Sonya wearily climbed the stairs, dragging a suitcase behind her. Two weeks of business trips in Novosibirsk had completely worn her out, and now she dreamed of nothing but one thing – collapsing into her bed and sleeping for about twelve hours. The jangling of keys, the turning of a lock – and suddenly her nostrils caught an unfamiliar smell. Fried fish? In her apartment?
«Sonya! Finally!» A painfully familiar voice rang out, sending a chill through her. «I’ve been waiting so long!»
In the kitchen doorway stood Vera Pavlovna – her former mother-in-law personified. In a bathrobe, with a towel draped over her shoulder, as if she were the mistress of the house.
«What… what are you doing here?» Sonya felt the ground slip from under her feet.
«What do you mean? I live here!» her mother-in-law replied nonchalantly. «Anton allowed it. Temporarily, of course.»
Sonya slowly entered the apartment, noting the changes: her favorite photographs had been shifted aside, replaced by some tasteless figurines. The air was filled with the scent of an unfamiliar air freshener, and on the kitchen table lay a stranger’s tablecloth with little roses.
«Vera Pavlovna,» Sonya tried to speak calmly, though she was seething inside. «This is my apartment. How could you barge in without my permission?»
«Oh, don’t be so dramatic!» Vera Pavlovna waved her hand dismissively. «I’m only here temporarily. Don’t you mind? I’m having repairs done, and Anton said…»
«Anton?» Sonya snatched up the phone. «Now we’re going to find out!»
While the phone rang, she watched as Vera Pavlovna unruffledly arranged some stew onto plates. As if that were just fine.
«Yes, Sonya?» The voice of her ex-husband sounded cautious.
«What are you doing? How could you let your mother into my apartment?»
«Listen,» he began placatingly. «Mother really does have repairs going on; she has nowhere else to go. It’s only for a little while, really. You can’t just kick her out onto the street.»
«This is my apartment!» Sonya nearly shouted. «Mine! We divorced two years ago!»
«Mother will stay a bit and then move out,» Anton evasively replied. «Come on, don’t be so childish.»
Enraged, Sonya ended the call and turned to her mother-in-law:
«Pack your things. Immediately.»
«And I won’t even think about it,» Vera Pavlovna answered calmly, stirring something in a saucepan. «You have no right to kick me out!»
«What do you mean, no right? This is my property!»
«Oh, sweetheart,» her mother-in-law said condescendingly with a smile. «Are you so sure about that?»
That night, Sonya couldn’t sleep as she mulled over the situation.
By morning, a plan had formed in her mind. First, she went back to Mikhail, but now with specific questions.
«Tell me, if someone promised to remove another person’s name but didn’t do it – can that be considered fraud?»
Mikhail perked up:
«Do you have any evidence? Written commitments, witnesses?»
«I have a correspondence with Anton. And there are witnesses – during the divorce he promised it in the presence of a realtor.»
«Excellent!» Mikhail started scribbling something down. «This is a lead. You can file a fraud report. Even if it doesn’t go to court, the mere act of filing will force him to act.»
Returning home, Sonya immediately called Anton:
«Either you remove your mother immediately, or I file a fraud report. Choose.»
«Are you out of your mind?» he exclaimed indignantly. «What fraud?»
«The one you promised during the divorce to remove your mother’s name. I have witnesses. And the correspondence is saved.»
A heavy silence hung on the line.
«Do you think this will get off your hands?» Anton’s voice turned threatening.
«Check for yourself,» Sonya replied calmly. «You have twenty-four hours to decide.»
At the same time, she began to act on another front. After coming home from work, she deliberately changed the locks on the front door.
«What is this?» Vera Pavlovna exclaimed, now without keys.
«It’s for security,» Sonya said with an innocent smile. «Who knows who might break into the apartment.»
The next day, she turned off the internet router:
«Oh, something’s broken. I’ll have to call a repairman. Maybe in two weeks.»
Vera Pavlovna, who adored watching TV series online, became noticeably nervous.
Then Sonya stopped buying groceries:
«You know what, I’ve decided to eat out at cafes. Suit yourself.»
But her main blow came when she “accidentally” let it slip to a neighbor:
«Can you believe it, Vera Pavlovna is trying to claim part of my apartment! I’ll have to go to the press and let everyone know.»
The effect was beyond her expectations. Within an hour, the pale-faced mother-in-law rang the doorbell:
«What are you talking about? What press?»
«What do you mean? Isn’t that what we’re discussing? You were hinting at your rights.»
«Stop immediately!» Vera Pavlovna’s eyes flashed with fear. «You don’t understand…»
«Why not? I understand perfectly well. By the way, tomorrow a journalist from ‘Evening Gazette’ will come over. Perhaps you’d like to talk too?»
Vera Pavlovna collapsed into a chair:
«Fine, I’ll leave. Just no press!»
«And agree to a voluntary removal?» Sonya pressed.
«Yes, yes, of course,» Vera Pavlovna replied, dabbing her forehead with a handkerchief. «Just… just give me a week to pack.»
After two weeks of exhausting confrontation, Sonya began to notice the first signs that her tactics were working.
Vera Pavlovna increasingly locked herself in her room, avoiding confrontation. Her calls to her son became more frequent, but now they weren’t complaints about her daughter-in-law, but pleas to be taken away from there.
One morning, as Sonya was getting ready for work, she overheard a muffled conversation behind Vera Pavlovna’s door:
«Anton, I can’t do this anymore… She completely lost control! Can you imagine, yesterday she brought some realtors, claiming she wants to sell the apartment. And this morning she called social services, asking about places in a nursing home!»
Sonya smiled – of course, Vera Pavlovna hadn’t made such a call, but the bluff had worked flawlessly. Especially after Sonya had “accidentally” left printed information about several upscale retirement homes on the table.
«Mom, what can I do?» Anton’s voice sounded tired. «You know I live in a rented apartment myself.»
«And your sister? In the suburbs, she has a big house!»
«Elena is absolutely against it. After that incident with the inheritance.»
«How heartless everyone is!» Vera Pavlovna sobbed. «Family blood, and they cast you aside like…»
Quietly, Sonya went to the kitchen and deliberately made a racket with the dishes. The conversation behind the door instantly died down.
That same evening, an unexpected twist occurred. Elena, Anton’s sister, rang the doorbell. They had never been particularly close, but Sonya was now glad to see her.
«You know,» Elena began without any preamble, «I admire the way you’re handling this situation. Mother has always been… a difficult person.»
«That’s putting it mildly,» Sonya replied with a smirk.
«Remember how she tried to claim part of our father’s inheritance from me?» Elena shook her head. «Even though she knew perfectly well that he left the house to me because I took care of him in his final years.»
«I remember. And now I understand why you were so unyielding back then.»
«Exactly. There’s no other way with her,» Elena said as she pulled a folder of documents from her bag. «Here, I brought something interesting. These are extracts from the household registry from the past five years. Look closely – mother repeatedly tried to register at different addresses.»
Sonya bent over the papers:
«But why?»
«Here’s why,» Elena spread out a few more documents. «These are lawsuits. She tried to claim residential property everywhere she was registered. But all in vain.»
«So… that’s her scheme?»
«Exactly. And you’re just another victim. But now you have proof of her unscrupulous behavior.»
This information was a real gift for Sonya. Now she knew exactly how to proceed. The next day, she organized a «chance» meeting between Vera Pavlovna and a neighbor known for her gossiping.
«Can you imagine,» Sonya declared loudly while spreading the documents out on the table, «this is already the fifth attempt! And it’s the same scheme everywhere – registration, then claims on the residential property…»
Vera Pavlovna’s face turned ashen. She silently turned and went back to her room, slamming the door loudly.
An hour later, Anton called:
«What did you say to my mother? She’s hysterical!»
«Just the truth,» Sonya replied calmly. «And I have all the documents to prove every word. Want me to share them with the press? I’m sure the story will create quite a stir.»
A heavy silence hung on the line. Finally, Anton managed:
«Give me two days. I’ll figure something out.»
But Sonya was no longer about to back down:
«One day, Anton. Tomorrow at this same time, I expect a concrete decision. Otherwise, all the documents will end up at the office of ‘City Herald.'»
The next morning, Vera Pavlovna did not come down for breakfast. From behind her room’s door came muffled sobs and the sound of moving furniture. By lunchtime, Anton had arrived with a small truck and two sturdy helpers.
«We’re taking the belongings,» he stated dryly to Sonya. «Mother is moving in with me.»
«And what about your rented apartment?» she asked innocently.
«I found a bigger place,» he grumbled, avoiding her gaze.
The loading took almost three hours. Vera Pavlovna rushed between rooms, exclaiming from time to time, «What’s this? And that?» as if she were trying to take every little thing, every memory of the years spent there.
Finally, when the last box was carried out, she stopped in the doorway:
«You’ll regret this, Sonya. Time will set everything right.»
«You’re right,» Sonya replied calmly. «Time really does set everything right. And right now, your place is not here.»
After their departure, Sonya didn’t rush to celebrate her victory. She methodically searched the entire apartment, checking to see if any of Vera Pavlovna’s belongings had been left behind. In a wardrobe, she discovered an old jewelry box containing some papers. When she opened it, Sonya froze – inside were documents for the apartment, dated back to Soviet times.
«Ah, so that’s it,» she thought. «The groundwork for a future lawsuit…»
The next several weeks were spent in legal headaches. Sonya wasn’t just pursuing her mother-in-law’s eviction – she was gathering evidence of all her previous real estate shenanigans. Just in case.
One evening, Elena called:
«Can you believe it? Mother now lives with Anton and has already managed to get into an argument with his girlfriend! She says the way she cooks is wrong and everything else…»
«History repeating itself?» Sonya smiled.
«Exactly! But now, it’s not our problem.»
Six months passed.
Sonya completely revamped the apartment’s interior, getting rid of the last reminders of her past life. Now it was her space, her fortress, where every item was in its proper place.
Once, she accidentally met Anton at a supermarket. He looked haggard and exhausted.
«How’s your mother?» Sonya asked, more out of politeness.
«She moved in with my sister in the suburbs,» he replied, averting his eyes. «It turned out my apartment was too small for both of them.»
«And your girlfriend?»
«She left. Said one mother-in-law in her life is enough.»
Sonya nodded silently and walked away. Inside, she felt light and at peace – she had won this war without losing herself.
