“Good. But you better read the whole thing. It’s not just some formality. This is your chance to fix everything, but it comes at a cost. No more free rides. You want something from me? You’ll work for it.”
Sarah snatched the phone from my hand, glaring at me.
I could see the gears turning in her head.
She wanted to fight it, to scream, to throw a tantrum, but she also wanted that money, and she wanted it bad.
“I’ll sign it,” she muttered.
And Linda, still fuming, finally broke her silence.
“You think this is funny, Zach? You think you can just walk in here, throw money around like it’s nothing, and treat us like employees?”
She was practically trembling with rage now.
“We’re family. We’ve always been there for you, and now you want to treat us like we’re beneath you.”
I didn’t flinch.
“You’ve always been there for me. Uh-huh. That’s funny because the only time I ever saw family from you was when you needed something. So now I’m making you work for it. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. If you can’t handle it, then don’t sign the contract and keep living in your fantasy world where you think I owe you everything.”
And Linda’s eyes were wide with disbelief.
For a second, I almost thought she might cry.
But instead, she stormed toward the door.
“I don’t need your money, Zach. I don’t need your charity. You can keep your contract. I’m done here.”
She slammed the door behind her, leaving a heavy silence in the air.
I glanced at Sarah, who had already started scrolling through the document.
Her brow furrowed.
She was obviously mad, but I could tell she was starting to realize I wasn’t bluffing.
“I’m not signing this,” she finally said, shaking her head.
I raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, you’re not.”
She looked me dead in the eye.
“No, I’m not. You want to play hard ball? Fine, but I’m not your puppet, Zach. You don’t get to control me.”
I was done with this.
Done with their manipulation.
Done with their threats.
They thought they could walk all over me because I had money.
Well, they were about to learn the hard way that this game wasn’t going to go the way they expected.