My little brother, all part of his "chosen one CEO" image, teamed up with my stepmom to swipe my nearly-finished business proposal. The result? The company tanked, losing millions. And he blamed it all on me. "He's just jealous!" he wailed, "My own brother sabotaged my work! He can't stand to see anyone succeed!" My dad, completely snowed by their act, kicked me out, cutting off all my money. I ended up homeless, eventually getting beaten to death by some thugs. With my last breath, I heard them mention my brother's name. But fate, in its infinite wisdom, gave me a do-over. I woke up on the very day he stole my proposal. 1. Still reeling, I checked the time on my phone. Tonight was the night my brother, in cahoots with my stepmom, was going to jack my work. He'd sneakily implement my initial draft, and everyone would initially hail him as some kind of business genius. But that draft wasn't market-tested. It had serious flaws. A month later, the lack of solid data would cause a massive market correction, costing the company nearly fifty million bucks! The stock market would bleed red. Some of the older investors would even consider pulling out. And then he'd pin it all on me. "It's gotta be my brother! He was jealous, and changed the key parts of my plan to see me fail!" My dad would buy it because he thought the plan was solid. He didn't know I'd created it. My stepmom's crocodile tears and my brother, Chad's, faux-frustration would pull at my dad's heartstrings. Even my fiancée, who was only with me for the connections, would turn on me and side with Chad. They'd cut me off financially and throw me to the curb. Homeless, I'd be forced to scavenge through dumpsters for scraps. And eventually, I'd be beaten to death. Before I died, I heard them talking: "Are we really gonna kill him?" "He's just a bum. Who's gonna miss him? No one will even notice." "Yeah, besides, his own brother paid us to do it. And we got rich guys watching our backs if we get caught!" Checking the time again – it was four in the afternoon. Based on my memories from the previous life, I got to work, hammering out the final touches on the proposal. Then, I immediately sent it over to Uncle Phil, a member of the board who could go toe-to-toe with my dad. "Phil, I've done the market research on this new streaming platform. Take a look and let me know if you see any holes." I wasn't about to sit around waiting for his reply. I quickly changed clothes and headed out. A month from now, Chad would accuse me of tampering with his plan. Let them steal the initial draft. The real skill wasn't something they could just swipe. This time, I wasn't going down without a fight. I called my dad and told him I agreed to the transfer to open a new branch in Chicago. Last time, I refused. I was determined to stay in New York and battle Chad for the inheritance. Which led to my plan getting stolen, Chad getting the credit, and me taking the blame. That helpless, trapped feeling was something I'd never forget. As the plane took off for Chicago, I finally started to relax. That plane ticket, proving where I was, was my alibi. I was going to enjoy watching them try to pin this on me in a month! 2. The plane landed late at night. As soon as I turned on my phone, I was bombarded with trending news articles. "Chad, the Handpicked CEO, Lands a Million-Dollar Deal!" "Shocking! Millions in Revenue in Just Two Hours!" "The Younger Son of the Smith Family – The Real CEO Material!" Just as I'd predicted, they'd stolen my incomplete draft. The headlines were all about how amazing Chad was. They even compared me to him. "Compared to the formerly hotshot VP, Amy Carter’s son, he doesn't even measure up!" "Like mother, like son. Amy Carter was a homewrecker, so what else would you expect from her kid?" And that was me – Amy Carter’s son. Once, the Carter name had held a lot of weight in Smith Corp. Then, my dad married my mom, and together they fused their companies into a powerhouse. But when I was ten, my mom died in an accident. My dad brought my stepmom into the house. That's when I learned she was my dad’s old flame, and that I had a half-brother who was barely six months younger than me. After that, my dad dropped the charade and his attitude towards me changed drastically. He never gave me the time of day. It was like he wished I'd never been born. But at 25, I was already making waves in the business world. My stepmom was afraid I'd outshine Chad, so she teamed up with her golden child to come up with this plan. I used to tell myself that maybe I wasn't good enough, that's why my dad didn't like me. But I slowly realized that I was the product of a marriage of convenience. Chad was the son my dad truly wanted. And to give Chad what he wanted, my father was willing to sacrifice his own son. Instead of wasting time arguing with strangers online, I decided to focus on getting real results that would speak for themselves. But I still couldn't sit by and watch my mom's company get destroyed. I texted my dad. "Don't get caught up in appearances. You should really double-check the numbers." He called me immediately. "Are you trying to sabotage your brother?" "He's barely started and he's already making waves, and you're already trying to tear him down? " "Let me tell you, you're just like your useless mother. You could never come up with something this perfect!" I could hear my stepmom chiming in from the background. "Now, Sam, don't get so worked up. After all, she and her boy are known to steal from others." "But skills from the blood can't be stolen by anyone." "Alan's already been sent to the secondary office, if he can't achieve anything, the rule of the company are there to be enforced." Wow, talk about a low blow! I could hear Chad sniffling and my fiancée's familiar voice. "Don't be upset, Chad. He's just jealous." See? I didn't even have to say anything. They'd already found me guilty. Chad just had to put on an act, and I'd be held responsible for everything. My well-intentioned advice was completely ignored. Well, we'd see who had the last laugh in a month. 3. My stepmom and Chad knew that I was the true author of the plan. Afraid that I might expose the truth online, they called a press conference overnight. They released a video of Chad working tirelessly on the plan. Saying he was going above and beyond for the company. Even late at night, if he had a flash of inspiration, he'd jump up to write it down. Instantly, he was hailed as "The Handpicked CEO." Uncle Phil was furious. "You’re both Sam’s sons, your dad’s way too unfair!" "I saw the plan. It's practically identical to the one you gave me!" "I had yours tested, but Chad's just went straight into action!" "But your dad's the chairman now. I can't overrule him." If my dad used his power as chairman to push it through, the company would start hemorrhaging money any day. I was able to convince Uncle Phil to get a group of the team and fellow board members together. They'd wait until the company lost money, then launch their counterattack. Chad's new livestream plan started losing money in the second week. It wasn't just because of the flawed data, but also because of my dad's boneheaded decisions. To boost its influence and take over the market, he contacted a bunch of retailers with dead-stock products, just to restock the inventory quickly. He was treating his fanbase like sheep to be fleeced. But those fans weren't stupid. The products arrived, and they were nothing like what they were expecting. Expensive makeup was causing breakouts. Candy was giving people food poisoning. The internet was flooded with complaints. "What 'Handpicked CEO'? Is he taking us all for fools?" "Are you out of your mind?! I bought it because my favorite actor was promoting it. I ate it while watching their show, and ended up in the hospital!" "Leave my favorite influencer alone! She's not just a marketing tool!" "I have such a bad impression of Smith Corp now. I'll never buy anything from them again." Countless fans were sending Chad hate mail. 4. When Chad was getting booed in public and receiving death threats, he cracked. I got a call from my dad. He started yelling and insulting me right off the bat. "Are you behind this whole plan thing? Are you that jealous of your brother?" "You can't just accept going to the Chicago branch?" "You're just trash! Can't you understand your place in the family?!" Before I could even respond, my phone was blowing up with incoming calls. Then, the top trending topic was about Chad threatening to jump off a building. With a livestream link attached. It all clicked in my head instantly. Chad must have told my dad something, trying to get him to hold me back. That way, I wouldn't have a chance to address the slander he was throwing my way. The first to attack gets the advantage, right? Sorry, but the comeback story is way more popular. I hung up on my dad without a second thought and clicked on the livestream. Chad was standing on the roof, clutching the railing for dear life. "I can't even leave my apartment without getting booed and having things thrown at me. I'm getting death threats, people are even sending me fan mail written in blood." "It's because my brother's jealous of me! He secretly changed the data! And he contacted shady business to smear my name!" But the internet wasn't so easily fooled. That's when my fiancée, Riley Moore, the daughter of the Moore Group, stepped forward with a video. It showed me hunched over a desk, working on the plan. It only played for a few seconds before cutting off. "This is a video of Alan Smith secretly sabotaging the plan!" She even released screenshots of our text messages. "I’m jealous of Chad’s talent." "I'm the real heir to Smith Ent. He doesn't deserve to be in the running for the position!" "I'm going to ruin him! Riley, you'll help me, right?" Putting down her phone, Riley turned to the camera, righteous fury in her eyes. "Chad and I have been close friends for years. I know him. I know what kind of person he is." "That's why I refused to work with Alan and sabotage someone's plan!" With Riley's endorsement, the internet turned on me.
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