she called without going to the door.
Silence. Then the bell rang again, longer this time, more insistent. Vera grabbed her phone and called the guard downstairs.
“Pavel, someone’s ringing my bell. Did you see who came up?”
“No, Vera Nikolaevna. No one came through the front entrance—I’ve been watching. But if someone’s there, I’m coming up now.”
Vera stood in the middle of the kitchen, gripping the phone. Her heart was pounding hard enough to hurt. Masha came out of the room, sleepy and alarmed.
“Mom? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. Go to Grandma. Lock yourselves in the bedroom.”
“But—”
“Go.”
Masha obeyed. Vera heard the bedroom lock click.
Footsteps on the stairs. Voices. Then a knock.
“Vera Nikolaevna, it’s Pavel. There’s no one here. Probably kids messing around.”
Vera exhaled. She went to the door and looked through the peephole. Pavel stood on the landing, glancing around. She opened the door.
“Are you sure there’s no one—”
She never finished. Pavel suddenly sagged and slid to the floor. Behind him stood Dmitry—unshaven, gaunt, in a dirty jacket. The guard lay unconscious.
“Hello, Vera,” Dmitry said, breathing hard. “Been a while.”
Vera backed away. Dmitry stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
“Don’t scream. Don’t call for help. The other guard is taking a nap too. It’s just us.”
“What do you want?”
Dmitry looked around at the shabby apartment—the peeling walls, old furniture, cracked linoleum.
“So this is where you live now?” He gave a thin smile. “You really did fall a long way. And all because of your own stubbornness. You should’ve taken the money I offered. A hundred grand goes a lot further than this dump.”
Vera clenched her fists. The fear was still there, but anger was beginning to push it aside.
“Why are you here? To kill me?”
Dmitry shook his head.
“Kill you? Too simple. Too quick. You deserve more than that.” He took another step closer. “Do you know what the last month has been like for me? Searches. Interrogations. House arrest. My accounts frozen. My house seized. My reputation gone. Everything I built over twenty years—wrecked. Because of you.”
“Because of me?” Vera stared at him. “You did this to yourself. You stole. You lied. You bribed a judge.”
“I did what everybody does!” Dmitry shouted. “Everybody moves money. Everybody hides assets. Everybody makes arrangements with the right people. The only difference is I got caught. And I got caught because of you.”
He grabbed her by the shoulder. His fingers dug in hard enough to bruise.
“You were supposed to accept it. Take the loss. Live your small little life and stay out of my business. But you wouldn’t let it go. You kept digging. Hiring people. Looking for dirt. You ruined everything.”
“Let go of me.”
“Or what?”
