So, here’s the deal. Let’s settle this peacefully. You give me half of the apartment, and we part ways without a fight,” Stas placed his hands on the table and leaned forward.
“Half of my grandmother’s apartment?” Anita raised her eyebrows. “Are you serious? In thirteen years of marriage, I’ve heard a lot of strange things from you, but this… this is something else.”
“Jointly acquired property is divided in half,” he said in a tone as if he were explaining an obvious truth, then repeated, “You’ll give me half of the apartment, and we’ll separate peacefully.”
“Stas, do you even hear yourself? What jointly acquired property? I inherited this apartment from my grandmother before we even met. You’re not even registered there!”
“I invested in renovating this apartment for thirteen years, so now I have a share in it,” he began counting on his fingers. “Remember when we replaced the windows? And the kitchen set?”
“Wait, wait,” Anita raised her hand. “We replaced the windows with my money. I sold my grandmother’s jewelry. And my parents gave us the kitchen as a housewarming gift. What else?”
Silence hung in the room. Stas paced from one corner of the spacious living room to the other, then stopped by the window. The view from the old Stalin-era apartment was stunning — the city’s central square, old buildings with stucco decorations, a small park…
“All right,” he finally said. “Then let’s talk about Masha.”
“What does Masha have to do with this?”
“She has rights to this apartment too. And as her father, I can represent her interests. Our daughter will live with me, which means the apartment is now mine.”
Anita slowly rose from her chair.
“So after twelve years, you suddenly remembered that you’re a father? Not a single parent-teacher meeting, not a single trip to the doctor when she had bronchitis, not even her birthday last year. But now you’re ready to represent her interests? Now you’ve decided she’ll live with you?”
“I’m calling Rita,” Stas took out his phone. “Let her explain your rights and responsibilities to you as a lawyer.”
Anita shrugged.
“Call her. I think your sister will explain to you that you have no rights to the inheritance I received before marriage.”
Half an hour later, Rita appeared in the apartment — a tall woman in a strict suit. She immediately took out a folder of documents.
“Stas, I reviewed the extracts from Rosreestr. The apartment did indeed belong to Anita’s grandmother and then passed to her by inheritance. There are no loopholes.”
“But all these years I…”
“What do you mean, ‘all these years’?” Rita interrupted. “Living in your spouse’s apartment does not give you ownership rights.”
“And what about the child’s rights?” Stas crossed his arms over his chest.
“Masha has a legal representative — her mother. And the apartment is not jointly acquired property,” Rita snapped the folder shut. “I can file a lawsuit, but it would be a waste of time and money.”
Stas abruptly stood up.
“So my own sister is against me?”
“I’m not against you. I’m on the side of the law,” Rita replied calmly. “And I advise you not to complicate the divorce with unfounded claims.”
After Rita left, Stas remained silent for a long time, staring out the window. Then he turned to Anita.
“Fine. We’ll do it another way. Masha will live with me.”
“Since when?”
“I’m her father. I have the right to see my daughter.”
“To see her, yes. But she will continue living with me.”
“We’ll see about that,” Stas headed for the door. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
The next day, Anita picked Masha up from school. Her daughter looked unusually excited.
“Can you imagine, Dad came today! He brought me a new phone case. He said he’d buy me a new iPhone soon.”
“Is that so?” Anita tried to hide her surprise. “And has he started coming to school often?”
“Second time this week. What’s wrong with that? He’s my dad.”
That evening, the class teacher called.
“Anita Sergeyevna, I wanted to consult with you. Stanislav Mikhailovich has started coming to school often. He asks about Masha’s grades, talks to her during breaks. Is that all right?”
“Yes, we’re getting divorced now. He has the right to see his daughter.”
“You see, he was asking about your work schedule, trying to find out who usually picks Masha up. And he also hinted that he intends to apply for sole custody.”
Anita’s hands went cold. So that was it. Since he had failed to sue for the apartment, Stas had decided to act through their daughter.
That weekend, Masha got ready to visit her father.
“Mom, can I spend the night at Dad’s? He rented such a cool apartment! And his fiancée Vera promised to teach me how to make pasta carbonara.”
“Fiancée?” Anita hadn’t known about that. “Have they been together long?”
“I don’t know. She’s cool! She works at a real estate agency. She says being a realtor is a calling.”
That evening, Rita called Anita.
“We need to meet. There’s something important we need to talk about.”
The café was almost empty. Rita looked worried.
“I accidentally found out something. Vera really is a realtor. And she’s already looking for a buyer for your apartment.”
“But how? She has no rights…”
“What if Stas gets custody of Masha? Then he could try to claim part of the apartment as the representative of a minor child. He and Vera have calculated everything.”
“What should I do?”
“First, gather evidence. I have a plan.”
A week later, Masha returned from her father’s place in tears.
“Mom, I’m never going there again!”
“What happened?”
“I accidentally heard him and Vera talking. She said she had already found a buyer for our apartment, and they would move to another city as soon as everything was settled with the documents. And Dad said I’d get used to the new school quickly.”
Anita hugged her daughter.
“Now do you understand why he suddenly started showing so much care?”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I was so stupid. I thought he really missed me.”
Rita gathered them for a meeting in her office. A large stack of documents lay on the table.
“Here’s what I managed to find out,” she said, spreading the papers out like a fan. “First, Stas took out a loan for five million rubles. Second, I checked — the money was withdrawn in cash and disappeared somewhere.”
“What loan?” Anita was surprised. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“That’s because he took it out a month before your divorce. And now the bank is demanding repayment. Also,” Rita pulled out a printed email, “Vera has already posted an advertisement for the sale of your apartment. True, without photos so far.”
“But how could she?”
“A preliminary agreement. She takes deposits from potential buyers, promising that the apartment will be vacated any day now. Three people have already paid one hundred thousand each.”
Masha, who had been sitting in the corner of the office, looked up from her phone.
“I recorded their conversation. Vera told Dad she had found some company ready to buy the apartment in cash, no unnecessary questions asked.”
Rita nodded.
“Well done. That’s important evidence.”
“So what now?” Anita asked.
“Now we file a counterclaim. I have evidence that Stas was planning the apartment scam even before the divorce. Here’s a call record from his phone — he called realtors and consulted them about an urgent sale of real estate.”
There was a knock at the door. Stas appeared on the threshold.
“Decided to hold a family council without me?”
“Come in,” Rita pointed to a chair. “We were just discussing your financial affairs.”
“What financial affairs?”
“For example, the five-million-ruble loan. Or the preliminary agreements for selling an apartment in which you have no share. Or maybe we should discuss the custody petition you’re preparing?”
Stas turned pale.
“Were you spying on me?”
“No, I was simply doing my job. I’m a lawyer, in case you forgot.”
“You’re my sister!”
“That’s exactly why I’m trying to stop you before you commit a criminal offense. Real estate fraud is a criminal charge.”
Masha stood up from her seat.
“Dad, is it true that you and Vera are planning to leave for another city?”
“Who told you that?”
“I heard it myself. And I recorded your conversation.”
Stas collapsed into the chair.
“You don’t understand. I have huge debts. Vera suggested a plan…”
“A plan to deceive your own daughter?” Anita interrupted. “To use a child to take away an apartment?”
“I needed money!”
“And I needed a father,” Masha said quietly. “A real one. Not someone who comes to school with gifts just to get access to Mom’s apartment.”
Rita took out another document.
“Here is a statement to the prosecutor’s office. It includes everything: the loan, the preliminary sales agreements for someone else’s property, and the attempt to manipulate a minor child. I haven’t submitted it yet.”
“What are you suggesting?” Stas crossed his arms over his chest.
“You stop all attempts to sue for the apartment. You write a signed statement saying that you have no rights to it. You compensate the people from whom Vera took deposits. And you start communicating with your daughter normally — without selfish motives.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then the documents go to the relevant authorities. And believe me, you won’t like the consequences.”
Stas silently looked at the documents. A heavy silence filled the office.
“Give me time to think,” he finally said.
“Until tomorrow morning,” Rita cut him off. “Otherwise, I start the process.”
That evening, Anita and Masha sat in the kitchen of their apartment. Tea steamed on the table, and rain drummed against the windowsill.
“Mom, did Grandma buy this apartment a long time ago?” Masha asked.
“Oh, that’s a whole story. She worked here as the chief engineer at the factory. Back then, this entire building was being built for the management staff. Grandma spent hours at the construction site, watching over every single brick. Later, when the apartments were being assigned, they offered her the chance to choose any one she wanted. She chose this one — with a view of the square.”
“Did Dad know this story?”
“Of course. Grandma told it many times. She lived with us for the first three years after our wedding.”
Anita’s phone vibrated. A message from Rita: “Stas came to see me. Says he’s ready to accept our terms.”
In the morning, they gathered again in Rita’s office. Stas looked gaunt, as if he hadn’t slept all night.
“I’ll sign everything,” he said without looking at anyone. “Where are the documents?”
Rita laid out the papers.
“Here is the waiver of all claims to the apartment. Here is the obligation to compensate Vera’s deceived clients. And here is the schedule for meetings with your daughter, if Masha agrees.”
Masha looked at her father.
“Do you really want to see me? Or are you planning something again?”
“I really do,” Stas raised his eyes for the first time that morning. “I ruined everything, didn’t I? I was only thinking about money, about the apartment. And you grew up into such a wonderful girl. I missed all of it.”
“Not all of it,” Masha said quietly. “You can still make up for some of it. Just without lies, okay?”
Stas nodded and began signing the documents. Once the formalities were over, Rita gathered the papers.
“Does Vera already know?”
“I broke everything off with her. She wanted to use Masha to make money off the apartment. And I… I let myself be persuaded.”
“And what about the loan?” Anita asked.
“I’ll pay it back. I got a second job. Maybe I’ll close it in about three years.”
A month passed. Anita and Masha were sitting in the same kitchen overlooking the square. The first snow was falling outside the window.
“Mom, you know, Dad has changed,” Masha said, sipping her tea. “Yesterday we went to the movies, then walked in the park. He asked me about school, about my friends. And not a word about the apartment or money.”
“I’m glad,” Anita answered sincerely. “Everyone can be given a second chance.”
The doorbell rang. Rita stood on the threshold.
“I decided to drop by to see my favorite sister-in-law and niece. I see you’re having tea here?”
“Join us,” Anita smiled. “You’re not just a relative now. You’re our family protector.”
Rita walked into the kitchen.
“By the way, Stas has fully paid off Vera’s clients. And he was promoted at work.”
“And Vera herself?” Masha asked.
“She had to leave town. Too many dissatisfied clients. But that’s another story entirely.”
They sat in the kitchen, drank tea, and talked about everything in the world. Outside the window, snow continued to fall, covering the city square with a white blanket. And inside the old Stalin-era apartment, it was warm and cozy.
