The February morning turned out to be freezing. Alla was standing at the stove, making breakfast, when she heard the voice of her father-in-law, Viktor Pavlovich, coming from the living room. He was talking to Konstantin — her husband — and the tone of the conversation immediately struck her as strange.
“Kostya, son, let’s talk seriously,” Viktor Pavlovich cleared his throat. “You understand that I’m not young anymore. I’m seventy-two. And I want to feel secure about tomorrow.”
“Dad, what are you talking about?” Konstantin put down his tablet.
“About your mother’s apartment. The one on Tverskaya Street. After her death, it should have gone to me, but according to the documents… some kind of confusion happened.”
Alla grew alert. Her late mother-in-law’s apartment really had been registered in equal shares to her and Konstantin five years earlier, when the woman had become seriously ill. That had been Maria Sergeyevna’s own wish — she had wanted the young family to have a home of their own.
“What confusion, Dad? Everything was done properly,” Konstantin answered carefully.
“DON’T INTERRUPT ME!” Viktor Pavlovich barked. “I’m telling you — there was a mistake. Your wife should never have received half of it. This is family property, do you understand? FAMILY PROPERTY! And who is she to us? A stranger!”
Alla nearly dropped the frying pan. In eight years of marriage, she had considered herself part of this family. She had raised two children, cared for her sick mother-in-law until the very end.
“Dad, Alla is my wife. Mother decided that herself…”
“Your mother was sick! She didn’t understand what she was doing!” Viktor Pavlovich was banging his cane against the floor. “That apartment is worth millions! MILLIONS! And half of it belongs to some… daughter-in-law!”
“Let’s not…”
“We will!” the old man rose from his armchair. “Let your wife write a waiver of her share. Voluntarily! Better yet — transfer everything to me. That apartment, and this one you live in too. I’m your father, I won’t wrong you. But the documents must be correct!”
Alla turned off the stove and walked into the living room. At the sight of her, Viktor Pavlovich twisted his face in contempt.
“Ah, there she is! Eavesdropping?”
“I was making breakfast, Viktor Pavlovich. You have a loud voice.”
“Exactly!” the old man turned to her. “So you heard. Good! Tomorrow you go to the notary and write a waiver. Understood?”
“A waiver of what?” Alla tried to speak calmly.
“Don’t play stupid! Of the apartment! The one you got by mistake!”
“It wasn’t a mistake. Maria Sergeyevna herself…”
“SILENCE!” her father-in-law roared. “You wormed your way into a sick woman’s trust! Manipulated her! And now you pretend to be innocent!”
Konstantin tried to interfere.
“Father, don’t speak to Alla like that…”
“And you’re a doormat!” Viktor Pavlovich pointed his cane at him. “You let your wife control family property! Your grandfather would turn over in his grave!”
That same evening, Viktor Pavlovich returned with reinforcements — he brought his sister Raisa Pavlovna and his nephew Igor. Alla was just putting the children to bed when she heard noise in the hallway.
“Where is that greedy woman?” Raisa Pavlovna demanded loudly. “Where is the woman who robbed our family?”
Alla came out of the children’s room, closing the door tightly behind her.
“Hello, Raisa Pavlovna.”
“DON’T GREET ME!” the woman waved her handbag around. “You squeezed an apartment out of sick Masha! Shameless woman!”
“I didn’t squeeze anything out of anyone. Maria Sergeyevna decided herself…”
“Sure she did!” Igor joined in. “I bet you talked the old woman into it! Maybe you even slipped her some pills so she’d think worse!”
“Are you temporarily stupid, or is this a permanent condition?” Alla smirked. “I cared for my mother-in-law for three years! I didn’t sleep at night! I changed her diapers! I fed her with a spoon!”
“You did it for the apartment!” Raisa Pavlovna jabbed a finger at her. “You thought the old woman would die and everything would be yours!”
Konstantin was sitting on the sofa, silent. Alla looked at him hopefully, but her husband looked away.
“Kostya, why are you silent?” she asked.
“Alla, maybe… maybe we really should think about it… Father needs this…”
“WHAT?! You’re suggesting I give up what your mother herself left to us?”
“She didn’t leave it, you tricked her into signing it!” Raisa Pavlovna shrieked. “Igorek, tell her!”
Igor, who worked in some legal office, coughed importantly.
“From the legal point of view, of course, everything was done properly. But from the moral side… Alla, you understand that the apartment should remain in the family.”
“I have been in this family for eight years!” Alla clenched her fists. “I have two children with Konstantin! Or are the children and I not family to you?”
“The children are family. But you’re an outsider!” Viktor Pavlovich snapped. “And there’s no need to throw hysterics here! Tomorrow morning you’ll go to the notary! Igor will prepare everything!”
“NO!” Alla stomped her foot. “I’m not going anywhere! And I’m not signing anything!”
“Oh, really?” Viktor Pavlovich struck the floor with his cane. “Then we’ll talk differently! Kostya! It’s either her or me! Choose!”
Konstantin rose from the sofa and approached his wife.
“Alla, come on, let’s not make a scandal… Sign the papers, and that’s it…”
“Go to hell!” Alla blurted out. “You and your precious daddy!”
Silence hung in the room. Raisa Pavlovna gasped, Igor whistled, and Viktor Pavlovich turned crimson.
“How dare you talk to your husband like that, you filth?!” he yelled. “Kostya, throw her out of the house! Immediately!”
The next day, Alla woke up in an empty bed. Konstantin had left early in the morning without saying goodbye. The children ate breakfast in silence — they had heard the previous day’s scandal after all, even though Alla had tried to keep her voice down.
“Mom, will Grandpa not come anymore?” seven-year-old Nastya asked.
“I don’t know, sweetheart.”
“And why did Dad leave so early?”
Alla did not have time to answer — the doorbell rang. Igor was standing on the threshold with a folder of documents.
“Alla, I’ve prepared all the papers. All that’s left is to sign.”
“Are you deaf? I said NO!”
“Listen,” Igor lowered his voice, “Viktor Pavlovich is a stubborn man. He will get his way one way or another. Kostya has almost agreed to divorce you if you keep resisting.”
“What?! Divorce me?!”
“What did you expect? His father threatened to disinherit him. Viktor Pavlovich still has two apartments and a dacha. Kostya isn’t stupid enough to lose millions because of you.”
“Leave. Leave IMMEDIATELY!”
“Think about it until evening,” Igor placed the folder on the little cabinet. “Viktor Pavlovich is giving you until tomorrow. After that, it will be too late.”
When the door closed behind him, Alla dialed Konstantin’s number. Long rings, then voicemail. She called again — the phone was turned off.
That evening, Konstantin came home tipsy, smelling of cognac.
“Where were you?” Alla asked.
“With my father and Igor. Discussing… matters.”
“What matters? MY future?”
“Alla, don’t start. Sign the papers and we’ll forget about this.”
“Have you completely lost your mind?!” Alla could not hold back. “That is our children’s apartment! Your mother wanted them to have housing!”
“They will have housing! Father promised!”
“Your father will promise anything just to get his hands on property! Can’t you see that?! He is just a greedy old man!”
Konstantin grabbed her by the shoulders.
“Don’t you dare talk about my father like that! He’s right — you’re a stranger! You always were a stranger! You stuck yourself to our family like a leech!”
Alla slapped him across the face. Konstantin recoiled, rubbing his cheek.
“So now you’ve shown your true face,” he hissed. “Father was right. You’re a gold digger!”
“May the devils take you!” Alla shouted. “For eight years I put up with your drinking sprees! Your indifference! I bore your children, cared for your mother! And this is my gratitude!”
“Tomorrow morning you’ll sign the papers,” Konstantin headed toward the bedroom. “Or pack your things.”
That night, Alla did not sleep. She sat in the kitchen, drank tea, and thought. How had it come to this? Eight years of marriage, two children — and she had turned out to be a “stranger”? Maria Sergeyevna, may she rest in peace, had been the only one in this family who treated her like a human being. That was exactly why she had left half the apartment to her — she knew the relatives would try to drive the daughter-in-law out.
In the morning, barely after dawn, someone began knocking on the door. Alla opened it — Viktor Pavlovich, Raisa Pavlovna, Igor, and some unfamiliar man in a suit were standing on the threshold.
“This is the notary,” Viktor Pavlovich explained. “You’ll sign right now!”
“On what grounds?!” Alla blocked their way. “Get out of my home!”
“This is OUR home!” Raisa Pavlovna shrieked. “Kostya! Kostya, come out!”
Konstantin appeared from the bedroom, rumpled after the previous evening.
“Alla, don’t be stubborn. Sign.”
“NO! And once again, NO!” Alla pushed the notary aside. “All of you can go to hell!”
“You little scum!” Viktor Pavlovich raised his cane.
Alla snatched the cane from his hand and threw it onto the stair landing.
“ONE MORE WORD — AND I’M CALLING THE POLICE! I have all the documents! The apartment is registered LEGALLY! And you are breaking into my home and threatening me!”
“This is not your home!” Viktor Pavlovich roared.
“IT IS MINE! Half of it is MINE! And my children’s!” Alla grabbed her phone. “Right now I’ll dial 112 and say that burglars have broken into my apartment!”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Raisa Pavlovna tried to snatch the phone.
“OH, I WOULD!” Alla was already dialing. “Hello? Police? In my apartment…”
“Stop!” Konstantin snatched the phone out of her hand. “No police!”
“Then GET OUT, ALL OF YOU!” Alla screamed so loudly that the children woke up. “OUT OF MY HOUSE! IMMEDIATELY!”
Tearful Nastya ran out of the children’s room.
“Mommy, what happened?”
“Nothing, sweetheart. Grandpa and Auntie are already leaving.”
“We’ll be back!” Viktor Pavlovich threatened. “You’ll regret this, you filth!”
“Go roll away, you greedy old man!” Alla snapped. “And forget the way to this house!”
The notary, who had been silent all this time, coughed.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am forced to remind you that coercion into signing documents is a criminal offense. As a notary, I will be obliged to testify if the matter goes to court.”
Viktor Pavlovich turned pale.
“What are you saying?! We’re doing this as family!”
“As family does not mean bursting into an apartment as a crowd and making threats,” the notary turned to Alla. “Mrs. Semyonova, if you need legal assistance, I can recommend a good lawyer.”
“Thank you,” Alla nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
The visitors reluctantly began moving toward the exit. Konstantin left last.
“You’re making a huge mistake,” he said.
“No, Kostya. I made a mistake eight years ago when I married you. And now I’m correcting it.”
A week later, Alla filed for divorce. Konstantin was in shock — he had thought his wife would come to her senses, ask for forgiveness, and sign the documents. But Alla hired a lawyer and demanded division of property.
“Have you lost your mind?!” Konstantin shouted when he received the summons. “You’ll ruin us!”
“No, Kostya. I’m simply taking what belongs to me by right. Half of your mother’s apartment and half of our shared apartment. And child support for the children.”
“My father will destroy you!”
“Let him try,” Alla was calmer than ever. “I have recordings of your threats. Nastya recorded on her phone how Grandpa shouted and waved his cane. And I’ll have the notary’s testimony too.”
Viktor Pavlovich really did try to “destroy” his daughter-in-law. He hired lawyers and tried to prove that Maria Sergeyevna had been incompetent when she signed the gift deed. But nothing came of it — the documents were in perfect order, and medical certificates confirmed that the woman had been of sound mind.
The court recognized Alla’s right to half of both apartments. Moreover, after learning about the attempts to force her to give up her property, the judge issued a warning to Viktor Pavlovich.
But the most interesting thing happened a month after the divorce. It turned out that Viktor Pavlovich had huge debts to banks — he had taken loans secured by his apartments and lost money on betting. That was exactly why he needed his late wife’s apartment so badly — to sell it and pay off his debts.
When the plan failed, the banks began collection proceedings. First the dacha was sold at auction, then one apartment, then the second. Viktor Pavlovich was left with nothing.
“Dad, how could this happen?” Konstantin could not believe it. “You said you had millions!”
“I did…” the old man hunched over. “I did, but it all slipped away. I thought I’d sell Masha’s apartment, close the debts, start over…”
“And you wanted Alla to give up our children’s home because of your debts?!”
“What else was I supposed to do?!” Viktor Pavlovich snapped. “Family should help!”
“Family…” Konstantin shook his head. “You’re right, Father. Only Alla was my family. And I was a fool not to understand that.”
He tried to reconcile with his ex-wife. He came to her, begged for forgiveness, promised to change. But Alla was unshakable.
“You know, Kostya, strangely enough, your father helped me. He showed me who you really are. Greedy, unprincipled people ready to rob your own children. So thank him for me. And goodbye.”
“Alla, give me a second chance!”
“May the devils take you, Kostya! For the last years, all I did was give you chances! I gave them every single day! And you chose your father’s side against the mother of your children! So go to your daddy and comfort him!”
Viktor Pavlovich moved in with his sister Raisa Pavlovna — he had nowhere else to live. The proud, domineering old man turned into a pitiful freeloader. Raisa Pavlovna nagged him daily, reproaching him for every piece of bread.
“So now you see what your greed has led to!” she shouted. “You wanted to grab everything for yourself, and now you’re left with nothing!”
Konstantin rented a one-room apartment and worked two jobs to get back on his feet. Igor, who had so zealously helped his uncle, now carefully avoided the relatives — he did not want anyone asking him for money.
And Alla… Alla began a new life. She got a good job at a travel agency — she had always dreamed of doing that, but Konstantin had never allowed it. The children went to school near home. On weekends, they went to Alla’s parents’ dacha — unlike her husband’s family, they had always supported their daughter.
Sometimes, when she met her ex-husband as he picked up the children for the weekend, Alla thought: how good it was that back then, on that February morning, she had not been afraid and had not submitted. Her anger had saved her and her children from a life of humiliation and dependence.
“Mom, why doesn’t Grandpa Vitya come to us anymore?” five-year-old Sasha once asked.
“He made a bad choice, sweetheart,” Alla answered. “He chose greed instead of love. And now he is reaping what he sowed.”
“And Dad?”
“Dad also made a choice. The wrong one. But that is his life, his mistakes.”
“And us?”
“You, Nastya, and I are a family. A real family. And no one will ever dare hurt us again.”
That evening, while putting the children to bed, Alla looked at the photograph of Maria Sergeyevna on the dresser. The wise woman had foreseen everything. She had protected her daughter-in-law and grandchildren even after death.
“Thank you, Mom,” Alla thanked her silently. She had long called her mother-in-law Mom — the woman had been dearer to her than her own mother.
Meanwhile, in Raisa Pavlovna’s cramped apartment, Viktor Pavlovich sat on a folding bed in the corner and thought about how everything had turned out. He had wanted to get his hands on millions — and had ended up penniless. He had wanted to show his daughter-in-law her place — and she had shown him his.
“Uncle Vitya,” Igor peeked into the room, “Aunt Raya asked me to tell you — if you don’t pay for your stay tomorrow, she’ll throw you out.”
“What the hell?! I’m her brother!”
“She said family ties and money are two different things. Twenty thousand a month, or find another bed.”
“Damn all of you…” the old man groaned.
“And one more thing,” Igor smirked. “Konstantin called. He said he can’t help anymore. His child support payments were increased.”
Viktor Pavlovich covered his face with his hands. There it was — payback for greed and pride. Complete loneliness and poverty. He could have been babysitting his grandchildren now, living in peace with his son’s family. But no — he had wanted everything at once.
And he had lost everything.
