— Marina, open the safe immediately! — the mother-in-law stood in the doorway of the study, clutching some documents in her hands. Marina Sergeyevna froze with her morning tea cup in hand. She had just been peacefully having breakfast in the kitchen when suddenly Tamara Ivanovna — the mother-in-law who hadn’t shown up for half … Read more
Ethan Cross, a self-made billionaire in his late thirties, rarely flew commercial. But today was different. A sudden mechanical issue had grounded his private jet, and unwilling to miss his keynote speech at a global tech summit in Zurich, Ethan reluctantly accepted a first-class seat on a commercial flight. He didn’t mind the luxury—the champagne, … Read more
Ethan Carrington was a man accustomed to control—control over markets, negotiations, and above all, the meticulously crafted life he led. As the CEO of a San Francisco-based tech giant, he dominated boardrooms and made headlines. Yet, despite his towering success, one part of his life remained unresolved: his brief marriage to Isabel. They tied the … Read more
“When will you be gone?” whispered my daughter-in-law. Her breath was warm and smelled of cheap coffee. She thought I was unconscious, just a body stuffed with medicines. But I was not asleep. I lay under a thin, hospital-issue blanket, and every nerve in my body had turned into a taut string. Under my palm, … Read more
After their father’s funeral, the children returned to his three-room apartment on Leninsky Prospect. It smelled of old books, medicine, and that very same “Chypre” cologne their father had been buying since Soviet times. Valentina, the eldest sister, immediately sat down in the armchair by the window. That was always where Petr Semyonovich used to … Read more
Anna stood on the veranda of her new house, watching the sun slowly sink behind the lake. A confident woman of about forty, she was used to achieving everything on her own. Her stable business allowed her to turn dreams into reality. And this house was her personal victory. Ten years of marriage to Alexey … Read more
Lera was standing by the mirror in the hallway, touching up her lipstick, when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the clock — half past six in the evening. Sergey hadn’t come home from work yet, and she was supposed to meet a friend at a café. The bell rang again, more insistently. “Lera, open … Read more
— Semyon, you didn’t even ask! — Margo slammed the bags down on the table, and apples rolled everywhere. — You just told Mom, “Of course, live here,” but did you think about me? Semyon scrambled to catch the rolling fruit. — Margosh, what could I do? Her pipe burst, the apartment is flooded. She … Read more
Irina was sitting at her desk when someone knocked on the office door. Oleg peeked inside, looking at the familiar space with a somehow new gaze. “May I come in?” he asked, though he had already stepped over the threshold. She nodded without taking her eyes off the screen. The house had been inherited from … Read more
— Arina! Open up already, what are you dithering for? I’m not a stranger standing here! Lidiya Ivanovna’s voice thundered in the silence of a Saturday morning just as Arina was fumbling for the key in the lock. Apparently, her mother-in-law had been lurking by the door—otherwise, how else to explain her materializing on the … Read more