The morning began with a pulsating headache. Marina swallowed a pill and glanced at the clock. Five in the morning, and there were still three hours until work. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep—she wouldn’t have been able to fall asleep anyway. She had only recently learned to relax a little and had stopped jumping at every little sound. Quietly, she peeked into the room—Polina was sleeping soundly, her little arms outstretched. Marina carefully closed the door.
There was time to have some coffee and think. She worked as a mortuary attendant. That place seemed to her the safest. No one would be looking for her there, and, consequently, wouldn’t find Polina either. Marina took a deep breath. Just one day ago, everything had been different. Of course, she was largely to blame for what had happened, but she would never go back to those days when no one knew anything.
Marina and Vera were not biological sisters. When Marina turned six, her mother married a man who already had a daughter. Vera was ten at the time.
The girls quickly became friends, and soon everyone forgot that they weren’t blood-related. Vera had always dreamed of a beautiful life. And when she turned twenty, she married a man who could provide her with everything she had dreamed of. At first…
And everything seemed simply perfect. Only, for some reason, their mother was constantly anxious. Meanwhile, Marina had enrolled in law school in a big city and hadn’t even thought about marriage—she wanted to build a career first.
Marina suspected something was wrong when Polina turned three. During one of her visits to her sister, she noticed strange bruises on her body. Marina didn’t back down until Vera told her the truth.
Victor had been abusing her. He didn’t just beat her—he took pleasure in exerting his power over her. This horrifying game of “slave” began about six months after Polina’s birth. At first, he restrained himself when a child or Vera’s relatives were around.
“Verochka, you need to get away from him,” Marina had said then.
“No, I’m scared,” her sister replied.
The nightmare continued for almost two more years until this monster finally drove Vera to the hospital. Perhaps she would have died at home if Marina hadn’t come to her. During her previous visit, Marina had made spare keys. Polina sat in the corner, and Vera lay on the couch. Marina immediately realized what had happened. She called an ambulance, the police, took the child, and drove him to her mother’s.
Victor was well-regarded at work. No one believed he was capable of such things. He quickly concocted a story that Vera had a lover who beat her up. But Vera wasn’t about to give in.
Their friends kept vigil at the hospital around the clock so that Victor couldn’t get to her. He staged outbursts, threatened to call the police, and even said he’d take his wife to a private clinic. And, of course, he demanded that Polina be handed over to him.
Marina was on the brink of a nervous breakdown. It was then that the decision was made to hide. Vera disappeared during the night. Where? Even Marina didn’t know, so as not to inadvertently give anything away. They agreed to exchange messages from strangers’ social media accounts and immediately delete them. And Marina took Polina and moved to the neighboring city. Where would Victor look for her?
Of course, at the university, among friends, or in notary offices—but not in a mortuary. And during that time, Vera was supposed to find incriminating evidence on her husband. She already knew that Victor had several mistresses, two of whom had disappeared without a trace.
She found an investigator who was handling these cases. He turned out to be a very young man who had been intimidated and threatened with harm to his relatives if he didn’t stop his investigation.
But a different hope arose for Marina. She had recently met a journalist. He liked Marina, and he became friends with Polina, considering her his daughter. Marina knew it wasn’t right to toy with his feelings, but if anyone could help, it was that guy with the protruding ears.
There was a quiet knock on the door. Marina looked through the peephole and exhaled in relief. It was her neighbor, old lady Nina.
“Marinochka, I’m sorry, I won’t be able to sit with Polina today. I urgently need to go to my son. He has a broken leg, his daughter-in-law is at work, and the kids are alone.”
“I understand, thank you for letting me know.”
Old lady Nina kept an eye on Polina while Marina mopped the floors at the mortuary. Leaving the girl home alone was not an option. Firstly, Polina was very frightened—she still hadn’t forgotten her father. And secondly, Marina was too worried herself. What if Victor found them? When she was around, that was one thing. But if she wasn’t…
She paced around the kitchen, not knowing what to do. She couldn’t miss work. They were living solely on her salary. Marina hadn’t made any withdrawals from her accounts so that Victor wouldn’t be able to track her—who knew what connections he had.
While she was nervously pacing from one corner to another, she accidentally woke Polina. The little girl came to the kitchen, sleepy and yawning.
“Mom, Marin, why are you so loud?”
They had an agreement to call each other “mom” and “daughter.”
“Polinushka, we have a problem. I need to go to work, and old lady Nina has left. That means she won’t be able to stay with you.”
Polina looked at Marina intently:
“You’re not going to leave me alone at home, are you?”
“What am I supposed to do with you?” Marina asked, at a loss.
“Well, take you with me, for example,” the girl shrugged, as if the answer was obvious.
“Polinochka, that’s no place for children. There… are dead people.”
“Aren’t they at least not fighting?” the little girl asked seriously.
“Of course not, but…”
Polina shrugged again:
“Call Dima. I’ll sit somewhere in an office, and then he’ll pick me up.”
Marina exhaled and looked at the child suspiciously. “How do such quick decisions come to a child’s mind?” But Polina calmly sipped her tea. Marina reached for the phone.
Dima was pleased to receive her call:
“I think I’ll be there by eleven. Can you hold on there, girls?”
“Dima, just keep in mind: Polina needs to eat properly and can’t be watching TV all day.”
He laughed:
“Marin, I have three younger sisters.”
“What? Three? You never mentioned that!”
“And you never asked,” he replied coolly.
Marina jumped up:
“Alright, Polinka, get ready. Today’s your day off; there’s no boss around, but don’t get too cheeky.”
On the way, Marina gave her instructions without stopping. Polina even frowned:
“Yeah, I got it! Everything’s clear. I’ll sit quietly like a mouse, read a book, play on my phone, and wait for you. Right?”
Marina wanted to add something else, but then she just nodded and quickened her pace. She arranged for Polina in the changing room for the attendants. She repeated the rules of behavior one more time and headed off to work. Today she could leave early—nobody would notice anyway. “Otherwise Dima and Polina would turn the whole apartment upside down,” she thought.
Polina sat patiently as long as she could, but soon she really needed to use the restroom, though she didn’t know where it was. She decided to look for Marina. The little girl walked down the corridor. Doors, doors, nothing familiar. She couldn’t imagine behind which one Marina was. Then Polina cautiously opened one of the doors. It was a neat office with a sofa. Two men were sitting with their backs turned to her. Polina listened to their conversation.
It was a bit creepy, but incredibly interesting. Strange. Marina said that they were investigating the causes of death, but these two were clearly making something up. They didn’t notice the girl. Polina stood there a little longer. “I need to remember everything so I can ask Marina later,” she decided.
After a while, Marina noticed Polina and rushed over:
“What are you doing out here?”
Marina led Polina back into the room.
“Sit tight a little longer; Dima will be here soon.”
“Mom Marin, wait, I want to ask you something.”
Polina recounted the conversation she had overheard. Marina immediately understood what it was about. Today they had brought someone to the mortuary and hidden her in the farthest corner. She had seen two pathologists counting a sizable stack of money. Very strange. It seemed they had been paid to falsify the cause of death? This was clearly a serious crime.
“Polina, we’ll talk at home. Don’t go anywhere.”
Soon, the pathologists left for the nearest cafe. Marina decided to take a look at the person they had brought. Approaching the gurney, she pulled back the sheet and gasped. It was a woman.
The woman was severely beaten, but Marina gasped not because of that. She knew her and was even planning to meet her. However, the woman didn’t know Marina and most likely had no idea of her existence. This was Victor’s last mistress.
Everything became clear. In this mortuary, someone was helping Victor cover up his crimes. If Marina hadn’t intervened, perhaps Vera would have ended up here too, and the documents would have stated something like “heart failure.”
Marina took out her phone and snapped several pictures. And then it dawned on her—it was extremely dangerous to stay there. After all, she didn’t know if Victor might show up himself.
They were just leaving when Dima arrived at the mortuary in his “Logan.”
“Oh, girls, are you both heading home?”
Marina looked at him seriously:
“Dima, I really need your help. If you don’t help us, I honestly don’t know what I’ll do.”
The guy instantly turned serious:
“Marin, you know I’d do anything for you!”
“I’ll explain later. Let’s go home. I have a lot to tell you and something to show you.”
Dima looked at her in surprise but nodded.
Polina was thrilled that they were finally returning. She had a hearty lunch and now settled in front of the TV with cartoons. Meanwhile, Marina took out her laptop from the closet and headed to the kitchen. Dima whistled:
“Wow, what a machine! Our chief editor has one just like that. It costs a fortune. Where did you get it?”
“You’ll find out soon. Have some tea,” Marina replied calmly.
She began to explain. Dima put his cup aside and froze, mouth agape. The more Marina talked, the wider his eyes grew. When she finished, he exhaled:
“Wait… So the story isn’t over yet?”
“Exactly. Today they brought in his mistress to the mortuary. He paid to have another cause of death recorded. And she…”
Dima looked at the photos:
“Oh my God!”
He turned his gaze to Marina:
“I’m beginning to understand what kind of help you need. You know what? It might work out. Our boss is a wealthy man; for him, journalism is just a hobby, and he doesn’t care about taboos. Maybe I should call him? If he shows up—consider the job done.”
Dima spent a long time explaining something to his boss on the phone. Finally, he turned to Marina:
“He’s coming.”
They spent the whole night at two laptops. Dima was searching for information while Marina recalled details. The grey-haired man was quickly typing out a text. Marina watched him in admiration:
“You write as if you witnessed it all yourself.”
The man smiled:
“Well, the city is about to wake up to a bombshell. I feel that heads will be blown not only in the police force. By the way, I sent the material to your hometown as well. I have a great journalist friend there, a master of scandals. That’s it, youth, wait for it. And I must be off home, or my wife will kick me out.”
Neither Marina nor Dima could sleep. The newspaper was set to go out at six. At half past six, they turned on the local news. Something incredible was happening on screen. The anchor’s eyes were enormous. Their story had gathered new details that no one had known before. The live broadcast showed the arrest of Victor, followed by that of the police chief.
Dima exhaled:
“That’s what I call a resonance.”
Marina picked up the phone. With a trembling hand, she dialed her mother’s number. Vera answered:
“Marin, what’s happened? Polina?”
Marina smiled:
“Polina ate two cutlets and is sleeping soundly.”
“Marin, what’s going on?..”
“Everything, Verochka. It’s all over. He’s been arrested.”
“That can’t be! Are you serious? How do you know?”
“Turn on the TV already!”
Marina heard Vera shout:
“Mom, Dad, turn on the news immediately!”
She hung up. One, two, three. The phone rang again. Vera was shouting so loudly it could be heard even without the speaker:
“Marinka, we’re leaving! We’re coming for you and Polina. Marina, sis, is this all thanks to you?”
She looked at Dima:
“Not entirely. There’s one helper involved.”
Dima blushed. And Vera shouted again:
“Don’t let him go! I want to thank him personally!”
Four hours passed. Polina woke up. Marina hadn’t told her anything about mom’s arrival. Someone rang the doorbell. Polina asked in fear:
“Who is it?”
Marina smiled:
“Let’s find out.”
Then a real commotion began: shouts, tears, hugs. And in the midst of it all, Dima suddenly kissed Marina. She looked at him sternly, and he smiled:
“Now I’m obliged to marry you.”
And a year later, he met Marina at the maternity ward with a tiny son.