I shifted my tone. "Who gave you permission to bring her to the mansion? Before my parents went abroad, they left Aunt Beth in charge of the house. They made an exception letting you stay there."

"But my parents made it very clear: no outsiders allowed. Did you just ignore that completely?"

Abner's voice went small. "That time was because Annette followed me home. She wanted to come inside and I couldn't exactly say no. It was just that once. I swear I'll never bring anyone back again."

"Just that once. Don't let it happen again."

Annette's patience snapped. "Are you two done talking or what?"

"We're done." I turned to her. "Annette, I don't care if you're dating Abner. But keep your eyes off what's mine."

Annette pouted and tugged at Abner's arm. "Babe, can you control your sister? I'm only looking out for her."

"Babe, my sister's been spoiled rotten since she was little. I can't tell her what to do."

"Then you'd better make sure she understands. Soon."

Annette suddenly doubled over, gagging up a mouthful of bile.

"Babe, I'm not feeling well. Come with me to the hospital to get checked out."

I went straight upstairs to the dorm and got back to my homework.

After dark, Annette came back.

She was glowing, one hand resting on her stomach. "Zelda, I'm pregnant."

"Once this baby's born, it'll be the first grandchild of the Heath family."

"As the baby's aunt, what are you planning to give your nephew as a gift?"

"A house would be the bare minimum, don't you think? I've actually had my eye on those new townhouses downtown. Let's go look at them tomorrow and put a deposit down."

I had reached my absolute limit with this woman. I grabbed my phone and called Abner immediately.

"You got Annette pregnant. Now she wants to keep the baby and she's demanding I buy her a house. You are going to tell her the truth right now. I'm giving you one day. If you don't tell her, I will."

After I hung up, the anger settled into something colder. Calmer.

"Annette, we're freshmen. You really want to have this baby now?"

"Of course I do. This is mine and Abner's child. There's no way I'm getting rid of it."

"You want to keep it because you think Abner is my brother, and you think this baby is your golden ticket to a share of my family's fortune." I paused. "Too bad you've miscalculated. This baby has nothing to do with the Heath family."

"That's not for you to decide. The second I found out I was pregnant, I called your parents."

"They were thrilled. They even want me to move back into the mansion so I can rest and focus on the pregnancy."

There are moments so absurd that all you can do is laugh.

"You have my parents' number? And they invited you to the mansion to rest during your pregnancy?" I stared at her. "You really do live in a fantasy world."

I decided Annette had lost her mind entirely. There was no point continuing this conversation. I climbed into bed and pulled the covers over myself.

Let Abner deal with her.

I had barely fallen asleep when someone started pounding on the frame of my bunk from below.

"Zelda, get down here! Explain this to me right now! Why is Abner's private photo album on the campus network full of pictures of YOU? Are you two having some kind of sick affair?"

"And what's with all these heartbroken posts he wrote? You're brother and sister! How could you do something like this?"

The other girls in the room jolted awake.

"Annette, what the hell? Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"Sleep? Forget sleep! Everyone get up and take a look at this freak show!"

"No wonder Zelda keeps denying Abner's her brother. Turns out she wants to sleep with him!"

"All those sexy photos you posted online, what were those for? To seduce your own brother? Have you no shame?"

Annette's screaming spiraled into full-blown hysteria, loud enough to wake every room on the floor.

I could hear footsteps gathering outside the door, classmates drawn over by Annette's commotion like spectators to a car wreck.

My perfectly good sleep, ruined. I was about to lose my mind.

"Annette, I'm telling you one last time. Abner is NOT my brother. He's the one who chased after ME."

"I rejected him ages ago. There is nothing between us. If you go around spreading lies, I will sue you for defamation."

Annette glared at me, teeth clenched so hard I could hear them grind. "Just you wait."

I wrote her off as mentally unstable and went right back to sleep.

On Friday, Erica came to me out of the blue. "Zelda, don't go home this weekend. Annette invited the whole class to her place for her birthday, remember? Let's go together tomorrow."

"Annette invited the whole class to her place? She never said a word to me."

"What? No way."

"Clearly she didn't want me there. I'll pass."

Erica sighed. "Well, guess I'm going alone then. Her place is on Riverside Drive, super far from campus. Sounds like a fancy neighborhood, though."

"Wait, isn't Annette from out of state? Let me see the actual address."

Erica held up her phone. The address on the screen was my family's mansion.

That little weasel Abner. He'd brought Annette back to MY house and was throwing her a birthday party in MY home.

He really had started believing he was my parents' biological son.

"Erica, I'm coming with you tomorrow."

It had been three years since I'd set foot in the mansion, not since my parents moved abroad. The place was too big, too empty. It never felt like home when I was there alone. So I'd bought a three-bedroom condo near campus and stayed there during breaks instead.

Abner's father, Kevin, was my dad's chauffeur. His mother, Beth, was our housekeeper. The three of them lived in the mansion to look after the property.

Apparently, after enough time, they'd decided the place was theirs.

The next day I called a car to take us over. Servants I'd never seen before stood at the front gate, checking invitations from Annette before letting anyone through.

When it was my turn, I had no invitation. The servant stepped in front of me.

"No invitation, no entry."

I almost laughed. "You must be new. Do you have any idea who I am?"

"I don't care who you are. Without an invitation from the young missus, you're not getting in."

"Young missus?" I stared at him. "Are you sure there's a young master in this house?"

I raised my voice toward the door. "Abner Heath, get out here. NOW."

He came scurrying out within seconds.

"Zelda, why are you suddenly back?"

"This is MY house. Do I need your permission to come home?" My voice was ice. "Three years living here and you've forgotten you're just the help?"

His face drained of color. He grabbed my arm and lowered his voice to a desperate whisper. "All of Annette's classmates are here. Just give me some face, please. Pretend to be my sister, just for today. I'm begging you."

"And if I don't?" I yanked my arm free. "Abner, I gave you chances. I gave you face. Last time you brought Annette here, I let it slide. I never imagined you'd have the nerve to push it this far."

I strode past him into the house. Classmates were everywhere, wandering through the rooms like tourists at an open house.

"Oh my God, Annette, your place is HUGE! Your family is loaded!"

"Annette, you are SO lucky, marrying the heir to Heath Corp!"

"If I lived in a house like this, I'd be smiling in my sleep. Annette, you have to look out for me from now on!"

Annette stood in the middle of it all, soaking up every word of flattery, her smile so wide it looked like her face might split.

Abner grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me into the study before I could say a word. The lock clicked behind us.

"Please, Zelda. Just this once. Help me just this once."

"Get out of my way. Let me out."

"No." His voice dropped, and something ugly surfaced in his eyes. "If you don't agree, I'll take what I want right here in this room. And when I walk out that door, I'll tell everyone you threw yourself at me."

I was equal parts stunned and furious.

"Abner, you're threatening me?!"

When he saw I wasn't backing down, he lunged and grabbed at my clothes.

"Everyone here works for me. Nobody will believe you! Trying to seduce your own brother? I'd love to see you show your face in public after this!"

I fought him off with everything I had. "You're insane, Abner!"

The door burst open with a deafening kick, and Annette stood in the doorway, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Zelda, you shameless slut! You're throwing yourself at your own brother at MY birthday party? I'm carrying his baby! Your own nephew!"

"Are you even human? How could you do something so disgusting, so depraved!"

Every classmate in the hallway turned to stare. Their eyes crawled over me. Fingers pointed. Whispers hissed. The verdict was written on every face: whore.

I smoothed my disheveled hair, walked calmly to the study's hidden compartment, and pulled out a small red booklet.

"This is my family's registry. And by the way, this room has a security camera."