My Brother Wants to Thank Me... Or Ruin Me?

My pen hovered in midair, never touching the page. My mind raced, but I couldn't jump to conclusions over one tiny detail.

Maybe Oliver was just familiar with official bank numbers. Or maybe he'd gotten so many scam texts that he could identify one at a glance.

I kept going back and forth, unable to decide what to believe.

"Daphne?"

Oliver's voice brought me back to the present.

"Why did you stop signing again?" he asked, the faintest hint of anxiety creeping into his voice.

"It's nothing. My hand's just a little shaky," I replied with a smile.

At that moment, I made a decision. I was going to test him one last time. "Oliver, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Does your company have any lawsuits going on right now? I thought I saw its name online the other day."

Oliver's expression didn't change in the slightest, and he nodded without hesitation. "Last year, one of our suppliers refused to pay what they owed us, so we took them to court. The case is still pending."

"Is that the only one?" I pressed.

"That's the only one. If you're worried, I can pull up the court documents and show you."

As he spoke, he sat down at his computer, tapped away at the keyboard for a few seconds, then turned the monitor toward me.

On the screen was an official court filing. Oliver's company was listed as the plaintiff, while the defendant was a building materials supplier.

It was a sales contract dispute, with 870 thousand dollars at stake.

Oliver's company was the plaintiff. That meant it was trying to collect what it was owed and not the other way around.

I stared at the filing, and suddenly I wasn't so sure anymore.

If the comments were true and Oliver's company was drowning in debt, then there should have been plenty of lawsuits with his company listed as the defendant. But this case showed the exact opposite.

Could the comments really have been fake? Had I been wrong about my brother this whole time?

Suddenly, my eyes stung with unshed tears. If all of this was nothing more than my own paranoia, how devastated must Oliver have been by the way I'd treated him today?

He'd genuinely wanted to give me 30% of the company, while I had spent the entire time suspecting he was trying to ruin me.

"Daphne, did something happen?" Oliver asked softly, his eyes filled with genuine concern. "Whatever it is, tell me. I'll help you."

I took a deep breath and finally made up my mind. I couldn't hesitate anymore. The comments were a hallucination, and Oliver's thoughts were the real thing. He would never hurt me.

Just like that, I picked up the pen and turned to the signature page.

The pen touched the paper as I began to sign. Then, out of nowhere, I remembered something.

I slowly lifted my head and looked at Oliver.

He was still smiling, completely unaware. "You done signing, Daphne?"

I stared at his face. This was someone I'd known for 30 years.

The comments or Oliver's thoughts—one was the lie. And in that moment, I finally knew.