Part 2The Day the Family Applauded My Downfall

My cousin's "entrepreneurial journey" lasted eighteen months.

He opened a bubble tea shop.

Closed in three months.

Then he started a food truck.

Closed in five.

Later, he claimed he wanted to get into e-commerce.

"Learning from Chloe! If she can do it, so can I!"

My aunt slammed her hand on the table at Sunday dinner when she said that, her face full of pride.

I just smiled and didn't reply.

I didn't want to discourage him.

But e-commerce isn't something you can do just by reading a couple of articles online.

Brian's e-commerce venture failed, too.

He put thirty thousand dollars into it.

Lost it.

All of it.

My aunt came to me again.

"Chloe, you have to help Brian."

"Aunt Brenda, he still hasn't paid back the fifty thousand from last time."

My aunt's expression shifted.

"You child, how can you talk like that? Is your cousin a stranger?"

"He’s not a stranger, but fifty thousand dollars is fifty thousand dollars."

My aunt looked at my mom.

My mom coughed. "Chloe, don't speak to your aunt that way."

I kept quiet.

That dinner was very silent.

On the drive back, my mom finally spoke.

"Your cousin is still your aunt’s son, after all. Whether you help or not is one thing, but you can't have that kind of attitude."

"Mom, fifty thousand wasn't repaid."

"We’ll talk about money later. You made your aunt lose face. How are relatives supposed to interact after that?"

I gripped the steering wheel, saying nothing.

In our family, "face" was more important than fifty thousand dollars.

My aunt's pride was more important than my money.

A few months later, the family dynamic began to shift.

I don't know who started it, but the relatives began whispering behind my back.

"Chloe made some money, and she’s changed."

"Won't even help her own cousin. Too cold-blooded."

"I heard her company is doing pretty well. What’s the harm in helping a little?"

These words reached my ears through my aunt Sarah—my dad's younger sister, the only one who actually treated me with genuine kindness.

"Chloe, don't take it to heart," Aunt Sarah said over the phone. "But be careful. Your cousin... he’s saying some nasty things lately."

"What’s he saying?"

Aunt Sarah hesitated.

"He’s saying your company’s books are dirty. Claiming you're guilty of tax fraud."

I was stunned.

"He says he has proof."

"What proof?"

"I'm not sure. But he’s said it in front of several relatives."

I hung up.

I sat in my office, staring out the window.

My cousin had been this way since we were kids.

If he couldn't have something, he wanted to destroy it.

I called my accountant.

"Sarah, I need you to do a full internal tax audit for me. Check everything."

"What’s wrong?"

"Someone might be trying to screw me over."

Sarah was silent for two seconds.

"Okay. I’ll start this week."

After hanging up, I did one more thing.

I had my company's IT guy restrict the access permissions for the security cameras in the main office and the accounting room.

Now, I was the only one who could view them.

My gut told me my cousin wouldn't just stop at talking.