Stolen Identity: My Best Friend's Lethal Secret

My skull shattered against the concrete steps.

Blood flooded my vision.

Lexi towered over me.

She watched me take my last breath with dead, empty eyes.

A blinding notification lit up her phone screen:

[ Ms. Jade, the $50,000 loan has been successfully deposited. ]

The debt was in my name. She was the one burning through the cash.

Hundreds of collection letters stuffing my mailbox, debt collectors flooding my social media, getting dragged out of my apartment and thrown onto the street by the landlord in broad daylight, and even facing felony charges

It was all a death trap set by my "best" friend.

She drained every last drop of my blood.

The crushing suffocation vanished.

I snapped my eyes open.

I gasped for air.

My old phone rattled against the desk. The screen flashed a debt collector's number.

That familiar, suffocating perfume closed in, and Lexi slammed her hand down on my phone screen, pressing her body weight against my back. "Jade, why are you just staring at the screen? Aren't you going to answer?"

I gripped my phone until my knuckles turned white and jerked away from her touch.

First step of my second life.

Head to the carrier store and torch this cursed phone number.

Chapter 1

The phone buzzed against the hard wood. The screen flashed alive, went dark, and flared up again.

I stared at the unknown number. My finger hovered over the green button, my hand shaking uncontrollably.

"Jade, why aren't you picking up?" Lexi crowded in from behind. She dropped her chin onto my shoulder, the sickeningly sweet scent of her perfume suffocating me.

I whipped around, nearly colliding with her face.

Lexi jolted back. Her eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second, but she quickly plastered on that sickeningly sweet smile. "What's wrong? You look awful." She reached out to feel my forehead.

I instinctively jerked away.

"I'm fine. Just a little dizzy." I lowered my head to hide my trembling fingers. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Lexi rolling her eyes.

The phone rang again.

This time, the caller ID showed "Delivery." I knew better.

I had answered these calls countless times in my last life. I used to think they were just packages. Then I learned they were debt collectors hunting me down.

Lexi's gaze locked onto my phone, a sharp glint in her eyes. "Another spam call? You're getting a lot of those lately." She reached for my device, playing it casual. "Let me block them for you."

I slapped her hand away. "Keep your hands off it." I snatched my phone off the desk, staring her down with dead eyes.

A few students turned to look at us. Lexi's face froze.

"Sorry. I'm just on edge lately." I forced a tight smile and shoved the phone deep into my backpack.

Lexi's features relaxed. That fake smile slid right back into place. "Are you too stressed from studying? Let me buy you boba after school. That new place just opened up, didn't you want to try it?"

I nodded, pretending to organize my backpack to avoid her gaze.

That was before I tumbled down those concrete steps. Before the blood blinded me, and I saw that new notification pop up on her screen:

[ QuickLoan: Dear Ms. Jade, your $50,000 loan application has been successfully deposited into the bank account ending in 3472 ]

That wasn't even my bank account.

The bell rang. Lexi hooked her arm through mine and dragged me out of the classroom, chattering endlessly about her weekend plans.

I nodded mechanically.

"Jade? Jade!" Lexi shook my arm. "Are you even listening to me?"

"What? Sorry, zoned out."

Lexi let out an exaggerated sigh, playing the victim.

Chapter 2

"Listen, you're coming shopping with me this weekend to get that designer dress. I have to be the absolute center of attention at Lincoln's birthday party."

Lincoln.

That name made my fists clench instantly.

In my last life, Lexi used my phone to send him a vicious breakup text. He ignored me for an entire year.

"Sure," I heard myself say. "But I need to swing by home first. My mom needs me for something."

Lexi wrinkled her nose. "Home again? Why are you always going home lately?" Her tone dripped with obvious annoyance, as if my entire life was supposed to revolve around her.

When we split up at the campus gates, Lexi suddenly turned around. "Oh, let me borrow your phone for a second. Mine's dead, and I need to call my mom."

My body went rigid.

It was these seemingly harmless little requestsborrowing my phone to make a quick callthat ended up feeding my number into every sketchy loan app's contact list.

"My battery is basically dead." I pulled out my device, flashing the 5% warning on the screen. "Go rent a portable charger from the campus store."

Lexi's jaw tightened, but she quickly masked it with a bright smile. "Whatever. I'll just call from my dorm." She waved and walked off, playing the picture of innocence.

I stood still, waiting until she disappeared into the crowd before I pulled my phone back out.

Three unread texts lit up the screen.

[ SpeedyCash: Ms. Jade, your loan ending in 3472 is three days past due ]

[ GoldenAnt: Ms. Jade, please settle the outstanding loan under your name immediately ]

[ CreditCare: Ms. Jade, your credit limit has been increased to $80,000 ]

My hands shook so hard the phone nearly slipped from my grip.

I never applied for any of these loans. But every single one had my name and my number stamped on it.

Back in my dorm room, I dug out my ID and debit cards, inspecting them one by one.

"Jade, what are you doing?" My roommate, Willow, pushed the door open. She spotted the pile of cards spread across my bed and leaned in with curiosity.

"Nothing. Just organizing my wallet." I quickly swept up the cards and looked up with a tight smile.

Willow was one of the few people who actually believed me at the bitter end of my last life. Too bad by then, Lexi had already turned everyone against me. I was too broken to even accept Willow's kindness.

"By the way," Willow sat on her bed, hesitating for a second. "People in our classes are spreading rumors that you um took out some shady online loans?"

My fingers locked up. "Who said that?"

"I don't know, just heard people whispering." Willow looked at me with genuine worry. "If it's true, I can lend you some cash to get by"

"It's fake," I cut her off. My voice came out sharper than I intended. "I have never taken out a single loan."

I stared straight into Willow's eyes, leaving zero room for doubt. "Listen, Willow. Whatever disgusting rumors you're hearing, someone is intentionally trying to destroy me. I am going to investigate this and drag that person out into the light."

Willow flinched, shrinking back a little. "I was just asking. Don't be mad."

I took a deep breath, forcing my racing heart to slow down. "I'm sorry. I've just been getting bombarded with scam calls lately. Someone might have used my number to sign up for something."

"Oh." Willow let out a breath of relief. "Are you going to call the cops?"

The cops.

I tried that in my past life. But the police said there was zero direct evidence linking it to Lexi. She was too smart. All the loan documents were filled out with my personal info, and the IP addresses traced right back to the campus public Wi-Fi.

"I'll see how it plays out," I said.

My phone buzzed again. This time, it was a local number. I hesitated for a second, then pressed answer.

Chapter 3

"Jade, right?" a rough male voice grated through the speaker. "When exactly are you paying up?"

My palms went slick with sweat. "Who is this?"

"Save the bullshit! You borrowed thirty grand through our platform, and with interest, it's already ballooned to fifty!" The man raised his voice. "Have the money by noon tomorrow, or we're walking right into your classroom!"

Willow stared at me, her eyes wide with panic.

I forced my tone to stay dead flat. "Sir, you have the wrong person. I've never taken out a loan."

"Cut the crap! We have your social security number, your bank info, and a selfie of you holding your driver's license!" he sneered. "Noon tomorrow. Or else."

The line went dead.

I sat frozen on the bed, a violent shiver racking my spine.

A selfie with my ID? I never took a picture like that.

"Jade are you okay?" Willow asked, her voice tight.

"I'm fine," I replied mechanically. My brain shifted into overdrive.

How the hell did Lexi get a picture of me holding my ID? The debt collectors in my last life never mentioned that detail.

My phone buzzed. A text from Lexi.

[ Jade, let's grab lunch tomorrow at noon! Found this amazing new brunch spot! ]

Noon tomorrow. The debt collector demanded payment by noon, or they'd show up at my classroom. And Lexi wanted me off-campus at exactly twelve. What a coincidence.

I typed back.

[ Sounds good. But I have class all morning. I can't make it until 12:30. ]

Lexi replied instantly.

[ No worries, I'll wait for you~ Don't forget your phone, they do QR code menus. ]

Bring my phone. She always manufactured an excuse to make sure my phone was on me.

In my last life, I thought it was just a coincidence. Now the sick truth set in: every time she needed my number to authorize a new loan, she dragged me out just to use my device.

I flipped open my laptop and typed into the search bar: "How to check personal loan history."

The results made my stomach drop. All it took was my social security number and phone number to pull up records across multiple credit platforms.

I punched in my info. My fingers shook so hard I kept hitting the wrong keys.

The first site showed "No Records Found." I let out a breath.

The second one was clean too.

The third site

[ GoldenAnt: Dear Ms. Jade, your current outstanding balance is: $47,800 ]

Black spots danced across my vision.

Forty-seven thousand dollars. On just one platform.

Right up until the moment I died in my last life, I never knew the exact amount Lexi had borrowed in my name.

I kept searching. The fourth site showed two separate loans totaling sixty-two thousand. The fifth site was thirty-five thousand

The total was already pushing past a hundred and fifty grand.

I slumped back in my chair.

Cold sweat drenched my shirt.

We were only two months into the semester, and Lexi had already racked up this massive mountain of debt under my name.

How much debt did I actually die with? Those thugs trashing my apartment, the death threats blowing up my phone at 3 AM, every single bridge burned

My phone chimed again. Lexi.

[ By the way, can spot me some cash for shopping this weekend? I really want this dress, but my allowance hasn't hit my account yet. ]

I stared at the text. The final puzzle piece snapped into place.

Lexi was taking out loans in my name. She used a fraction of it to pay off the minimum balances on the old debts, and burned the rest on herself.

And I was her perfectly selected scapegoat.

I texted back.

[ I'm pretty tight on cash right now too. ]

I added,

[ Why don't we hit up the outlet mall instead? ]

Chapter 4

Lexi replied with a disappointed emoji.

[ Never mind then. I'll just buy it next month. ]

I could vividly picture her face right nowpouting, rolling her eyes, cursing me out in her head for being stingy.

In my last life, I always bent over backward to meet her demands, terrified of losing my "best friend."

Now I knew the truth. This friendship was a complete lie from day one.

I barely heard a word during my morning classes the next day. I kept checking my phone every few minutes.

11:45. The bell rang. I packed my bag, deliberately taking my time.

"Jade," the professor called out. "Can you stay back for a second? About your midterm paper"

My chest tightened. "Right now?"

"Just five minutes." The professor smiled kindly. "I see a lot of potential in the direction of your paper, and I wanted to give you some notes."

I glanced at my phone. 11:50.

The debt collector said they were coming to my classroom at noon. And Lexi was waiting for me off-campus at 12:30.

If I stayed here

"Okay." I nodded, dragging my feet to follow the professor.

11:55. We reached the professor's office door.

A heavy commotion echoed from the end of the hall. Several men in black t-shirts stormed down the corridor. The guy in the lead was clutching a piece of paper.

"Which classroom is Jade in?" he barked at a passing student.

My blood turned to ice.

They actually showed up. And they were early.

The professor frowned at the group. "Who are you looking for?"

The lead guy waved the paper. "Jade. Sophomore, economics major. She owes us money and hasn't paid up. We're here to have a little chat."

Pinned to the paper was my photo and my student ID info.

"This is an academic building. Leave immediately," the professor ordered, his face hardening. "Or I'll call campus security."

"Go ahead and call!" The man kicked over a trash can in the hallway, the metal clattering violently against the floor. "She borrowed fifty grand in cash from us! If she doesn't cough up the money today, I'm plastering her nudes on every single locker in this building!"

A crowd of students was already forming. Whispers broke out. Phones went up to record.

"Isn't that Jade from economics?"

"Oh my god, she took out a loan with the mob?"

"She always seemed so quiet, who would have thought"

I stood behind the professor, my body trembling.

It played out exactly like this in my past life. The debt collectors caused a massive scene on campus, and my reputation was completely destroyed.

Back then, I had no idea what was happening. I just cried and denied everything, utterly powerless to prove my innocence.

"Jade," the professor turned to me, lowering his voice. "Do you know these men?"

I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, a familiar voice cut through the crowd.

"Jade! What's going on?" Lexi shoved her way to the front, her face plastered with "worry." She ran up and grabbed my arm.

"Who are these guys? Why are they looking for you?"

Her performance was flawlessa slight frown, eyes welling up with tears, voice shaking with just the right amount of panic.

If I hadn't lived through this once before, I never would have doubted the "best friend" who stepped up to defend me.

The debt collector's eyes flicked over Lexi. A subtle look passed between them.

I caught that micro-expression instantly. They knew each other.

"You Jade?" The lead guy turned his focus back to me. He shook the "loan contract" in his hand. My signature was splashed right across the bottom lineforged, obviously.

Chapter 5

"I've never taken out a loan." My voice was quiet, but it cut through the noise. "That signature is a fake. We can call the cops right now and get a handwriting analysis."

The man froze. He clearly didn't expect me to be this calm.

"Cut the crap! We have your social security number, your bank info, and a selfie of you holding your ID!" The guy raised his voice, turning to the crowd of students.

"Look at this! This is the kind of trash going to your school! Takes our money and tries to play dumb!"

Lexi stepped in right on cue to "defend" me. "You guys definitely have the wrong person! Jade isn't like that!"

She turned to me, a sly glint flashing in her eyes. "Jade, did someone steal your identity?"

She was leading the witness.

In my last life, I fell right into her trap and admitted my identity might have been stolen. That only made the debt collectors more certain I was the one who took the money.

"It's not identity theft." I met the debt collector's eyes dead-on and shoved my phone right into his face. "Someone forged my signature to commit fraud. I've already contacted my lawyer."

"If you harass me one more time, I guarantee you'll be served with a court summons by tomorrow morning."

Lexi's grip tightened on my arm.

Her manicured nails dug straight into my flesh.

The debt collectors exchanged a look. The leader sneered. "Fine. We'll wait for the cops and see who's really lying!"

The professor had finally had enough. "That's enough! I've already called campus security. Leave immediately!"

"As for Jade's situation, the university will conduct a full investigation."

Campus security arrived. The thugs cursed and backed off, shouting threats over their shoulders that they would be back.

The crowd of students slowly dispersed, but the whispers and the weird stares lingered.

"Jade," the professor stared at me, his face dead serious. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Someone used my personal info to take out loans." I pulled up the credit reports on my phone. "I never applied for any of these. The signatures are all fake."

The professor examined the screen, his brow furrowing. "This is extremely serious. I suggest you contact the police immediately and file a report with campus security."

"I will." I nodded. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw all the color drain from Lexi's face.

"Jade," Lexi grabbed me the second we stepped out of the building. Her voice was uncomfortably bright. "Those guys were terrifying! Let's go grab food and take your mind off it."

I looked at her desperately trying to play it cool, and I almost laughed.

She pulled this exact same stunt in my last life. Every time the thugs made a scene, she would drag me out to eat or shop, using "relaxation" as a cover to distract me from calling the cops or looking into the loans.

"I'm not hungry." I yanked my arm out of her grip. "I'm going to campus security to file a report."

Lexi's face froze. "Right right now? Is it really that urgent?"

"It's urgent." I stared straight into her eyes. "Someone took out over a hundred grand in my name. I can't wait."

"A hundred grand?" Lexi's voice spiked. "How do you know the exact number?"

My heart skipped a beat. I slipped up.

I supposedly just found out about the loans ten minutes ago. I shouldn't know the total amount yet.

"That guy just said it." I played dumb. "He said I borrowed fifty thousand, and with interest, it's way more."

Lexi let out a visible breath of relief. "Oh right. I was just so freaked out, I didn't hear him." She hooked her arm through mine again. "I'll go with you to security."

"It's too scary to deal with this alone."

I practically wanted to give her a standing ovation for that performance.

Chapter 6

Go with me to campus security?

She definitely just wanted to keep tabs on me, making sure I didn't say anything that could incriminate her.

"Sure," I offered a sickeningly sweet smile. "I'm so glad you're here."

On the way to the security office, Lexi kept probing, trying to fish out exactly what I was going to tell them. I gave her vague, noncommittal answers. Her mask slipped, panic bleeding into her features.

The campus security officer's face darkened as he listened to my statement.

"Jade, are you absolutely certain you did not authorize any of these loans?"

"Positive." I slid my ID and student card across his desk. "I suspect someone forged my credentials."

The officer inspected the cards. "Has anyone borrowed your ID recently? Have you misplaced it at any point?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Lexi shifting nervously in her chair.

"No," I said, dragging out the syllable. "I keep my ID on me at all times."

"That doesn't make sense." He frowned. "These lending platforms require strict identity verification. Some even demand facial recognition. If you didn't do it, how did the scammer bypass the system?"

Facial recognition.

The words hit me like a physical blow. The debt collectors in my past life mentioned a selfie of me holding my ID, but they never said how they got it. It suddenly clicked. Lexi must have harvested my biometric data somehow.

"Sir." A memory flashed in my mind. "The digital archives in the campus library. Don't we have to use our ID and a facial scan to log into those computers?"

"Yes, to track user access." The officer nodded, then paused as the implication dawned on him. "Are you saying"

"I go to the archives with my classmates a lot." I let my gaze slowly drift over to Lexi. "Sometimes, I hand my ID to a friend to log in for me."

Lexi shot up from her chair. "Jade! What is that supposed to mean? Are you accusing me?"

Her reaction was violently over-the-top. Even the security officer shot her a highly suspicious look.

"I never said it was you." I kept my voice dead flat. "I'm just stating facts."

"Jade," the officer said, his tone grim. "If someone did steal your identity for these loans, that is a federal crime. I strongly advise you to contact the police immediately and notify the lending platforms."

"I will." I nodded, pulling out my phone to snap photos of the security report for my own records.

Lexi stood off to the side, her manicured nails digging into her palms. The second we stepped out of the security office and hit a blind spot in the hallway, she shoved me hard against the brick wall. She clamped her hand around my wrist like a vice, her eyes practically feral.

"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed. The sweet best-friend mask finally shattered. "Calling the cops? You think they actually care about petty crap like this?"

I violently ripped my wrist out of her grip. "A hundred grand in debt isn't petty crap to me."

"Those apps are illegal offshore garbage! The police won't even open a case!" Lexi nearly screamed. She caught herself, desperately trying to rein in her fury. "I'm looking out for you. Getting the cops involved is just going to blow this out of proportion. It's going to ruin you."

"Oh, really?" I let out a dry, humorless laugh. "So what's your master plan? I just keep fielding death threats? Let those thugs tear up the campus again? Or"

I took a hard step forward, backing her up.

"Do I just shut up and pay off someone else's debt, exactly like you want me to?"

All the blood drained from Lexi's face. "You you know