His mother constantly berated him over missed meetings and failed deals, but he just waved her off. “Relax, Mom. Those partners will come crawling back,” he slurred, swirling a glass in his hand. “You’re an overgrown child who’ll drink through every dollar your father left,” Susan snapped.
“There’s plenty of money,” Oleg said with a smirk. “Enough to last a lifetime.” Furious, Susan slapped him across the face without the slightest concern that the housekeeper was standing right there. What a family, Julia thought as she polished bronze figurines nearby.
For all that work, she was paid next to nothing. Thankfully, Arsen kept his word and transferred her a generous sum through a private account. With that money, Julia was finally able to buy decent prenatal vitamins.
Before long, a glamorous blonde named Larissa began showing up at the house—Oleg’s latest girlfriend. Susan could barely stand her and clearly saw her as a gold digger. When she learned Oleg had spent thousands of dollars from his late father’s accounts on an engagement ring, she exploded.
“If you marry that woman, I’ll cut you out of the will,” Susan shouted. “Keep the money,” Oleg yelled back. “You can have every cent.” Then he noticed staff within earshot and barked at everyone to clear out.
As Julia passed Larissa in the hallway, the blonde hissed, “Enjoying the show, sweetheart? Keep listening at doors and you’ll be out on the street with that belly.” Julia said nothing, but she suddenly realized Larissa’s face looked disturbingly familiar.
Her big break came when she found Oleg’s office safe standing open. With the room empty, Julia quickly used her phone to photograph every suspicious file she could find. Among them were two different medical reports listing different causes of death for Arsen’s father—just the kind of contradiction Arsen had been looking for.
She had barely tucked her phone away when Oleg and Larissa stumbled into the room, tipsy and laughing. Julia immediately pretended to be dusting the lower shelves of a large bookcase. The couple paid no attention to her and began making out against the desk.
A moment later, Larissa asked Oleg to get another bottle of wine. While his back was turned, Julia caught the reflection in the glass cabinet door and saw Larissa pour a white powder into his drink. “To us,” Larissa said sweetly, holding out the glass.
