Updated Feb 25, 2026 • ~7 min read
POV: Nix
Something doesn’t add up.
Brandon can’t be in two places at once.
But multiple women report meeting “Gabriella” in person.
At coffee shops. Bars. Bookstores.
While Gabi was at work.
Photographing weddings.
With documented alibis.
Someone else is pretending to be her.
I pull up surveillance footage from one of the coffee shops Kennedy mentioned.
Date: Two months ago.
There.
Woman matching Gabi’s description.
Long brown hair. Similar build.
Sitting with Kennedy.
But it’s not Gabi.
The mannerisms are different.
The posture.
The way she holds her coffee cup.
I zoom in on her face.
Similar. But not identical.
An actress.
Or someone Brandon hired.
I screenshot the footage.
Run it through facial recognition software.
Thirty minutes later: match found.
Autumn Hayes.
27 years old.
Actress. Seattle.
Small theater productions.
Waitress at a restaurant in Belltown.
Bingo.
I call Gabi.
“I found his accomplice.”
GABI
“His what?”
“The woman pretending to be you in person. Her name is Autumn Hayes.”
“He hired someone to pretend to be me?”
“Looks that way.”
I sit down.
This keeps getting worse.
“What do we do?”
“I’m going to talk to her. See if she’ll cooperate.”
“Shouldn’t I be there?”
Nix hesitates.
“Might be better if I go alone first. Less confrontational.”
“But it’s my face she’s stealing.”
“I know. But if we both show up, she might run. Let me feel her out. If she’s willing to talk, I’ll bring you in.”
He’s right.
I hate it.
But he’s right.
“Fine. But call me the second you know something.”
“Will do.”
NIX
Autumn works the dinner shift at Marination.
I show up at 6 PM.
Request her section.
She’s pretty.
Looks like Gabi from a distance.
Up close, the differences are obvious.
“Can I start you with a drink?” she asks.
“Water’s fine.”
She brings it.
I order food I don’t want.
When she comes back with my poke bowl, I make my move.
“Autumn Hayes?”
She freezes.
“Who’s asking?”
I show her my PI license.
“Phoenix Carter. I’d like to talk to you about Brandon Vale.”
The color drains from her face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She tries to walk away.
“I have surveillance footage of you impersonating Gabriella Moreno. Meeting with women Brandon scammed. You’re an accomplice to fraud.”
She stops.
Turns back.
“Can we not do this here?”
“When’s your break?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“I’ll wait.”
AUTUMN
I’m fucked.
Completely fucked.
I knew this would catch up to me.
I KNEW it.
Brandon promised it was harmless.
Just meeting women for coffee.
Being friendly.
Making introductions.
Five hundred dollars per meetup.
Cash.
No questions asked.
I needed the money.
Rent was late.
Student loans.
Credit card debt.
It seemed easy.
Until I realized what Brandon was really doing.
My break starts.
I go outside.
The PI is waiting.
“Talk,” he says.
No preamble.
Straight to business.
“Brandon hired me six months ago.”
“To do what?”
“To pretend to be his wife. Meet women. Introduce them to him.”
“You knew he was married?”
“Yeah. He said his wife was sick. That he needed companionship. That it was all innocent.”
“And you believed him.”
I look away.
“I wanted to believe him. The money was good.”
“How much did he pay you?”
“Five hundred per meetup. I’ve done… maybe twenty?”
“Ten thousand dollars.”
When he says it out loud, it sounds worse.
“Did you know he was scamming these women?”
I hesitate.
“The truth, Autumn.”
“Not at first. But yeah. Eventually I figured it out.”
“And you kept doing it.”
Shame burns in my chest.
“I needed the money.”
“That’s not an excuse for fraud.”
“I know.”
He’s quiet for a moment.
“Do you have proof? Messages from Brandon? Payment records?”
“I have everything.”
“Everything?”
“Texts. Venmo transactions. Instructions on what to say to each woman. All of it.”
“Why?”
I shrug.
“Insurance. In case he tried to screw me over. I wanted leverage.”
“Smart.”
“Not smart enough to avoid doing this in the first place.”
“I need copies. All of it.”
“Why? So you can send me to jail too?”
“No. So I can send HIM to jail. And clear Gabi’s name. She had no idea any of this was happening.”
Guilt twists in my stomach.
“I’ve seen her photos. Brandon’s wife. She seems nice.”
“She is nice. And she’s terrified she’ll be implicated in your crimes.”
“It wasn’t my—”
“You impersonated her. Scammed women using her identity. Legally, you’re an accomplice.”
Shit.
“What do you want from me?”
“Testify against Brandon. Hand over all your evidence. Cooperate fully.”
“And if I do?”
“I’ll tell the DA you cooperated. Might get you a deal. Community service instead of jail time.”
Might.
“And if I don’t?”
“I’ll tell them you were a willing participant. You’ll go down with him.”
Not much of a choice.
“Fine. I’ll cooperate.”
“Good. Can you meet tomorrow? With Gabi?”
My stomach churns.
“I have to face her?”
“She deserves to meet the woman who stole her identity.”
He’s right.
God, I hate that he’s right.
“Okay. Tomorrow.”
GABI
Nix calls.
“She’s talking. Willing to cooperate. And she has evidence.”
Relief floods through me.
“What kind of evidence?”
“Messages from Brandon. Instructions. Payment records. Everything we need.”
“That’s good. Right?”
“It’s great. But Gabi—”
“What?”
“She wants to meet you. To apologize.”
I don’t want to meet her.
Don’t want to see the face that’s been pretending to be mine.
But I need to.
“When?”
“Tomorrow. One PM. My office.”
“I’ll be there.”
The next day, I show up early.
Nix is waiting.
“You okay?”
“No. But let’s do this anyway.”
1:03 PM.
Knock on the door.
Nix opens it.
And I see her.
Autumn.
The woman who’s been wearing my face.
She’s pretty.
Looks like me from a distance.
But up close, we’re different.
“Hi,” she says quietly.
“Hi.”
Awkward silence.
“I’m sorry,” Autumn says. “For everything. I didn’t know at first what Brandon was really doing. And when I figured it out, I should have stopped. But I didn’t. And I’m sorry.”
I want to hate her.
But she looks genuinely remorseful.
“You helped him steal from those women.”
“I know.”
“Using MY face. MY identity.”
“I know.”
“Why should I believe you’re sorry?”
She pulls out her phone.
Opens her files app.
Hands it to me.
“Because I kept everything. Every message. Every instruction. Every payment. I was going to turn him in. Eventually. I just… needed the money first.”
I scroll through.
Message after message from Brandon.
Detailed instructions on what to say.
Which women to meet.
What story to tell.
It’s all here.
“This is—”
“Everything you need to bury him.”
I look at her.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“Because what he did to you is worse than what he did to me. And you deserve justice.”
I hand the phone to Nix.
“Can you use this?”
He’s already scrolling.
Eyes widening.
“Oh yeah. This is gold. Bank records. Venmo transactions showing money FROM Brandon TO Autumn. And look—”
He zooms in on a message.
Brandon: Remember, you’re Gabriella. Photographer. Sweet. Trustworthy. Get them to like you first. Then introduce them to me. Make it seem natural.
“He planned everything,” I breathe.
“Every detail,” Nix confirms.
I look at Autumn.
“Thank you. For this.”
“I’m sorry it took so long.”
“Are you willing to testify? Against Brandon?”
She nods.
“Yes. Whatever you need.”
“Good. Because we’re taking him down.”
END OF CHAPTER 6
Reader Reactions