You didn't set out to be manipulated. You worked hard. You took responsibility. You kept things moving when others hesitated. And somewhere along the way, carrying more than your share began to feel normal. Strings Attached is not a book about villains or grand conspiracies. It is about the quiet mechanics of control - how obligation replaces consent, how loyalty becomes leverage, and how decent people end up absorbing risk that was never meant to be theirs. Written under the pseudonym Jack Dutton, this book traces a working life shaped by early responsibility, unspoken expectations, and systems that reward endurance while insulating themselves from consequence. Through personal narrative and careful observation, it explores how power operates without announcing itself, and why recognising that fact is often harder than resisting it. This is not a guide to winning, escaping, or burning everything down. It does not promise shortcuts or easy answers. Instead, it offers a clearer way of seeing - an understanding of the strings that bind people into roles they never consciously agreed to play, the costs of carrying them, and the quieter forms of agency that remain once illusion falls away. For anyone who has ever stayed longer than they should have, felt responsible for outcomes they didn't control, or sensed that something in their working or personal life was misaligned but struggled to articulate why, Strings Attached offers recognition rather than reassurance. Sometimes, the most important change is not pulling harder - but choosing where you stand.