Valentina sat staring at one spot, unable to look away. No, this simply couldn’t be! And with her too — this should not be happening. She kept rereading the message her husband had obviously sent to the wrong woman by mistake.
The text was short but painfully clear. Fyodor was explaining to his mistress that very soon everything would be settled. He wanted to get rid of Valentina, inherit the estate, and then they would start a new life full of prosperity. The truth was, for the inheritance to go to him, Valentina needed to disappear without a trace.
She was absolutely certain: if Fyodor wanted something, he would really go all the way. Having lived with him for almost ten years, she knew him well — when he sets a goal, he is ready to tear down any obstacles.
He was always annoyed that she refused to transfer the company into his name. The workshop producing expensive shoes was inherited by her from her father. The family had been in this business all their lives, and Valya was thoroughly familiar with all its aspects.
Their brand was known far beyond the region. When Valya finished university and came to work for her father, he admired her, saying his daughter had a commercial knack. Indeed, in just three years they significantly expanded production.
Then her father introduced her to Fyodor. Valentina did not fall in love with him at first sight. Her mind was occupied with other things. But Fyodor turned out to be persistent. Somehow, almost unnoticed, Valya found herself married.
Some time later, her father suddenly passed away. After she recovered a little from her grief, Fyodor had already taken full control of the company. And he told her that her place was now at home.
At first, Valya tried to come, help, and advise. But over time, she realized her husband simply ignored her. So she gradually withdrew from affairs.
A couple of years later, he suggested transferring the enterprise into his name, explaining it was more convenient. Then Valya remembered that she had a character too. She categorically refused.
This refusal caused Fyodor to have a real fit of rage. Recently, after another refusal, he hissed through his teeth: «Watch out, don’t regret it while it’s not too late.» Back then, she didn’t understand his words.
Now everything was clear. A decision had to be made. Run away. Leave wherever her eyes could see.
She quickly packed her things, throwing them into a bag, added a jewelry box, documents, and money hidden in a secret place. She glanced at the house one last time.
«I will come back,» Valya whispered and slipped outside.
She needed to leave to a place with many people, where no one knew her. Fyodor would definitely look for her. And if he found her — he wouldn’t be merciful.
Several months passed. Valentina, with a kerchief pulled over her face, was scrubbing the floor. Every morning she spent time in front of the mirror to change her appearance beyond recognition. She did not want to take risks.
She only started working because the loneliness in the rented apartment became unbearable. The salary was meager, but Valya did not expect more. The main thing was to be among people, even strangers.
The company where she got a job specialized in making leather bags and briefcases, which reminded her of her former business.
«Valentina!» called a woman. It was the executive’s secretary nearby. «The boss left, you can clean his office for now.»
«Okay, I’m coming.»
People in the office were kind. No one looked down on her. If someone celebrated a birthday, Valentina was also brought a piece of cake.
She wiped the dust and washed the floor. On the desk lay piles of papers scattered in disorder. Valya always liked order in documents, so she automatically started to arrange them.
On one sheet, she noticed strange numbers. The same company supplied the leather, but the prices… And the intermediary was listed as Valentina’s company!
It turned out Fyodor decided to earn extra money this way. That meant he no longer needed the company. Valya knew such schemes well. The money from customers is quickly written off, and the company itself remains ownerless.
She shuddered when a voice whispered right next to her ear:
«I pay you to clean, not to read my documents!»
Valya put down the sheet, turned around:
«Sorry, I didn’t mean to read, I just wanted to arrange everything neatly. Forgive me!»
She grabbed the bucket with rags and ran out of the office.
Timur Olegovich thoughtfully watched her leave. What a strange cleaning lady… He shook his head. Alright, unnecessary memories.
He had just returned from the police where he filed a report. The lawyer stayed there. How unlucky! From the start, something about the deal didn’t feel right, but he took the risk anyway. The terms were too good.
Could it be that such an experienced businessman like him was tricked out of nowhere? No one would have dared before!
Valentina hid in the storeroom. How could she not guess that Timur from her past and this Timur Olegovich were one and the same?
They once met through business. Valya had just started working in her father’s company, and Timur came on business. His car broke down, and her father asked Valentina to give him a ride.
Timur treated her to coffee, then invited her to a restaurant. After those meetings, Valya stopped answering his calls. She was afraid of her feelings for him.
Back then, it seemed to her that he was almost an old man — ten years older. Then Timur left. Her father said he was abroad, planning to open a firm here, studying.
Valya gradually calmed down. Then Fyodor appeared.
How could she work now? She had to be extremely careful never to meet Timur by chance.
The company faced hard times. The deal turned out to be fake — but that was not the worst. One attack followed another. Someone clearly wanted to ruin the firm.
All employees sat in the office round the clock. Valya saw Timur lived there too.
She could help. She could come out of the shadows and block access to the accounts. But then Fyodor would find her.
Or maybe let him find her? How long can one hide? What kind of life is this?
One morning Valya came to work and looked around in surprise. Everyone was present but no one worked. All looked lost and discouraged.
She approached one of the employees:
«What happened, Tamara Sergeevna?»
«Valya, don’t even ask! Now we’ll all be out of work. Even Timur Olegovich — without a company.»
«Why?»
«Because of that deal, then other problems… The accounts were blocked, no money. A complete dead end.»
«Don’t give up prematurely. We must do something.»
Valya took off her kerchief. People around gasped. Her hair was neatly styled, diamond earrings glittered in her ears… She calmly took off her work coat. Of course, it wasn’t evening wear, but Valya never wore cheap things.
The woman headed to Timur’s office and entered without knocking.
«What did they teach you, by the way?» he asked a little confused.
«Hi, Timur. It’s me, Valya.»
«Valya? So you’re my cleaning lady?»
He shook his head:
«Wait. You mean you’re the one who ruined my company? I thought you were taking revenge on me!»
«Revenge? For what? For having at least one pleasant memory in my life?»
«No, Timur, it wasn’t me. I’ll explain everything to you now. I can help you. But you must promise to support me — me and my company to get back on its feet.»
They spent nearly an hour discussing the situation. When Timur fully realized what kind of man her husband was, he said:
«Listen, now everything is completely different! No one will pity him. All these deals can be canceled. Of course, we will lose some money, but we will survive. I have an idea how to do this. Let’s do it this way…»
They leaned over documents, whispered to each other, drew up plans, took notes. None of them suspected that behind the office door, holding their breath, almost all the company’s employees had gathered.
Finally, Timur stood up:
«Valya, you’re a genius! I said it before, and I’ll say it again. There’s only one question that’s been bothering me.»
She looked up:
«What question?»
«How did you even manage to marry such a scoundrel?»
Valentina smiled slightly:
«Well, you didn’t propose yourself. So I had to.»
«I didn’t propose… Because I wanted to but saw your look when you found out I was ten years older.»
«Okay, we’ll talk about that later. For now, I suggest you live with me. I have security, cameras. Who knows what my husband might think of?»
«Alright, thanks for the offer. Honestly, I don’t know what he’s capable of. You live next to a person for years, and he turns out to be a real monster.»
«So, shall we start?»
Timur looked at her for a long time, then came closer:
«Tell me honestly, are you afraid of him? You hid from him for many months. But why did you decide to help me?»
Valya smiled:
«Maybe just because I have warm memories of you left.»
He nodded:
«Then let’s start.»
Opening the office door, Timur froze. About thirty people stood in the reception area, waiting tensely.
«So, why aren’t you at your workplaces?» he started strictly, but immediately changed tone: «Guys, you know what we’re going through now. But we have a chance! Thanks to one person, their knowledge and experience, we have a chance to fix everything. Please gather! Call home — today we work until victory!»
«No problem, Timur Olegovich! Ready till morning, just say the word!»
«Great! All department heads to me!»
The bank was extremely surprised by Valentina’s sudden call:
«Are you sure you want to revoke the power of attorney and temporarily freeze the accounts?»
«Do I need to repeat that twice?»
«No, not at all, Valentina Andreyevna! We understand you perfectly. It’s just a formality — the conversation is recorded, we need your clear response.»
«My answer: I revoke the power of attorney to manage the accounts issued in my husband’s name. I freeze all accounts related to the company.»
The entire evening and night in Timur’s office were tense work. One employee came in, then another, then whole groups arrived with new data.
Timur and Valentina sat side by side at the table, each at their own laptop, closely monitoring the indicators.
Finally, before dawn, Valya exclaimed:
«It worked!»
Timur leaned back in his chair:
«Looks like we accidentally swallowed another company. Not a problem — if they behave, we’ll give them back a share.»
«Timur, wait!»
The phone rang. Strange — only a few people knew that number. Valya looked at the screen and paled:
«It’s him. He found me.»
Timur quickly took the receiver, connected a device, and handed it to her:
«Don’t be afraid, everything is under control.»
Valya took a deep breath:
«Hello?»
«Ah, my runaway wife! I see you got some courage!»
Fyodor started shouting:
«What are you doing, fool?! Do you realize what I’ll do to you?»
«What exactly? Get rid of me? You were planning that anyway.»
«So you understood everything! Then listen: if you had just disappeared back then, maybe it would have been easier for you. Now you will suffer before that. The company will still belong to me!»
Timur carefully took the phone from Valentina’s white fingers, disconnected the wires, and pressed it to his ear:
«Listen here, rat! You won’t do anything else except end up in prison very soon. That I promise you. And know — Timur Olegovich never takes back his words.»
Fyodor kept yelling, but Timur already cut off the connection. He looked at Valentina and smiled:
«Time to go home and rest?»
She nodded:
«Only I need to pick up my things.»
«That means — the jewelry box, documents, and even your stash under the kitchen table?»
Valya was a little confused but soon laughed:
«You know, I’m starting to feel safe.»
Three months later, an event shook the business community — the two largest companies producing shoes and leather goods merged into one powerful structure.
Fyodor was arrested. As soon as they started digging into him, they found a lot of compromising material. Not only financial dishonesty but also much more serious violations. He faced many years behind bars.
A month later, the heads of these companies officially announced their wedding. And indeed, they were in a hurry — Valentina categorically refused to marry as a balloon figurehead. After all, soon it would be impossible to hide the very important fact that made them both happy.
