"By the time the phone rang, my company was already gone."
I picked it up without checking the caller ID.
"Mr. Lin."
The voice was unfamiliar. Calm. Professional.
"Your controlling stake in Axiom Innovations has been successfully liquidated."
For a second, I didn't understand.
Then—
"What?"
My grip tightened around the phone.
"That's impossible."
"Collins Capital has acquired all outstanding shares," he continued smoothly. "The transaction was authorized this morning."
A pause.
"By your brother."
Silence.
Not the quiet kind.
The kind that presses against your lungs until breathing feels optional.
"…No."
My voice came out lower than I expected.
"He wouldn't."
"Apologies, Mr. Lin. It seems you weren't informed."
Something snapped.
"Shut up."
The words were ice-cold.
The phone left my hand before I realized it—slamming against the glass. It shattered on impact, fragments scattering across the floor.
My chest rose sharply.
My brother… wouldn't do this.
Would he?
A faint light flickered from the broken screen.
A message.
A document.
His signature.
My fingers trembled as I stared at it.
The room went completely still.
"…He wouldn't dare."