Chapter 6
The next few days were a blur of meetings, interviews, and paperwork.
Reporters camped outside the office. Headlines called Daniel a fraud and a thief.
Chloe gave a full statement, describing how Daniel bragged about taking everything from me.
Former employees came forward with stories of Daniel taking credit for other people’s work.
But Daniel refused to back down. He hired a high-profile lawyer and doubled down on his lies.
He said Elias was a stranger I’d paid to make up stories. He said the old notes were fakes.
We needed something undeniable.
I called my dad. He’d kept boxes from my college years.
“Dad, do you remember the notebook I used to carry everywhere?” I asked. “The blue one with the coffee stain?”
“I have it,” he said. “Packed in the attic. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”
When he arrived, he handed me the worn notebook.
I flipped to the page dated the month we first talked about the company.
In my handwriting: “Elias says we should name it Summit Properties. It fits. We rise together.”
And at the bottom, Elias’s signature. Dated three years before Daniel ever got involved.
That was the smoking gun.
We took it to the DA. They sent it for forensic analysis.
Two days later, the results came back: authentic. No alterations.
Daniel’s lawyer called and asked for a plea deal.
I refused.
“He needs to admit what he did,” I said. “Publicly. Fully.”
The trial date was set for three weeks away.
Elias and I spent every evening going over testimony. We laughed about old times and cried about what we’d lost.
We rebuilt our brother-sister bond piece by piece.
One night, Elias said, “I thought I’d never feel like I belonged again.”
“You belong here,” I said. “Always.”
I also started seeing a counselor. For years, I’d blamed myself for trusting Daniel.
May you like
The counselor said: “Trusting someone isn’t weakness. It’s how you found out who you are.”
I held onto that.
