After my company fired several staff to “save money,” they dumped all their work on me with no raise and threatened to cut my pay when I refused. I stayed calm—because I knew something they didn’t. For seven years, I had built and maintained the company’s entire design server on an encrypted cloud legally registered to my own freelance business. They were renting it from me for £1 a year.
When HR labeled me “uncooperative,” I let the server lease expire. The next morning, no one could access a single project file, including a critical investor presentation. Management panicked, but legally the data was theirs—the server access wasn’t. I agreed to help only if my fired coworkers were rehired as consultants with higher pay and if I was paid a consulting fee.
Facing massive contract losses, the company agreed. Power shifted overnight. I got a raise, my coworkers were reinstated, and once everything was stable, I quit. We started our own consultancy together. The lesson: loyalty has limits, your real value is the knowledge you control, and owning your “keys” is how you protect your freedom.