Chapter 6
“She’s been bullying me for years! Ethan was just trying to protect me
“You can’t let her turn you against us!”
I couldn’t help but laugh–sharp, bitter, and filled with all the frustration I’d been bottling up
“Chloe,” I said, my voice cutting through her sobs, how long are you planning to keep up this act?”
I pulled out a stack of documents and tossed them onto the table.
“Take a look,” I said coldly.
“It’s all here–proof of how you bullied classmates, manipulated others to gang up on me, and played your little games behind everyone’s back.”
Chloe’s face went ghostly pale.
Her hands trembled as she leafed through the damning evidence.
She turned to Ethan, panic in her eyes.
“Ethan, it’s not true! Emma’s lying! She’s trying to frame me!”
Ethan didn’t even glance at the papers.
He dismissed them outright, grabbing Chloe’s hand instead.
“If you can’t accept Chloe, then we’ll leave,” he said, his voice full of defiance.
“Come on, Chloe.”
He thought Mom would cave, that she’d beg him to stay, unable to bear losing her son.
But he underestimated her.
Mom’s expression hardened, and her voice was like steel.
“The biggest mistake I’ve ever made was taking Chloe into this family,” she said.
“Ethan, do you remember what you promised me when Emma was little?”
“You swore you’d protect her, that you’d always be there for her.”
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“And now look at what you’ve become.”
Ethan hesitated, his bravado faltering as the weight of her words hit him.
For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of the brother I used to know.
But it was too late.
He’d gone too far, and there was no turning back.
“You’re pathetic, Ethan,” I said, my voice laced with disgust.
Ethan’s eyes darted around, his shoulders tense.
“I… I just wanted you and Chloe to get along. You were always so mean to her, and I thought…”
I glared at him, cutting him off.
Without a word, I tossed the pile of evidence onto the table–documents, screenshots, even video footage.
“Here,” I said coldly.
“Take a good look. This is the Chloe you’ve been defending.”
“Proof of how she bullied me at school, turned people against me, and manipulated everyone in this
family.”
Ethan hesitated, then picked up the papers.
At first, his face was eerily calm, which only confused me more.
But then that calm shattered, replaced by a growing anger.
I couldn’t tell if he was furious at Chloe for deceiving him or at himself for falling for her lies.
“How… how could this happen?” he stammered, his voice shaky.
“How couldn’t it?” I snapped.
“You let yourself be blinded by her fake tears and sweet talk.”
“You lost your judgment, Ethan.”
He staggered slightly, as if the weight of the truth had physically hit him.
“I didn’t know… I swear, I didn’t know.”
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“I just wanted to protect her. She told me you were bullying her at school-
“Oh, she told you, huh?” I interrupted, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
“And you believed her. Every single time.”
Ethan lowered his head, burying his face in his hands.
“How did it get this far? I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“Chloe… she tricked me. She manipulated me!”
I didn’t respond. I just stared at him, waiting for him to face the full weight of his mistakes.
Then, suddenly, he looked up, his expression hardening with determination.
“Fine. I’ll cut ties with her,” he said, his voice firm.
“She’ll pay for everything she’s done.”
As I watched him leave, I didn’t feel relief or satisfaction–just a hollow sense of exhaustion.
In the days that followed, word spread quickly.
Ethan started pulling away from Chloe, no longer defending her.
I even saw him post publicly on social media, announcing that he no longer considered Chloe his sister.
Of course, Chloe didn’t take it lying down.
She cried, threatened, and even tried to stir up trouble between me and Mom again.
But this time, Ethan didn’t fall for her act.
A month later, Mom and I were having dinner when Ethan barged into the room.
His suit was wrinkled, his tie loosened, and a patchy stubble covered his face.
He looked nothing like the polished older brother I used to know.
“Mom,” he started, his voice heavy.
“Can you forgive me?”
“Oh? You want my forgiveness?”
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Mom said without even looking up, calmly peeling a shrimp and placing it on my plate.
Ethan’s face lit up with hope.
“Yes! I’ve been thinking about everything, and I know I was wrong.”
“I regret letting Chloe manipulate me.”
“I regret hurting you and Emma.”
His voice cracked slightly, and his eyes were rimmed with red.
I paused, setting down my fork, and looked at him.
“Let me guess–you regret it now because you’re broke and no longer in the company.”
“That’s what this is really about, isn’t it?”
Ethan stiffened, his expression darkening.
“Emma, don’t twist things! That’s not why-”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Sure it isn’t.”
For a moment, he tried to argue, but the cracks in his facade were already showing,
Mom still didn’t say a word. Instead, she reached into her bag and pulled out a document.
It was her will, notarized and final.
She handed it to Ethan.
He read it, his hands shaking as he realized what it said: Everything–every last asset–was being left to
- me.
“Mom… are you serious?”
“You’re really going to cut me off completely? Over something so small?”
Mom’s calm demeanor finally broke.
“Small?” she snapped, her voice sharp and unwavering.
“You betrayed your own family, Ethan. You turned against your sister and your mother for someone who
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only cared about herself.”
“And you still don’t understand why I can’t forgive you?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue further.
“Get out,” Mom ordered, her voice icy and firm.
