“Come on, open the gates right now! My son needs to pick up the car! If you don’t hand it over, you’ll be thrown out of here!” the mother-in-law shouted.
“You vile, low creature!” Adelaide Maximovna shrieked, waving her hands in front of the iron garage gates. “Come on, open the gates immediately! My son needs to pick up the car! If you don’t give it back, you’ll be thrown out of here!”
Zhanna stood silently behind the barred door, tightly clutching a bunch of keys in her hand. The metal was cold and slippery with sweat. Behind her mother-in-law stood Aunt Zoya, wearing the satisfied smile of a predator that had caught the scent of blood.
“Why are you silent, you wretch?” Adelaide Maximovna continued. “Do you think that just because Anton is away on a business trip, you can act like the owner here?”
“The car is registered in my name,” Zhanna said quietly, though her voice was firm. “And the garage is mine.”
“Yours?” Aunt Zoya burst out laughing, stepping closer. “Did you hear that, Denis? She says it’s hers!”
From around the corner of the garage appeared a lanky young man of about twenty-five, with an arrogant look and uneven little mustache. Denis — the precious nephew, his mother’s favorite, who had not worked for three years but had mastered the art of squeezing money out of relatives.
“Well, Zhanna, you really are something,” he smirked, lighting a cigarette. “Are you tired of living?”
Zhanna felt her heart begin pounding somewhere in her throat. She knew that tone. She knew those looks. After her father-in-law died, the family immediately sensed that it was time to start dividing things up. And Anton… Anton had become strange lately. Distant. As if she had become a stranger to him.
“Denis, dear,” Adelaide Maximovna cooed sweetly, “tell her how we spoke to the notary yesterday.”
Zhanna’s eye twitched. What notary?
“That very one,” Aunt Zoya said smugly, pulling some papers from her handbag. “It turns out your father-in-law’s will is invalid. Technical violations during its preparation.”
“You’re lying,” Zhanna whispered, but a cold little worm of doubt had already settled inside her.
“Lying?” Adelaide Maximovna stepped right up to the gate. “Come here, Olya!”
From the entrance of the building across the yard, their neighbor Olya appeared — a woman of about forty who had always smiled at Zhanna and complimented her. Now Olya’s face showed awkwardness, but also a certain malicious satisfaction.
“Tell her, Olenka,” the mother-in-law insisted. “Tell her what you told me yesterday about Anton.”
Olya hesitated, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Well… I saw him…” She glanced at Zhanna. “I saw him sitting in a café with some woman. They were hugging.”
The world around Zhanna seemed to sway. She tried to breathe in, but the air got stuck somewhere in her chest.
“Aha!” Adelaide Maximovna cried triumphantly. “Did you hear that? And she dragged him into loans too! Transferred the car into her own name! Parasite!”
“I… I didn’t…” Zhanna began, but the words became tangled and refused to form sentences.
“You didn’t what?” Aunt Zoya stepped closer. “You didn’t think we would find out everything?”
Denis threw his cigarette butt under his feet and crushed it with his boot. The movement was slow and deliberately intimidating.
“Zhanna,” he said quietly, but each word reached her like a slap. “You have one hour. One hour to pack your things and move out. And hand over the car and the garage.”
“I have two children,” Zhanna forced out. “Where am I supposed to go?”
“What do we care?” Adelaide Maximovna shrugged. “You should have thought about that earlier, before deceiving your husband.”
“I didn’t deceive anyone!”
“Oh really?” A mocking note appeared in her mother-in-law’s voice. “And the loans? And the transferred car? And the way you nag Anton every single day?”
It became hard for Zhanna to breathe. She looked at Olya, hoping to see even a drop of sympathy, but the neighbor turned away.
“Listen, Zhanna,” Aunt Zoya suddenly said in a soft, insinuating voice, “we’re not monsters. Let’s settle this peacefully. Give it up voluntarily, and no one will do anything bad to you.”
“And if I don’t?”
Denis slowly approached the gate and placed his hands on the metal bars. His fingers were long, with bitten nails.
“And if you don’t,” he said quietly, “we’ll find a way to take it. Believe me.”
At that moment, a familiar figure appeared from around the corner. Zhanna flinched — Anton. He was walking quickly, his face gloomy, phone in hand.
“Ah, here comes my son!” Adelaide Maximovna exclaimed happily. “Anton, darling, finally! Explain to your wife what’s what.”
Anton stopped a few steps away from the group and looked over everyone gathered there. Zhanna studied his face, trying to understand what he was thinking. But her husband looked past her, as if she were transparent.
“Mom, I asked you not to decide anything without me,” he said tiredly.
“We’re not deciding anything!” the mother-in-law screeched. “We’re just explaining to this…” She jabbed a finger in Zhanna’s direction. “What’s what. She’s controlling the gates here as if she’s the owner!”
“I am the owner,” Zhanna said quietly. “According to the documents.”
Anton looked at her for the first time. In his eyes, there was something she had never seen before. Coldness? Disgust? Or simply indifference?
“According to the documents…” He smiled crookedly. “Zhanna, don’t you want to tell Mom how those documents appeared?”
Zhanna’s heart sank. Her throat went dry.
“What do you mean?”
“You know perfectly well what I mean.” Anton pulled cigarettes from his pocket and lit one. “Mom, tell her about the notary.”
Adelaide Maximovna triumphantly waved the papers.
“It turns out Father’s will is invalid! The notary says it’s a forgery! Which means all the property should legally go to me, as the only first-order heir!”
“That can’t be,” Zhanna whispered. “We went to the notary together. Your father signed everything himself!”
“He signed, but not correctly,” Aunt Zoya interrupted. “You see, the signature doesn’t match the sample in his passport. And the stamp is crooked.”
“But he was already ill! His hand was shaking!” Zhanna felt her voice becoming hysterical.
“Exactly,” Denis nodded. “Ill. And you took advantage of him. Forced him to sign whatever you wanted.”
“I didn’t force anyone!”
“Oh, come on,” Anton waved his hand. “Enough acting. Do you think I don’t know how much money you withdrew from our cards? How many loans you took out?”
Zhanna stood with her mouth open. She felt as if she had fallen into a nightmare.
“Anton, what is wrong with you? What loans? I discussed everything with you!”
“Discussed?” He laughed, but the laugh came out unpleasant and cracked. “Zhanna, maybe that’s enough? Maybe you should tell the truth?”
“What truth?”
“That you got tired of your husband long ago. That you had already found yourself someone new.” He took a drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke in her direction. “Did you think I didn’t know about your trips to the fitness center?”
Zhanna felt dizzy. Fitness center? What was he talking about?
“I… I only went there three times. With a friend.”
“With a friend,” Anton mimicked. “And by chance, was your trainer’s name Igor?”
Zhanna froze. Igor… Yes, the trainer’s name was Igor. A young man who had indeed been polite to her and helped her with exercises. But there had never been anything between them.
“You’ve lost your mind! There was nothing between us!”
“Sure. Nothing.” Anton threw the half-smoked cigarette under his feet. “And did I imagine seeing you drinking coffee with him after training?”
“We sat in a café once! I was waiting for the bus, and it was raining!”
“Once,” Aunt Zoya drawled. “And Olya saw you twice.”
Zhanna turned to the neighbor. Olya stood with her eyes lowered.
“Olya, say something! You know me!”
“I know what I saw,” the neighbor replied dully. “I saw you with that guy… Well, the way you smiled at each other.”
“Smiled!” Zhanna felt she was about to cry. “My God, now I’m being crucified for a smile!”
“Not for a smile,” Anton said coldly. “For thinking I was a fool. For thinking I wouldn’t notice anything.”
“Anton, I never deceived you! Why don’t you believe me?” Zhanna shouted.
“You shameless woman, don’t pretend to be a saint!” he snapped, taking a step back.
Adelaide Maximovna nodded with satisfaction.
“You see? My son has figured everything out. And now, dear,” she turned back to Zhanna, “be so kind as to open the gates. And give us the apartment keys too.”
“The apartment?” Zhanna’s breath caught. “But my children are there!”
“The children are my grandchildren too,” her mother-in-law said coldly. “I’ll take care of them. And you… you’ll find yourself somewhere else to live.”
“Anton!” Zhanna screamed. “You can’t allow this! They’re your children!”
Her husband stood silently, smoking another cigarette. Zhanna saw nothing familiar in his eyes. As if a stranger stood before her.
“The children will stay with me,” he said at last. “And you… do whatever you want.”
“But I have no money! No job! Where will I go?”
“I don’t know,” Anton shrugged. “Maybe to your trainer.”
Zhanna felt something snap inside her. As if an elastic band that had been stretched for too long had finally torn. She slowly straightened up and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
“You know what,” she said in an unexpectedly calm voice. “Maybe I really will go.”
Adelaide Maximovna narrowed her eyes.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean,” Zhanna pulled her phone from her pocket, “that I have someone to call.”
She dialed a number, and everyone watched her in silence.
“Hello? Fyodor Ivanovich? This is Zhanna Krasnova. Yes, the same one… No, everything has been decided. Yes, I agree.”
She ended the call and looked at her stunned relatives.
“Well then,” she said, pulling some papers from her bag. “Now listen to me.”
“What kind of performance is this now?” the mother-in-law began angrily.
“No performance.” Zhanna unfolded the documents. “See this? It’s a contract for the sale of a house. The very house where all of you live.”
Anton dropped his cigarette.
“What house?”
“Your father’s house. The one he left to me.” Zhanna smiled, but the smile came out strange. “And do you know that there wasn’t just one will?”
“What nonsense are you talking?” Adelaide Maximovna croaked.
“I’m telling the truth. Your father was smarter than you thought. He foresaw that you would try to challenge the will. So he made two. The first was for the garage and the car. The second was for the entire house.”
“You’re lying!” Denis shouted.
“I’m not. And do you know the most interesting part?” Zhanna waved the papers. “I just sold that house. To Fyodor Ivanovich. He’d had his eye on it for a long time. He said that as soon as the opportunity came, he would buy it immediately.”
“You couldn’t have done that!” Adelaide Maximovna clutched her heart. “I’ve lived there my whole life!”
“I could. And I already did.” Zhanna folded the documents and put them back in her bag. “You have one month to vacate the apartment. The new owner is going to renovate.”
“You bitch!” Aunt Zoya shrieked. “You’re throwing us out onto the street!”
“And what were you planning to do to me?” Zhanna asked calmly.
Anton was silent, only gulping air like a fish.
“Zhanna,” he began, “we can come to an agreement…”
“No,” she said. “We can’t. It’s too late.”
“But the children! Our children!”
“The children will come with me. To Krasnodar. I have enough to live on now.”
“You can’t take them!” the mother-in-law shouted.
“I can. I’m their mother. And their father just declared in front of everyone that I’m a stranger to him.” Zhanna turned to Anton. “By the way, do you know who Fyodor Ivanovich is?”
“How should I know who your lovers are?” he snapped.
“Fyodor Ivanovich is the notary. The very one who prepared your father’s wills. And he was very surprised when he heard that one of the wills was supposedly invalid.”
Adelaide Maximovna turned pale.
“What… what are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying that your notary is fake. And the documents you showed me are forged.” Zhanna opened the garage gates. “The real Fyodor Ivanovich became very interested in who was trying to deceive the heiress, and why.”
“Mom…” Anton whispered, turning toward his mother.
“And your mother,” Zhanna continued, starting the car, “together with Aunt Zoya, thought I was a fool. Thought I would believe any nonsense. But I always check everything. Always.”
She got behind the wheel and rolled down the window.
“Oh, and one more thing. Igor, the trainer, sends his regards. By the way, he’s married. And he loves his wife very much. He really did have coffee with me. He was telling me about his wonderful family and how happy he is.”
Anton stood with his mouth open.
“Zhanna… I don’t understand…”
“You don’t understand?” She started the engine. “I do. I understand that you wanted to get rid of me a long time ago. You just didn’t have a reason. So your mother and aunt stepped in. They decided to create one for you.”
“That’s not true!”
“Oh really? Then why didn’t you believe me right away? Why didn’t you stand by my side?” She looked him straight in the eyes. “Because it was convenient for you to believe the worst.”
The car began to move.
“Zhanna! Wait! Where are you going?”
“To get the children. And then to build a new life.” She leaned her head out the window. “And you can start thinking about where you’re going to live. Fyodor Ivanovich is a punctual man. He’ll evict you on time.”
The car disappeared around the corner. Four bewildered people and neighbor Olya remained standing by the garage, and Olya suddenly realized she had said far too much.
“What a bitch,” Aunt Zoya whispered.
“No,” Olya unexpectedly said, adjusting the bag on her shoulder. “She’s smart. Very smart.”
And she went home, while the others remained standing by the empty garage, not knowing what to do next.
Zhanna drove through the city and, for the first time in many years, smiled sincerely. Tomorrow she would pick up the children from school and kindergarten, and they would go somewhere no one knew them. Somewhere she could start everything over.
On the back seat lay a bag with the money from the sale of the house. A lot of money. Enough not to worry about tomorrow. And there was also a phone number there. Fyodor Ivanovich had turned out to be not only an honest notary, but also a recently widowed man who had very tactfully asked whether she would mind getting to know him better.
“We’ll see,” Zhanna thought, slowing down at the traffic light. “Everything in its own time.”