“Talk about perfect timing with your inheritance! My sister could really use an apartment right now,” my husband said. I silently called the police.
“How convenient that you got this inheritance right now!” Denis rubbed his hands together gleefully the moment Nastya stepped through the apartment door after an exhausting day. “My sister Lena could definitely use that apartment.”
Nastya froze in the hallway, clutching the old keys and documents in her hands. A wave of bitter hurt and crushing exhaustion ran cold through her.
Aunt Nina had been like a mother to her, raising her and giving her all her love and care. Nastya had just laid her to rest, and here stood her husband in the middle of the room, eyes shining, already dividing up someone else’s square meters.
Denis’s selfish opportunism, along with the shameless greed of his family, had gone on for years, but now it had crossed every possible line.
“Denis, do you even hear yourself?” Nastya’s voice trembled, but she forced herself to look him straight in the eye. “Aunt Nina was the closest person I had. And you’re already giving her apartment away to strangers? Why on earth should it go to your sister?”
“What’s so wrong with that?” her husband shot back, genuinely offended as he took a step toward her. “Lena is getting divorced, and she and her child have nowhere to live! We’re family, we’re supposed to help each other. We already have a two-room apartment, so why do we need another one? Renting it out would only bring problems. This way we’d be helping family.”
“That two-room apartment came from your parents, and I’m not even registered there. I’m nobody in that home,” Nastya answered sharply, her voice cold. “And this is the last gift from the woman who raised me. I’m not giving up her memory to your sister. Lena is a grown woman. Let her get a job and rent a place herself.”
Denis flushed red with anger at once. His good-natured mask slipped, revealing his true face.
“You’re so greedy! I thought we were one whole, but all you do is grab everything for yourself. My mother was right when she said you couldn’t be trusted. You’re just selfish!”
“Tell your mother I couldn’t care less about her opinion,” Nastya said, slipping off her shoes and walking into the room. “Aunt Nina’s apartment will remain mine. This conversation is over.”
She lay down on the couch and turned to face the wall. She had no strength left to argue or prove she was right.
Over the next few weeks, their life turned into absolute hell. Denis tormented her with constant reproaches and icy silence.
“How timely that you received this inheritance!” Denis rubbed his hands together gleefully as soon as Nastya stepped through the apartment door after a hard day. “My sister Lena could really use that apartment right now.”
Nastya froze in the hallway, clutching the old keys and documents in her hands. Inside, everything turned cold with wild hurt and crushing exhaustion.
Aunt Nina had replaced her own mother, raising her and giving her all her love and care. Nastya had just laid her to rest, and here stood her husband in the middle of the room, his eyes shining as he divided up someone else’s square meters.
Denis’s consumerist selfishness—and that of his brazen family—had dragged on for years, but now it had crossed every possible line.
“Denis, do you even hear yourself?” Nastya’s voice trembled, but she forced herself to look him straight in the eye. “Aunt Nina was the closest person I had. And you’re already giving her apartment away to strangers? Why on earth should it go to your sister?”
“What’s the big deal?” her husband shot back, sincerely indignant as he stepped toward her. “Lena is getting divorced, she and her child have nowhere to live! We’re family—we’re supposed to help each other. We already have a two-room apartment, so why do we need another one? Renting it out would only bring problems. This way, we help our relatives.”
“That two-room apartment was left to you by your parents, and I’m not even registered there. I’m nobody in that home,” Nastya answered sharply and coldly. “And this is the last gift from the woman who raised me. I’m not going to hand over the memory of her to your sister. Lena is a grown woman—let her get a job and rent a place herself.”
Denis’s face flushed instantly with anger. His good-natured mask slipped, revealing his true face.
“You’re so greedy! I thought we were one whole, but all you do is grab everything for yourself. My mother was right when she said you couldn’t be trusted. You’re just selfish!”
“Tell your mother I couldn’t care less about her opinion,” Nastya said, slipping off her shoes and walking into the room. “Aunt Nina’s apartment will remain mine. End of discussion.”
She lay down on the couch and turned toward the wall. She no longer had the strength to argue or prove she was right.
Over the next few weeks, their life turned into pure hell. Denis tormented her with constant reproaches and icy silence.
Her mother-in-law called every day, accusing her daughter-in-law of being heartless and cruel to little Lena’s child. Lena herself sent long, tearful messages, trying to guilt-trip her.
Nastya simply blocked their numbers and buried herself in work, trying to survive her grief.
One evening, when Nastya came home from work, she couldn’t find her set of keys to Aunt Nina’s apartment. Denis innocently shrugged and said he hadn’t seen them.
Two days later, the keys turned up in the pocket of her coat. Nastya didn’t think much of it—in the stress after the funeral, she really could have put them there and forgotten.
Time passed. When the pain of the loss had eased a little, Nastya decided to go to Aunt Nina’s apartment to carefully sort through old photo albums and keepsakes.
She approached the familiar door and rang the bell. She wanted to warn the neighbors that there might be some noise while she went through the belongings. But the door suddenly swung open, and there stood Lena, smiling broadly. Behind her, in the hallway, was an unfamiliar man in a strict suit holding a folder of documents.
“Oh, Nastya, hi! We were just discussing the deal,” her sister-in-law sang sweetly, blocking the entrance with her body.
“What deal?” Nastya felt the ground slipping out from under her feet. “What are you doing in my apartment? Where did you get the keys?”
Denis slowly walked out of the kitchen. When he saw his wife, he flinched and began avoiding her eyes, absently adjusting his shirt collar.
“Nastya, let’s not make a scene,” her husband began, trying to speak quietly. “We’re selling this apartment. We found a very good buyer, and he’s ready to pay cash today.”
“Selling it?!” Nastya shoved Lena away from the door and stepped inside. “By what right?! The apartment is in my name!”
Lena smirked happily, pulled a thick white envelope from her handbag, and brazenly thrust it into Nastya’s hands.
“Here. Thirty thousand rubles. That’s our family’s thank-you for your understanding. We’ve already received the buyer’s deposit. Here’s the purchase agreement, and here’s your signature. Everything is legal.”
Nastya went cold. She unfolded the document and saw it immediately—the signature looked like hers, but it was clearly forged. Too smooth, without her usual distinctive curls.
At once, the whole picture came together in her mind: the keys that had vanished for two days, Denis’s sudden calm lately, his realtor friend who had always been ready for shady schemes if there was commission to be made.
“You made a copy of my keys,” Nastya said, her voice ringing with fury. She stared at her husband as if seeing him for the first time. “And you forged my signature on the documents. You committed a criminal offense for the sake of your shameless sister.”
“Then prove it!” Lena sneered insolently, feeling untouchable. “That’s your signature, the documents are in order. The buyer checked everything. So take your pennies and go home and cook dinner. Denis did the right thing. You’re supposed to support your real family, not sit on your treasure chests.”
Denis said nothing, staring at the floor. He didn’t even try to defend his wife.
Nastya did not cry. She did not scream for the whole building to hear or throw herself at them with her fists.
Slowly, right in front of their eyes, she tore the envelope apart and threw the bills onto the floor.
Then she pulled her phone from her pocket and confidently dialed a number.
“Police? I want to report large-scale fraud, document forgery, and unlawful entry into a residence. Yes, the perpetrators are at my address right now. The address is…”
Lena’s face changed instantly. Her smug smile vanished. She lunged at Nastya, trying to snatch the phone from her hands.
“What are you doing, are you insane?! You want to send your own husband to prison?!”
“No, Lena,” Nastya stepped back and looked at her with icy contempt. “I want to put both of you there. And your realtor friend too—the one who prepared the fake papers.”
The man in the suit, realizing he had landed himself in a criminal mess, quickly gathered his documents and ran out of the apartment, shouting as he went that the deal was off and the deposit would be returned.
At last Denis raised his head. Naked terror showed in his eyes.
“Nastya, please, cancel the call… I’ll get fired, I could go to prison… Lena talked me into it! She said you’d accept it!”
“Wait for the police, Denis. And get ready to explain to the investigators how you forged my signature,” Nastya said as she stepped into the hallway, putting an end to their relationship. “You wanted to steal the most precious thing from me. Now you’ll answer for it. With your own hands.”
The investigation lasted several difficult months. A handwriting examination quickly proved that the signature on the documents had been crudely forged.
Her husband and sister-in-law’s perfect plan collapsed just as quickly as their false confidence.
The realtor, terrified of a real prison sentence, immediately told investigators the whole scheme. In the end, Denis received a suspended sentence with a four-year probation period, as well as a permanently ruined reputation and dismissal from his job.
Lena avoided criminal charges because her direct involvement in the forgery could not be proven—her brother took all the blame on himself. But she had to urgently sell her car to pay the lawyers.
Her ex-husband’s family sank into debt and endless scandals among themselves.
Nastya filed for divorce the very same day she made the report to the police. In court, she did not even turn her head toward the man she had lived with for five years.
For her, he had simply ceased to exist.
Now Nastya sat in a cozy soft armchair by the window. Aunt Nina’s apartment was filled with the smell of fresh baking and cleanliness.
Nastya had done a beautiful light renovation here, leaving only the antique wooden sideboard as a memory of the dearest person in her life.
Outside, soft white snow was falling. Nastya held a warm mug in her hands and smiled sincerely.
In her new life, there were no more liars, selfish people, or brazen relatives. She had stood up for herself and defended her rightful claim to peace.
And now, in her own home, it was finally possible to breathe easily and freely.
