“Emma! There you are!”
My mother rushed across the restaurant followed by my father, Ryan, and Chloe. They had tracked my location through the family phone plan.
My mother hugged me dramatically.
“We were so worried about you last night!”
My father sat down like he owned the place.
“We always believed in you,” he said proudly. “Sometimes tough love is necessary. Kicking you out motivated you.”
Ryan got straight to the point.
He slid a contract across the table.
“My real estate fund needs liquidity,” he said. “Invest $15 million. Keep the wealth in the family.”
I stared at him.
“You threw me out last night so you could turn my home into an office. And now you want fifteen million?”
Ryan rolled his eyes.
“You’ve got $46 million. Think of it as paying the family back.”
I looked at them.
“No.”
The smiles disappeared instantly.
My mother gasped.
“How selfish can you be?”
Ryan leaned forward, his voice turning threatening.
“You built that software using a laptop Dad bought you in college. Legally we own half of your company. Sign the contract or we’ll sue you.”
I studied him calmly.
Then I ripped the contract in half.
“My answer is still no.”
The next hour proved my family had truly lost their minds.
They actually filed a lawsuit claiming they owned half my company because I used a computer purchased in their house.
My lawyer, Michael, wasn’t worried.
In court the next morning the judge barely listened before asking for proof.
Ryan’s lawyer proudly presented the receipt for the laptop.
My lawyer calmly handed over a manufacturer usage log.
That laptop had never been used for programming.
It had been registered to Ryan—and used for 6,000 hours of online gaming.
The judge slammed the file shut.
“Case dismissed. And you owe the court $10,000 for wasting our time.”
Ryan’s face turned white.
But I wasn’t finished.
Because while my family was trying to steal my company, I had quietly purchased something else.
Their debt.
Ryan’s “real estate fund” was actually drowning in loans. My parents had signed the deed to their mansion as collateral.
Through a corporate shell company, I bought that debt.
Which meant I now legally owned the house.
Two days later Ryan hosted a charity gala at the estate hoping to raise millions to save his failing scheme.
Hundreds of wealthy donors arrived.
So did I.
I walked up the stairs in a charcoal suit while the orchestra stopped playing.
My father shouted for security.