Diana worked for a company, which her mom fully owned. She made mom’s business even more successful with her ideas and results. But when Diana finally asked her mom why she was still earning far below a livable wage, her mom’s response wasn’t just unexpected, it exposed a shockingly calculated twist behind the family-run façade.I’m 26F, and for the past two years I’ve been working at my mom’s company. It’s a small but successful business, and I honestly believed I was helping take it to the next level. I doubled our revenue, secured new investors, and basically became the person who handled every “growth” task nobody else could. I’m not trying to brag, just giving context.

Here’s the problem: my salary is ridiculously low. Like “can’t pay rent without skipping meals” low. I assumed it would be temporary since I was “proving myself.” When nothing changed, I finally told my mom I needed a raise, or I’d leave.My mom just smirked. Then told me she had made me sign a 5-year contract when I first joined. I honestly remembered signing something, but I never imagined she’d hide anything shady in it — because she’s my mom.Turns out the contract locks my salary at a fixed low rate for five years, no raises, no exceptions. And apparently everything I create for the company counts as her intellectual property. She actually said, “You signed it, don’t you remember?”