The Blind Heiress's Stand-In: A Professional Scammer's Confession

I'm a professional scammer. I once spent three years pretending to be the "one who got away" for a blind, wealthy heir. After pulling off the ultimate con—faking a pregnancy, having a baby, and vanishing without a trace—I walked away. Five years later, I'm working as a tarot card reader at a weekend flea market. A little boy walks up to my table and hands me a crumpled fifty-dollar bill. "I want you to find my mommy." Just as I pocket the cash, a woman runs over frantically. "Why are you over here? Mommy's been looking everywhere for you." The woman looked incredibly familiar. It took me a second to realize—it was the real "one who got away," the woman I had impersonated. After a few seconds of stunned silence. I pulled the fifty bucks out of my pocket and handed it back to the kid. "You found your mom. Here's your refund." But he didn't take the money. He just stared at me, unblinking. "The mom I'm looking for isn't this one." 01 My hand, holding the fifty-dollar bill, froze in mid-air. After a moment, I turned to the woman, Serena. "Kids just messing around, right? Here, you take it." She took the money and grabbed the boy's arm, ready to leave. The kid bit her hand and snatched the fifty bucks back. "This is my allowance! You're not allowed to take it!" Serena hissed in pain and looked down sharply: "Leo!" She caught herself, then crouched down, her voice softening: "Be a good boy and come home with Mommy, otherwise Daddy is going to worry." "You guys ignore me all the time anyway! Just go have another one!" Leo pushed her away, sat squarely back down on the stool in front of my table, and handed the money back to me. Serena let out a cold laugh, her gaze full of hidden meaning. "Fine, do a reading for him. Let's see if his real mommy even wants him." Judging by her tone, Leo definitely knew she wasn't his biological mother. So... did Julian know too? When I left, I was still using Serena's identity. My heart instantly tied itself into a knot. But I kept my composure, took the money, and asked Leo: "Do you know your exact date of birth?" Of course I knew the answer. Ten months of pregnancy, a C-section, pain that made me wish for death. I couldn't forget it even if I tried. "January 8th, 2020." He looked at me earnestly. "Daddy said it was really cold that day." I remember. It snowed that day. The hospital room and the world outside were a blanket of white. I've always had poor circulation. Even with the heat blasting, my hands and feet were like ice in the winter. That night, Julian sat at the foot of the bed and warmed my feet. He sat there the entire night. But the person he was warming them for was Serena, not Chloe. I looked at Serena standing in front of me and buried those memories back deep in my heart. Then, I pulled out my tarot deck and put on a show of doing a reading. After a while, I said: "You and your mother aren't meant to be. You should stop looking." Leo's bottom lip instantly quivered. "You're lying." "Daddy clearly said that Mommy is in the place with the most scammers." 02 It's true, I am very good at scamming people. I'm a professional scammer. I've played the role of a parent, a girlfriend, the "other woman"—always getting five-star reviews. I've done online romance scams, stringing guys along for a few hundred bucks before breaking up, teaching them a valuable life lesson; I've even hung out at high-end clubs, coaxing trust-fund kids into opening bottles of champagne that cost tens of thousands of dollars... But the biggest scam I've ever pulled in my life... Was pretending to be Serena and deceiving Julian for three years. Serena went abroad, Julian chased after her, got into a car accident on the way, and lost his sight. From then on, he was depressed and sullen. Julian's parents couldn't bear to watch him waste away, so through various connections, they found me and hired me to play Serena. To play Serena convincingly, I put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. I learned to play the bass, changed the cadence of my voice, and took vocal lessons. Right, they were musicians. Their indie band was just starting to get some traction when Serena chose to leave the country for a prestigious music program. And the band fell apart. The first time I saw Julian, he was sitting by a floor-to-ceiling window, staring blankly at the shadows of the trees outside. His eyes were lifeless. I used Serena's tone and told him I was back. But I never expected his very first sentence to be— "Why did you use an erhu for the intro of that demo?" I had imagined countless scenarios where I'd have to flex my acting skills. Maybe we'd hold each other and cry, maybe we'd have a huge fight, or maybe there'd be a warm reconciliation. But I never, ever expected a scenario like this. So, I stammered for a good minute before finally blurting out: "To promote traditional cultural heritage." The moment the words left my mouth, the room went dead silent. Julian tilted his head, his sightless eyes full of confusion. After a long time. He said, "I want to hear you sing. Our very first song." I breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, I had practiced every single one of their songs thousands of times. I knew them by heart. Julian played the piano to accompany me. Even blind, he played beautifully. He just could never read sheet music again. When the song ended, he said: "You sang beautifully. Even better than before." 03 Regardless of whether Julian knew of my existence or not, I was a greedy scammer who only cared about money. I played his "one who got away" for the money. I gave birth to his child for the money. And, for the money, I left cleanly and decisively. I don't deserve him. And I definitely don't deserve to be Leo's mother. Snapping back to reality, I said with a blank expression: "Then you should go to the police station. They've caught a lot of scammers there." Leo's round, almond-shaped eyes suddenly welled up with tears. He looked so helpless. Serena smirked. "Now we can go, right?" Leo reluctantly followed her away. As he walked, he kept looking back at me, every few steps. Looking incredibly wronged. I lowered my head and began packing away my scattered tarot cards and velvet cloth, piece by piece. Then I adjusted the cheap gray wig on my head and limped away without looking back. Only after turning a corner did I hop on my beat-up electric scooter. Speeding away like lightning. They probably didn't recognize me. I had never met Serena face-to-face. I had also suppressed the urge in my heart and hadn't sneaked a peek at Leo for five whole years. Not to mention, I was currently disguised as an elderly woman. That's how it is when you set up a fortune-telling booth; the older you look, the more people believe you. Because of this, I thought this was just a simple, random encounter. Until the next day. Leo showed up at my booth again and slapped down a fifty-dollar bill. "Can you do a reading and tell me what my mommy's name is?" I hesitated and asked, "Are you out here all by yourself every day? Doesn't your family look after you?" He shook his head. "Daddy went shopping with that woman. I sneaked out." That woman? He didn't even call Serena "Mommy". Is his relationship with her that bad? I debated for a long time, but still took the money. After all, being with me, whatever the circumstances, was better than him wandering around alone. I shuffled the tarot cards and gave him an answer. "Your mother's last name is Starr, but the first name is a bit hard to read." "If you buy this 'All-Seeing Eye' crystal from me for $150, I'll tell you right now." 04 This time, Leo was dragged away by Serena, crying his eyes out. Because I had scammed him out of all his toy money, and I still hadn't told him the first name. He wailed as he was pulled away. "Waaah! You really are a big scammer! Waaah! My Transformers and Ultraman! Waaah!" He definitely came looking for me on purpose. But who told him I was his mother? Julian? Or his grandparents? But regardless of who it was, there shouldn't be any reason to tell him. The kid's crying was loud. It drew disdainful looks from the other vendors around me. I ignored them as usual. I hopped on my scooter and didn't look back. I figured the young master would back off after this. But over the next few days, he kept showing up at my booth. Handing over cash. I moved my booth to the east side of the flea market, then to the west side, then even set up outside a local church, but I couldn't shake him. The last time. He was wearing overalls and a little backpack, and plopped himself right down on my folding stool. "Big scammer, I want to live at your house." "..." I quickly packed up my things, looking down, and yanked the stool right out from under him. Leo landed hard on his butt on the concrete. Then he shakily stood up, patted the dust off his little hands, and looked at me with pitiful eyes. He really knew how to play the victim. Just like Julian used to. I suppressed the pang in my heart, ignored him, and walked away on my own. A rich kid from a prominent family wouldn't be out without someone watching him. It was all a setup. But after turning the corner, I ultimately didn't get on that electric scooter. Instead, I took a different route, circled back to another direction, and secretly watched Leo. He was still standing in the same spot, his hands nervously clasped together, staring intently in the direction I had left. Like an exquisite, fragile little porcelain doll. His features looked like mine, but his aura was all Julian. The very first time I saw him that day, my heart was involuntarily tugged. I almost cried. But my acting skills have always been pretty good. Half an hour passed. Leo didn't leave, and no one from the Vance family showed up. ...Is this really how Julian treats his own son? Is it because he knows he's not Serena's child, so he doesn't care at all? An unspeakable bitterness suddenly welled up in my chest. I stared at Leo for a long time, and finally walked back to him. "Let's go. Come home with me." 05 Leo's eyes lit up instantly. Sparkling, like colorful glass marbles. "Okay!" He grabbed my hand, his face radiating pure joy. Sitting on the back of my electric scooter. Leo hugged my waist from behind and asked nervously: "Big scammer, are you divorced now? Do you have any other kids?" I froze for a second. To ask those two questions, it seems someone from the Vance family has been investigating me. I thought about it and answered a question with a question. "Want to know? Trade me an answer for an answer." "Who told you to come looking for your mom?" Leo went quiet. He held it in the whole ride and didn't say another word. When he got off the scooter, his cheeks were puffed out, looking like an angry little pufferfish. Until we got to my door, and Little Grape circled around him, sniffing him. He was so startled he glued himself to my side. I smiled. "Her name is Little Grape. She's much older than you, and very well-behaved. Don't be afraid." Little Grape is a small Bichon Frise. She was the birthday gift I gave Julian during my first year by his side. After he lost his sight, he was very depressed and needed some lively colors in his life. However, on the day I left the Vance family, I casually took the dog with me. In Julian's eyes, Little Grape has probably passed away by now. But since she was a dog I raised, she's probably just as insignificant as someone like me. Leo crouched down and carefully pet Little Grape's head. She immediately rolled over onto her back, exposing her belly. I almost forgot. Little Grape had sniffed Leo after he was born. "Wow, she licked my hand!" Leo giggled. "Don't touch your eyes or mouth after your hand gets licked. Remember to wash your hands before eating." I instructed him as we walked inside. I changed my clothes and took off my makeup. Old-age makeup is hard to put on, but quick to take off. Leo ran over and peeked at me from the doorframe. His eyes were sparkling. I looked down at him, confused. He gave a shy smile and ran away. ......? Are all kids like this? Until I went into his room to call him for dinner, and saw him lying in Little Grape's dog bed, talking into his smartwatch. His tone was full of bragging. "Mommy is so, so pretty! I got to see her before Daddy!" 06 I didn't make a sound. I stood at the door and listened. I didn't know what the person on the other end said. Leo let out a "Hmph." "So what! I get to hug Mommy and sleep with her tonight." He rambled on about a lot of things. "Mhm, mhm! There's no one else at home, and no men's clothes!" "Mommy bought me an Ultraman toy." As he spoke, he started getting anxious. "But Mommy is so great, someone's going to steal her!" ...... I felt like I had been scammed. Scammed by this father-son duo. "You can't sleep in the dog bed, your clothes will get dirty." I suddenly spoke up. Leo was startled. He hurriedly hung up the call and scrambled out of the dog bed, his cheeks flushed red. I found it amusing. I didn't ask him who he was talking to; I just took him to wash his hands and eat dinner. At the dinner table, watching Leo stuff his face, I remembered a gig I had seen recently. Playing the wife and son of a rich guy, needing a woman around 30 and a boy around 4. Two hours for a thousand bucks. Looking at it now, it was practically tailor-made for me. So I said: "If you want to live with me, you have to go to work with me the day after tomorrow." Leo looked up, a grain of rice still stuck to the corner of his mouth, his speech slurred. "Are we going to scam people into buying the 'All-Seeing Eye'?" "We're going to go find you a rich dad." 07 That night, Leo slept in the same bed as me. After I turned off the light, after a while, he slowly shimmied closer. His breath puffed against my face, tickling me. When I didn't react, he reached out and poked my cheek. It reminded me of the many nights during those three years when Julian would also frequently touch my face. His long, slender fingers would trace my eyebrows, my eyes, my nose, and finally rest on my lips. I would tease him: "It's not like you haven't seen me before, why are you feeling my face like this?" Those pitch-black eyes stared straight at me. Even though he couldn't see, they still sparkled with light. "I want to memorize it better." Later, I told him I was pregnant. That night, he traced my face over and over again. As if trying to carve it into his heart. "Chloe, marry me, okay?" ...... Leo's little hands were chubby and felt really nice against my face. "Mommy......" "Why didn't you come see me?" "I missed you so much... Mommy." He, just a tiny little thing, burrowed into my arms. I couldn't hold it back. My tears ultimately soaked the pillow. 08 The day I accompanied the rich guy for the acting gig, I took Leo to the restaurant right on time. I had actually been to this restaurant before. With Julian. After he lost his sight, it was the first time he mustered the courage to write music again, and he asked a friend he knew well to release the single. To help him write the song, I studied every single instrument thoroughly. I also unexpectedly discovered that we clicked perfectly when it came to music. He never again asked the kind of questions he did when we first met. "Not bad. Beautiful." A male voice broke my train of thought. It was the rich guy. His name was Liam. He did have a wife abroad, but he got scammed in the marriage. He felt embarrassed, so he never told anyone. Now that he was back, he specifically hired people to put on a show. To make the lie even better, he even added a kid to the mix. He seemed very satisfied. He kept praising Leo. "So cute, he actually looks a bit like me." Leo looked up and studied him carefully, then looked at me. It was like he was asking, "Do we look alike?" One with monolids, one with double eyelids—they definitely didn't look alike. But this was the client paying the bills. So I smiled along. "He does. Come on, call him Daddy." Leo was confused, but very street-smart. "Daddy!" Liam loved it. He took Leo's hand and led us into the restaurant. "Be a sweet talker later, call me Daddy a few more times, and I'll give you some pocket money, got it?" "Okay! Daddy! Daddy!" His voice was very loud. In the private dining room, many eyes shot towards me and Leo. Liam's friends all offered congratulations and teased him. I smoothly and tactfully handled their comments. Until I caught a glimpse of a cold, aloof face in the corner. After regaining his sight, those sharp eyes had a piercing focus, making him even more handsome. Only right now, there was a faint, mocking smile playing at the corners of his eyes. "Heh." Seeing him, Leo went pitter-patter and ran over, throwing himself into his arms. "Daddy!" The talking and laughing in the private room suddenly died down. Gazes crossed through the crowd and collided.