“Nastya, when I die, bury me next to Grandpa. And after you’ve held the memorial service on the fortieth day, sell the house and move to the city. There’s no reason for someone as young and beautiful as you to live in a village. Maybe you’ll meet someone in the city, get married, have children… Ah, it’s a shame I won’t live to dance at your wedding.”
“What are you saying, Grandma? You’ll dance at my wedding and attend the christenings of your great-grandchildren too. You’re going to get better. You’re strong.”
“No, my dear granddaughter… I can feel my end is near. Your grandpa came to me the other day… He was standing by the window, beckoning me with his hand, as if saying, ‘Come with me, I’ve been waiting too long for you.’ I reached my hands out to him, but he faded away like mist, as though he had never been there.”
Nastya secretly wiped away a tear. Her grandparents were the only people truly close to her. Nastya’s mother had died during childbirth, and the girl had never seen her father. Her grandmother said he had visited them only once, when Nastya was born. He brought a crib, a stroller, baby clothes, and money—a great deal of money.
Thanks to that money, they repaired the old house, bought livestock, and raised their granddaughter without hardship. Time passed, and Nastya grew into a young woman. She finished school and trained as a seamstress in the district center.
It seemed she had every reason to live and be happy, but then her grandfather suddenly died, and now her grandmother had fallen ill.
To be honest, Nastya would have been willing to sacrifice even her own life for her grandmother, but the doctors could only shake their heads.
“There is no cure for old age. You’ll have to come to terms with it.”
Her grandmother died just before Easter. She was buried beside her husband, exactly as she had wished.
After holding the fortieth-day memorial service, Nastya went through her grandparents’ belongings. She gave some things to the neighbors, who needed them more. She kept some as mementos and burned whatever had no value.
The house sold surprisingly quickly and easily. Even Nastya was astonished at how fast a buyer appeared, one who did not even try to negotiate the price.
With the money from the sale, Nastya bought a one-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of the city. It was clean and bright and even came furnished. All she had to do was move in and live.
In time, the young woman found a job, made friends, and then fell in love.
Sometimes she was even afraid to admit her feelings to herself. After all, who was he, and who was she?
Sergey worked in law enforcement, while she was just an ordinary seamstress at an ordinary garment factory.
But somehow everything moved very quickly, and a few months later Sergey persuaded Nastya to move in with him.
They began living together—although calling it living together was almost an exaggeration. Sergey spent most of his time at work and frequently went away on business trips, sometimes disappearing for weeks.
During those times, Nastya stayed home alone and grew bored because Sergey had forbidden her to work. He had also forbidden her to see her friends.
Nastya did not argue. Why should she?
The house had everything she needed. She was well dressed and provided for. What else could anyone want from life?
Still, for complete happiness, she lacked a ring on her finger and a wedding. It did not have to be extravagant. There could be no restaurant and no guests. She simply wanted a real civil ceremony at the registry office, somewhere she would enter as a bride and leave as a lawful wife.
For some reason, Sergey kept postponing the wedding, inventing one excuse after another.
But now there could be no more delays.
Nastya was expecting a child, and she wanted her baby to be born within marriage.
When Sergey learned about her pregnancy, he almost cried with joy. He bought her a ring and slipped it onto her finger with a meaningful look.
Nastya breathed a sigh of relief.
So that was it. The wedding must be just around the corner.
Or so she thought…
As usual, Sergey was preparing to leave on another business trip. This time, he was being sent to a particularly dangerous region, and Nastya was beside herself with worry for her future husband.
So she would not be lonely, Sergey asked his sister to keep an eye on her, and the woman happily agreed. After all, two people together were better than one alone.
Marina accompanied Nastya to doctors’ appointments, went with her to ultrasound scans, and attended all the examinations required during her pregnancy.
They had even chosen a crib and a stroller and bought some things the baby would need during its first few weeks.
When Nastya was seven months pregnant, she received a phone call from the authorities. She was told that Sergey had been seriously wounded and urgently needed surgery. Since such an operation could not be performed in an ordinary hospital, they needed money for a private clinic.
Nastya immediately sold her apartment and transferred the proceeds to the account she had been given.
A week later, Sergey called her and said everything was fine. The surgery had been successful, and, God willing, he would be home within a month.
Sergey returned just before Nastya was due to give birth.
He took her to the hospital, and after leaving her there, he sighed with relief when he and Marina were finally alone.
“Well, that’s it,” he said. “And you were so worried.”
“You never know with someone like her,” Marina replied. “What if she has connections or someone willing to protect her?”
“Marina, what connections could she possibly have? I checked her background. She’s an orphan with no family and no one to stand up for her. No friends either. The ones she used to have disappeared from her life a long time ago.”
“And what you came up with regarding the apartment was brilliant! I laughed so hard when I heard about it.”
“I needed insurance. If she has nowhere to live, no court will award her custody of the child. And honestly, we could use the extra money right now.”
Two people came to collect Nastya and her baby daughter from the maternity hospital—Marina and Sergey.
Both were dressed elegantly and looked radiantly happy.
Marina held the baby, wrapped in pink, in her arms and smiled shyly while Sergey took photographs of her as though Marina, rather than Nastya, had just given birth to his daughter.
After the photo session, they all got into the car and left.
A beautifully set table was waiting for them at the apartment, but for some reason, there were no baby supplies in the bedroom. There was no crib either, even though Sergey had had plenty of time to buy everything necessary.
Nastya woke up close to noon.
Her head hurt terribly, and an oppressive silence filled the apartment.
She sprang to her feet as if stung and ran into the living room, then into the kitchen.
Sergey was gone.
Marina was gone.
And her newborn daughter was gone too.
Their phones were silent. Each time Nastya called, the operator repeated the same message:
“The number you have dialed is not in service.”
Nastya spent the entire night without sleep, and early the next morning, she went to the police to report them missing.
The culprits were found quickly.
It turned out that Sergey and Marina Mironov were actually husband and wife.
Because Marina could not have children, the couple had decided to carry out an elaborate scam.
They found a young woman who, as Sergey had put it, had no family and no one to defend her. They deceived her into giving up her apartment and then stole her own child.
The apartment where Nastya had lived with Sergey turned out to be rented, so the owners asked her to leave.
Left completely alone, homeless, and penniless, Nastya had no idea what to do.
At the police station, she was told that the baby was with her biological father, which meant that, technically, no crime had been committed.
Sergey, meanwhile, told her with a smirk that she would be better off leaving them alone.
If she did, they would give her a little money so she could start a new life.
But if she refused, they would make her wish she could leave this mortal world altogether.
Everything in court worked against Nastya.
She had no home.
She had no job.
Only one final hearing remained, and then she would lose the case.
And that meant losing her daughter forever.
Nastya did not even realize how she had ended up walking onto a busy road.
There was the screech of brakes.
A violent impact.
And then silence.
Nastya regained consciousness in a hospital.
Doctors and nurses hurried back and forth around her. Everyone was talking about some terrible accident in which many people had died.
“What a horrible day,” one of the medical workers said. “Ambulances keep arriving one after another.”
“Tell me about it. At least this one came around. Look, she’s moving. The others…”
“Yes… This isn’t a day, it’s a bloodbath. And the strangest thing is that all the elite of society were gathered in one place—the Savelyevs, the Mironovs, the Zharkovs, the Demidovs…”
Hearing a familiar surname, Nastya tried to sit up but could not.
A nurse noticed the patient’s weak movement and came closer.
“How are you feeling?”
“The Mironovs… I heard you say the Mironovs… Marina… Sergey…”
“They’re dead… Oh, why am I even telling you this? I could lose my job over it.”
“I won’t tell anyone. What happened? Were they alone, or was there a child with them?”
“I think they were alone. Witnesses said they were drunk and racing each other down the road. Who can understand these rich people? Anyway, rest. The doctor will be free soon and come to see you.”
Nastya was eventually discharged from the hospital and managed to get her daughter back, because there was no longer anyone else trying to claim the child.
And Nastya herself had suddenly become a wealthy woman.
As it turned out, her daughter was the sole heir of the deceased Sergey Mironov.
The inheritance included a country house, an apartment in the city center, two cars, and a bank account.
All of that was certainly wonderful.
But nothing could compare to the fact that Nastya had her daughter back.
Because for every mother, the most important thing in the world is to watch her child grow and know that the child is safe and well.
