I was the last to know our company was being sold for $20 million. I went to work as usual that day, but when I pushed open the conference room door, it was full of people. Liam, my boss, sat at the head of the table, flanked by three strangers in sharp suits. He saw me, and his eyes flickered. "Chloe, go back to your work, we don't need you here." I froze in the doorway. A document lay spread out on the conference table, and I could only make out a few words— "Equity Acquisition Letter of Intent." My name is Chloe Vance, and I'm 29 years old. Three years ago, I was an accountant at a small firm, making $4,000 a month, renting an apartment, and commuting an hour by subway. Liam was a senior from my university, four years ahead of me, and a prominent figure on campus. We weren't particularly close, occasionally exchanging a few words in the alumni group chat after graduation. Until one night three years ago, he suddenly asked me out to dinner. "Chloe, I want to start a business in cross-border e-commerce," he said casually, picking up a piece of food. "You're an accounting major, want to join?" I was taken aback. "Senior, I... I don't really know much about e-commerce." "You don't need to." He smiled. "You handle the money, I'll handle the business, and we'll split it fifty-fifty." Fifty-fifty. Those words were like a pebble dropped into the stagnant pool of my life. I had just gone through a breakup, my job was unsatisfying, and I felt like I was just going through the motions every day, finding life meaningless. Liam's words were like a ray of light. "Senior, I don't have much money," I said honestly. "How much do you have?" "Savings... about twenty or thirty thousand dollars." He nodded: "Not enough. The startup capital needs to be at least two million dollars." My heart sank. "But—" he continued, "I'll put in one million, you put in one million. You can borrow the rest from your family." Borrow from my family. My parents were blue-collar workers; they hadn't saved much their entire lives. But I was still tempted. Fifty-fifty. Being my own boss. Changing my life. These phrases kept spinning in my head all night. The next day, I called my mom. "Mom, I want to start a business." Silence hung on the other end of the line for a long time. "How much do you need?" "...One million." My mom didn't scold me, nor did she ask too many questions. A week later, she wired the money to my account. I later found out that money was their life savings for retirement, plus money borrowed from relatives, plus a loan against their old house back home. One million dollars. My parents had never seen that much money in their lives. They entrusted it to me. And I entrusted it to Liam. On the day we signed the contract, Liam treated me to a lavish dinner. "Come on, Chloe, have a drink to celebrate our partnership!" I couldn't drink much, but I was so happy that day. Whenever he toasted me, I drank. Glass after glass. What happened later is a bit of a blur. I only remember him pushing a stack of documents in front of me. "Sign here, just a formality." I squinted at the text, densely packed and a bit dizzying. "What is this..." "The partnership agreement." He picked up a pen for me. "See, 1,000,000 for 50%, it's written clearly." I took the pen and signed my name. He smiled, gathered the documents, and patted my shoulder. "Junior, from today on, we're partners." Partners. I believed those words for three years. The beginning of the company was tough. We rented a 600-square-foot office with no AC in the summer and no heating in the winter. Liam ran the business, I handled the finances, and with two part-time customer service reps, that was our entire team. I arrived at the office at 8 AM every day and didn't leave until 11 PM or midnight. Salary? None. Liam said, "We're just starting out, let's hold off on salaries until we make some money." I thought that made sense. It was our own company, so working hard was worth it. The first year, the company lost $300,000. Liam was anxious, spending sleepless nights. "Chloe, how much money is left in the account?" "Less than $400,000." He smoked a cigarette and looked at me. "Do you have any more money?" I paused. "I... have a little." It was the $300,000 I had saved for a down payment on a house. "Can you lend it to the company for now?" He crushed his cigarette. "When the company is doing well, I'll pay you back double." I didn't say anything. "Chloe, I know this is a lot to ask." He sighed. "But we're partners. If the company goes under, we're both finished." Partners. That word again. The next day, I transferred $300,000 to the company account. Liam sent me a text: "Thank you, Junior. I won't forget this." I won't forget this. I believed him. The second year, the company started making a profit. The third year, our revenue tripled. Early this year, Liam told me someone wanted to buy our company. "For how much?" "Still negotiating." He smiled mysteriously. "But it definitely won't be low." I thought the good days were finally here. I thought these three years of hard work were finally paying off. I thought— Until today. I stood at the conference room door, looking at the Equity Acquisition Letter of Intent. 20 million. The company was worth 20 million. I put in 1 million for 50%, so I should get 10 million. Plus the 300,000 I lent later, that makes 10.3 million. I could finally pay off my parents' debts and buy myself a house. But the way Liam looked at me made me feel something was wrong. "Chloe, please wait outside." His voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. I stood there, unmoving. "Get out." I looked at him, then at the strangers, then at the document. "Senior, I'm a shareholder, why can't I be here?" The conference room fell silent for a second. Liam laughed. It was a strange laugh, like he was looking at an idiot. "Shareholder?" He stood up and walked over to me. "Chloe, since when are you a shareholder?" I thought I had misheard. "Senior, what did you say?" Liam sighed, like he was dealing with an unreasonable child. "The conference room isn't the place to talk. Let's go to my office." He turned and excused himself to the others, then pushed me out of the conference room. My mind was a complete mess on the way. What did he mean "since when are you a shareholder"? Three years ago, he said it himself: fifty-fifty. I put in 1 million. I signed the contract. I— "Sit." Liam's office was ten times bigger than three years ago. Leather sofas, a solid wood desk, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city skyline. Half of this was mine. Wasn't it? I sat down and looked at him. "Senior, the company is being acquired. Why didn't you tell me?" "It's a trade secret." "I'm a shareholder." Liam pulled a folder from a drawer and placed it in front of me. "See for yourself." I opened the folder. Inside was a contract. My name. My signature. But— "A loan agreement?" My voice trembled slightly. It stated in black and white: Chloe Vance borrows 1,000,000 from Liam Sterling, at an annual interest rate of 6%, for a term of three years. What loan agreement? I clearly signed a partnership agreement! "Senior, this isn't right. I signed a partnership agreement, 1 million for 50%—" "Look closer." His voice was very calm. I stared at the document, reading it word by word. Borrower: Chloe Vance. Lender: Liam Sterling. Loan Amount: 1,000,000. Term: Three years. Annual Interest Rate: 6%. Repayment Method: Lump-sum repayment of principal and interest at maturity. At the end was my signature. It was my handwriting. No mistake. But I clearly... The memories of that day suddenly flooded back. The lavish dinner. The toasts. Glass after glass. He pushed a stack of documents in front of me. "Sign here, just a formality." I squinted at the text, densely packed and a bit dizzying... "Remember now?" Liam's voice sounded in my ear. I looked up at him. "You tricked me." "What do you mean, tricked?" He sat back in his chair and crossed his legs. "It's in black and white, you signed it yourself. How can you call that a trick?" "You got me drunk that day—" "I treated you to dinner, you drank of your own free will. Are you blaming me?" "You said it was a partnership agreement—" "What I said doesn't matter. What matters is what's written in the contract." He smiled, like he was lecturing an ignorant student. "Chloe, you're an accounting major. You should read carefully before signing a contract. That's common sense, isn't it?" I felt cold all over. Three years. Three whole years. I thought I was a boss, but I was just a creditor. I thought I was a partner, but I was just an employee. I thought... "You—" I wanted to say something, but my throat felt blocked. Liam picked up a pen from his desk and twirled it. "Alright, we've cleared this up. The 1 million loan, plus three years' interest, totals 1.18 million. I'll return it to you in full." 1.18 million. I put in 1 million, wasted three years of my youth, and only get back 1.18 million. And he, walking away with 20 million, doesn't have to share a penny with me. "What about the 300,000?" My voice was dry. "What 300,000?" "The first year, when the company almost went under, I lent the company 300,000." "Oh, that 300,000." He nodded. "I remember. I wrote an IOU." He pulled another piece of paper from a drawer. Borrower: XX Company. Lender: Chloe Vance. Loan Amount: 300,000. Term: One year. Annual Interest Rate: 5%. One year? It's been way past a year. "The company has already repaid this money." "What? I never received—" "It was transferred to your account. Check it yourself." I pulled out my phone and trembling, opened my banking app. I scrolled back to transactions from two years ago. XX Company, incoming transfer, $315,000. Note: Loan repayment. I had absolutely no memory of this money. Back then, there were so many company transactions going in and out, I didn't even notice... "See." Liam stood up and walked to the window, his back to me. "Chloe, considering our history as alumni, I calculated the interest clearly for you, not a penny less. Anyone else would have turned hostile long ago." He turned to face me. "What more do you want?" I sat there, trembling all over. Not from the cold. From anger. Three years. I hadn't taken a single day off. I hadn't gotten a single raise. I bet my parents' retirement savings, money borrowed from relatives, and the mortgaged house back home, all on this company. And him? He walks away with 20 million and doesn't have to share a penny with me. He says I'm just a creditor. He says it's in black and white. He says— "Senior." My voice was very soft. "Where is my salary for these three years?" "What salary?" "I worked here for three years and didn't get a single penny." "You agreed to that. You said we were just starting, so we wouldn't pay salaries yet." "Did you pay yourself?" Liam paused. "I'm the boss—" "How much did you pay yourself?" "That's a company secret—" "I've seen the books. You paid yourself $50,000 a month." I stared at him. "Three years, that's 1.8 million. Not counting reimbursements, consulting fees, and travel expenses." "You—" "I'm also a 'boss'. Why did you pay yourself and not me?" Liam's expression changed. "Chloe, don't push your luck." "Me, pushing my luck?" I stood up. "You tricked me into signing a loan agreement, you stole my shares, you made me work for free for three years, and I'm the one pushing my luck?" "I tricked you? Where's the evidence?" He walked over and looked down at me. "Chloe, let me teach you something. If there's no evidence, it never happened." "You said fifty-fifty—" "Empty words." "You said I was a partner—" "It's not in the contract." "You told me to sign a partnership agreement—" "You didn't read it carefully, whose fault is that?" With every sentence he spoke, my heart sank further. He was right. No evidence. No audio recordings. No chat logs. No witnesses. All I had was a loan agreement. And a betrayed heart. "Get out." Liam opened the door. "I'll wire the 1.18 million to you next week. Take the money and don't come back." I stood there, unmoving. "Or what—" he chuckled, "are you going to sue me?" Sue him. Could I win? He has the contract, the bank statements, all the "evidence." What do I have? "Chloe, for old times' sake, I'll teach you one more lesson." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You're just a community college grad. You think you'd be where you are today without me? Face reality, take the money and leave. It's better for everyone." Community college grad. Without me. Where you are today. These words stabbed into my heart like knives. I turned and walked out of his office. Without looking back. I didn't know what to do next. I only knew one thing. This isn't over. It was 9 PM when I got home. I didn't turn on the lights, just sat on the sofa staring at the ceiling. One image kept replaying in my mind— Liam pushing that loan agreement towards me, smiling and saying, "Black and white." I closed my eyes, trying hard to remember the night I signed three years ago. The restaurant. The private room. The dim lighting. He kept pouring me drinks. "Come on, Chloe, let's toast to our partnership." "Senior, I can't really drink..." "It's fine, we're celebrating today, just a little." One glass. Two glasses. Three glasses. My memory gets fuzzy here. He pushed a stack of documents towards me. "Sign here, just a formality." "What's this..." "The partnership agreement. Look, 1 million for 50%." I took the pen. But did I really see it clearly? The text was dense, I only saw the numbers "1 million" and "50%"... I snapped my eyes open. No. He definitely said "partnership agreement" and "50%". But the contract... what was actually written in the contract? I rushed into the bedroom and found that document from three years ago. Loan agreement. Black and white. But if this is a loan agreement, what about the "partnership agreement" he mentioned? I stared at the document, a possibility suddenly dawning on me. Could it be that there never was a partnership agreement from the start? Could it be that he planned to scam me from the very beginning? My phone rang. It was my mom. "Chloe, have you eaten?" I opened my mouth but didn't know how to start. "Mom, I... I ate." "How's the company doing? Your senior mentioned it's being acquired, are you getting a big payout?" I froze. "Mom, how do you know?" "Your senior told me. He called a couple of days ago to thank me for supporting your startup." Liam called my mom? "What... what else did he say?" "He said the company is doing great, you've contributed a lot, and told me not to worry. He also said that when the company sells, you'll get a lot of money, and we can buy our old house back." My hand holding the phone trembled. He called my mom to tell her I'd get a payout. He told me to my face that I was just a creditor. What is he trying to do? "Chloe? Chloe, are you still there?" "Yes... Mom, I have something to take care of, I'll hang up now." I hung up the phone and slumped onto the bed. Why did he call my mom? And "a couple of days ago"— That means he knew about the acquisition long ago. He planned all this. He kept me in the dark about the acquisition while calling my mom to reassure her. Making my mom think I'd get a payout. Making my mom tell me the "good news." Making me walk blindly into his trap. And then— The loan agreement. 1.18 million. Get out. I felt cold all over. This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing; it was premeditated. Since when? Since the day we signed the contract three years ago? Or even earlier? I took out my phone and opened my WeChat chat history with Liam. I scrolled back to three years ago. The earliest message: "Chloe, are you free tomorrow? Let's get dinner, I want to talk about something." Then there were details about our collaboration. But— It was strange. There wasn't a single word about the partnership agreement. Only one message: "We'll sign the contract tomorrow, I'll book a restaurant, my treat." Just that one message. I scrolled further. For the three years after the company was founded, the chat was entirely about work. "How much was collected this month?" "Are the financial statements ready?" "Follow up with that client." Nothing about equity, dividends, or partnerships. It was as if... As if he was deliberately avoiding these topics. I put down my phone, an image suddenly flashing in my mind. Three years ago, the night we signed the contract, I posted a Moment. "New beginnings! Partnering with my senior, we each hold 50%, let's do this!" I deleted it later because Liam said, "The company is just starting, it's better to keep a low profile." I thought it made sense then. Thinking about it now— Was he destroying evidence? But did I really delete that Moment? I opened WeChat and clicked on "Album." I scrolled down. Three years ago, three years ago... It wasn't there. I had indeed deleted it. But— I remembered that night, I didn't just post a Moment. I also sent a WeChat message to my mom. I quickly opened my chat history with my mom and scrolled up. One page, two pages, three pages... Found it! Three years ago, the night we signed the contract, I sent my mom a voice message: "Mom! I signed it! Senior said I put in 1 million for 50%, and when the company makes money, half of it is mine!" A voice message. I had sent a voice message. My hands were shaking. I tapped it. My own voice came out of the phone, sounding a bit tipsy, but every word was clear— "Mom! I signed it! Senior said I put in 1 million for 50%, and when the company makes money, half of it is mine!" 1 million. 50%. He said it. My mom never deleted this voice message. Because she never clears her chat history. I stared at the phone screen, my eyes burning. The evidence was there all along. I didn't rush to confront Liam. I knew one voice message wasn't enough. In court, he could argue that it was my "one-sided understanding," or that he never promised any equity. I needed more.
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