— Do you have a choice? It’s your apartment, your home. Why should you leave?
— I don’t know how I’ll be able to look him in the eye. How will I stay in the same apartment with him after what he did?
— Anna, you are a strong woman. You will manage. The important thing is not to let him see that you are weak. You are going home with documents that prove his guilt. You have protected your rights. You have filed reports with all the authorities. Now it’s his turn to explain himself.
Olga hugged her goodbye.
— If you need anything, call me anytime. I’m with you. And we will get through this. I promise.
Anna got in a taxi and went home. On the way, she thought several times that she should call Igor, warn him she was coming back. But then she decided not to. Let it be a surprise for him. Just as his trip was a surprise for her.
The taxi stopped in front of their building. The familiar five-story building, the playground in the yard where Katya and Maxim once played. The entrance where they had lived for 15 years. Anna went up to the third floor, took out her keys, and opened the door.
The apartment was quiet. She went into the hallway, took off her shoes, and hung up her bag. A quiet conversation could be heard from the kitchen. She recognized Igor’s voice and another one, male, low. His brother. Oleg had come over.
Anna took the documents from her bag and went to the kitchen. The door was ajar, and she saw them. Igor was sitting at the table with his phone in his hand, and opposite him was Oleg, who looked like him, only a bit younger and heavier. There were some papers on the table, a calculator.
— To the notary tomorrow, transfer the money the day after, and that’s it, — Oleg was saying. — Clean, fast, no problems. She’s in Turkey for two weeks. She’ll come back, and everything will be done. You’ll tell her it was temporary, that you needed the money for the business, that you’ll buy it back later.
— You think she’ll divorce me over this?
— She won’t, — Igor chuckled. — She’s used to putting up with things. She’s put up with it for twenty years, she’ll put up with it a little longer.
Anna pushed the door open and walked into the kitchen. Igor turned around, and his face fell. He literally turned pale, his mouth opened, but no words came out.
— Hello, — Anna said calmly, though a storm was raging inside her. — I’m back. As you can see, I didn’t fly to Turkey.
— Anya! You! How? — Igor jumped up from the table, dropping his phone.
Oleg stood up too, looking at her with apprehension.
— Are you curious how I found out? — Anna walked to the table and threw the documents on it. — Here. Your folder. You dropped it. A kind woman found it, looked inside, saw my name, and decided to warn me. Lucky for me, right? Or unlucky for you?
Igor grabbed the documents, frantically flipping through them. Oleg backed towards the door.
— I should probably go…
— Stay! — Anna said sharply. — You were part of this too. The two of you planned to sell my apartment. Behind my back. For five million, which you were going to split. Am I right?
Oleg was silent, looking down. Igor put the documents on the table and tried to compose himself.
— Anya, it’s not what you think. I was going to explain everything. I urgently needed money for the business. I have big debts, creditors are pressuring me. I didn’t want to burden you with this, I thought I’d solve the problem myself.
— Solve the problem by selling our apartment? — Anna’s voice grew louder. — The apartment we bought together? For which I worked just as much as you did? And you decided to sell it to your brother for some ridiculous price, by forging my signature? Do you realize that’s a crime? Fraud.
— I didn’t forge it…
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