The Truth

That day, my mood was heavier than ever. For the past few months, I had been trying to convince myself to believe in the future that James Bennett had painted, to believe that this was just a temporary market downturn. However, as the financial issues escalated, I finally made up my mind to get to the bottom of the truth.

I began to sift through all the documents related to the investment, trying to find more useful information. However, whether it was the contracts, transaction records, or the business plans he had once given me, they were all full of holes. Many so-called "partner" companies could not be traced at all, the project websites had long been abandoned, and even the data on some promotional materials contradicted itself, clearly fabricated on a whim.

I couldn't just accept the reality, so I used various channels to dig deeper into James Bennett's background. I found a few investors who had been in contact with him before, and from them, I learned some even more shocking facts.

"James Bennett's investment projects don't even exist."

When I heard these words, it felt as though my heart had been struck by a heavy blow.

The person continued, "His model is simple. He uses the money from new investors to fill the gaps in the returns of old investors. Once the money chain breaks, the whole thing will collapse."

It was a full-fledged Ponzi scheme. The funds had never gone into so-called project development; instead, they were used to pay early investors or directly transferred to his personal accounts. This explained why the returns were stable at the beginning—because there was still enough new money flowing in. But as more and more investors piled in, James Bennett could no longer meet everyone's withdrawal requests, which led to the series of lies about "temporary cash flow issues."

I began to recall how every time a withdrawal was delayed, he would calm me with seemingly reasonable explanations; how every time I raised doubts, he would use a firm tone to convince me to continue trusting him. Those words that had once reassured me now sounded like carefully woven lies, with each sentence hiding a dark secret.

This revelation unraveled the mystery that had long been unclear in my mind. It turned out that James Bennett was not the mentor I thought he was; he was just a carefully disguised fraudster. He had never truly cared about my growth and had never intended for me to profit from the investments. To him, I was just one of many investors he had used—a pawn continually providing him with funds.

I felt deeply betrayed. All the promises and trust that had once seemed so real were now shattered in an instant. I remembered what he had once said to me: "You must have foresight and not be scared off by short-term difficulties." Looking back, every word he said now felt like a sharp knife, cutting through my trust and severing all my illusions about the future.

Snapping back to reality, I stared at the transaction records on the screen, my fingers trembling slightly. I finally realized that I could no longer deceive myself. This investment had never been about me profiting—it had been a full-blown scam from the start. James Bennett's goal had always been the same: to drain every last penny from me and then disappear without a trace.