Herman stood by the window, studying the city’s evening lights. A glass of cognac rested in his hand; every so often he took a small sip. Alla sat on the couch, flipping through medical papers.
“How much?” Herman finally asked, without turning around.
“The doctors say the surgery will be about two million. And then rehab, medication…” Alla’s voice cracked.
Herman spun around.
“Two million? Are you serious? For some operation?”
“Herman, she’s our daughter! Katya is only fourteen—she has a rare heart condition…”
“So what? I’m supposed to throw all my savings into a black hole?” He took a deep swallow of cognac. “I have plans for that money. Business. New contracts. I can’t just spend a sum like that.”
Alla rose from the couch. The papers slipped from her hands and scattered across the floor.
“You’re talking about our child—about Katya’s life!”
“Stop dramatizing,” Herman cut her off. “There are other options. Charity foundations. Loans…”
“There’s no time! The doctors say three months, at most. If she isn’t operated on now—”
“Enough!” Herman set the glass on the windowsill. “I’m not discussing it. And anyway, I’ve got bigger news.”
He walked to the center of the room, shoving his hands into the pockets of his expensive trousers.
“I’m leaving you. For someone else. For Veronica. She’s young, healthy—and with her I won’t have to deal with… issues like this.”
Alla froze. It felt like time stopped. Only the hands of the wall clock kept moving, steady and indifferent.
“What… what did you say?”
“You heard me. I’m leaving. I’m taking my things and moving out. It’s serious with Veronica. She’s pregnant, by the way. With a healthy baby.”
“But… Katya… she’s your daughter…”
“She was my daughter. Now she’s your problem. We’re getting divorced. We split everything in half. You keep the apartment; I take the country house and the accounts. I’ll pay the minimum child support, whatever the law requires.”
Herman headed for the living room, but Alla grabbed his sleeve.
“You can’t do this! It’s vile!”
He tore his arm free.
“I can, and I will. I’m not obligated to drag a sick child through life. I have a new life, understand? A new one. No hospitals. No tears. None of this.”
The next morning, Herman packed with ruthless efficiency. Suits, watches, cufflinks—everything went neatly into leather suitcases. Alla sat on the bed, watching him with a face like stone.
“Twelve years,” she said. “Twelve years of marriage. And that’s it?”
“It’s nothing personal,” Herman said, without looking up. “Life just sets priorities. I’m still young—thirty-eight. I want kids. Healthy kids. I want to travel, build my business—not sit in hospitals.”
“And what about ‘for better or worse’? You remember your vow?”
Herman gave a short, mocking laugh.
“Fairy tales. Real life is every man for himself. I provided for you all these years, gave you a good life. Now it’s enough.”
Katya peeked in. Pale, thin, with enormous brown eyes—her mother’s twin.
“Dad, are you leaving on a work trip?”
Herman didn’t even glance at her.
“Something like that. For a long time.”
“When will you be back?”
“Never,” he said sharply, snapping the suitcase locks shut.
Katya flinched and clung to her mother. Alla pulled her into an embrace.
“Go to your room, sweetheart. I need to speak to Dad.”
When the girl left, Alla stood up. Something fierce burned in her eyes.
“So it’s Veronica? The one from your company? The twenty-year-old secretary?”
“She’s twenty-three. And she isn’t a secretary—she’s my executive assistant,” Herman corrected. “Smart, ambitious. With her I’ll reach new heights.”
“And pregnant, like you said?”
“Yes. Two months. It’ll be a boy—we already checked. Healthy, strong. A real heir.”
Alla walked slowly to the dresser and opened the top drawer.
“You know, Herman… I forgave you a lot. Your indifference, your coldness. I kept telling myself it would pass, we’d fix things. But you crossed every line.”
“No hysterics,” Herman said, lifting the suitcases. “It’s decided. I’ll file tomorrow. My lawyer already knows.”
He moved toward the door, but Alla blocked him.
“And what about your share in the company? The shares registered in my name?”
“You’ll transfer them back. It was just a formality—for tax optimization. You don’t honestly think I’m leaving you half my business.”
“And if I refuse?”
Herman burst out laughing.
“You? Refuse? You’re a lamb, Alla. In all these years you never raised your voice. You’ll sign what you’re told. You wouldn’t want to end up with nothing, would you?”
“Get out,” Alla said suddenly. Her voice was calm. “Get out. Right now.”
“Gladly,” Herman said, shoving past her as he left the bedroom.
In the hallway he turned around.
“Oh, and I blocked the credit cards. I left you one debit card with thirty thousand. Enough for now. After that, figure it out yourself.”
The door slammed. Alla stood in the hallway staring at the closed door, tears sliding down her cheeks.
A week later, Herman was settling into a new apartment with Veronica—luxury rooms in the city center with a river view. His young mistress fluttered around, arranging vases of flowers and hanging artwork.
“Baby, why don’t you want me to meet your ex? We still need to talk about splitting the property…”
“No,” Herman snapped. “I’ll handle it through the lawyers. You don’t need to talk to her.”
Veronica puffed out her lips.
“But I want to see her. I’m curious what she’s like.”
“She’s ordinary. A housewife. As boring as her life. Forget her.”
Herman’s phone rang. Alla’s number. He declined the call. It rang again.
“Answer,” Veronica suggested. “What if it’s urgent?”
Annoyed, Herman accepted.
“What do you want?”
“Herman, it’s Katya… it’s bad. She’s in intensive care. She had an attack…”
“So?” he said. “I told you—this isn’t my problem anymore.”
“Herman, please! The doctors say she needs urgent surgery. If it isn’t done in the next few days…”
“Not my problem,” he repeated and hung up.
Veronica stared at him, stunned.
“What happened?”
“Nothing important. My ex trying to manipulate me. Ignore it.”
But an hour later, the doorbell rang. Herman opened the door—and Alla stood on the threshold. Only this wasn’t the quiet housewife he remembered.
“You’re unfreezing the account. Right now.”
“Who do you think you are? How did you find my address?”
“Doesn’t matter! You froze all our family savings! And there was my money in there too—money from my parents, from my grandmother!”
“Prove it,” Herman said, trying to shut the door, but Alla wedged her foot into the gap.
“I’ll prove it, don’t worry. But right now it’s about our child’s life. Your child!”
Veronica appeared from deeper inside the apartment.
“What’s going on? Who is she?”
“No one,” Herman muttered, trying to push Alla back.
But Alla forced her way inside.
“I’m the mother of his child! The sick girl he abandoned. For you, sweetheart!”
Veronica gasped.
“Herman, you told me you didn’t have any kids…”
“I don’t,” he said coldly. “I have a mistake from my youth.”
Alla laughed—sharp, frightening, half-hysterical.
“A mistake? A mistake? For ten years you called her your princess. Carried her in your arms. And now she’s a mistake?”
“Enough!” Herman shouted. “Get out, or I’ll call security!”
“Call them!” Alla stepped close. “Call the army if you want! But you will pay for the surgery—if not with money, then with blood! Do you hear me, you piece of trash?”
She grabbed a vase from the table and hurled it at the wall. Veronica screamed.
“You’ve lost your mind!” Herman lunged for her hands.
“Yes, I have!” Alla wrenched free and snatched another vase. “Because of your cruelty! Your greed! Your betrayal! Because you stole my money and froze the account!”
The vase flew into a painting. Then another into a mirror.
“Stop it, now!”
“I won’t!” Alla seized Herman’s laptop. “Not until you transfer the money for the operation!”
“That’s extortion!”
“That’s justice!”
The scandal lasted more than an hour. Neighbors called the building manager. Veronica sobbed in the bedroom, Herman paced the trashed living room, and Alla stood in the middle of the chaos with the laptop in her hands.
“Transfer the money, or I’ll destroy everything in here!”
“You’ll pay for the damages!”
“I don’t care! My daughter is dying! Do you understand that, you heartless animal?”
Herman pulled out his phone.
“That’s it—security.”
And then Alla did something he didn’t expect. She opened the laptop and started typing quickly.
“What are you doing? How do you know the password?”
“You always use the same pattern,” Alla said, eyes locked on the screen. “Our wedding date—backwards. How poetic.”
“Stop!”
But it was too late. Alla “logged into” Herman’s corporate email and began “forwarding” files.
“Interesting contracts your company has. Especially with offshore entities. I’m sure the tax authorities will be thrilled.”
Herman went white.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, I will,” Alla said. “And I’ll send it right now—unless you transfer the money for the operation.”
“That’s blackmail!”
“That’s payback!” Alla screamed. “You thought I’d just give up? Quietly cry into a pillow? No! I’ll do anything for my daughter!”
Veronica rushed in.
“Herman—what offshore accounts?”
“None of your business!” he barked at her.
“So you’re hiding things from me too?” Veronica looked shaken.
Alla gave a thin smile.
“Oh, sweetheart, you don’t know your prince at all. Like how half his business is registered under straw men. Or how he dodges taxes through shell companies.”
“That’s not true!” Herman lunged toward Alla, but she hopped back.
“It is true. And I have proof—documents, messages. I was your chief accountant the first five years. Forgot?”
Veronica stared at Herman with huge eyes.
“Is that true?”
“Veronica, don’t listen to her…”
“Is it true or not?!” Veronica shouted now.
Herman didn’t answer. The room went quiet, broken only by the heavy breathing of three people.
“Transfer the money,” Alla said again. “Two million. Right now. Or I send everything to the tax office, the prosecutor’s office, and your business partners.”
“I don’t have that kind of money in my accounts…”
“You’re lying. I know all your accounts! Three million in the main one, one and a half in the reserve!”
Herman’s fists clenched.
“You—”
“I lived with you for ten years,” Alla hissed. “I know your passwords, your schemes, your little frauds.”
Veronica sank slowly onto the couch.
“My God… what did I get myself into…”
“Veronica, sweetheart…” Herman reached for her, but she recoiled.
“Don’t touch me. You lied to me. You said you were an honest businessman.”
“Everyone lies!” Herman snapped. “That’s how business works!”
“And your daughter… you have a sick daughter you abandoned…”
“She’s not my problem.”
A slap—sharp and loud. Veronica struck Herman across the face.
“You’re a monster!”
Alla seized the moment.
“Five minutes, Herman. Or I hit ‘send.’”
He held his burning cheek, his face twisting with rage.
“You’ll ruin my life!”
“You already ruined ours!” Alla shot back. “Four minutes.”
“I’ll destroy you! I’ll hire the best lawyers!”
“Try it. Three minutes.”
Veronica stood up.
“I’m leaving. And I’m not having a child with a… monster.”
“Veronica, stop!”
But she was already out the door. Herman was alone with Alla.
“Look what you did!” he snarled.
“Two minutes,” Alla said, raising the laptop. “Transfer the money.”
“Fine—damn you!” Herman grabbed his phone, opened his banking app. “Give me the clinic details!”
Alla dictated the clinic’s account number. Herman entered the amount with shaking hands and confirmed the transfer.
“Done. Take your money and get out!”
Alla checked her phone, nodded, then closed the laptop and set it on the table.
“Thank you for helping a sick child,” she said with icy sarcasm. “What a noble father you are.”
“Get out!”
Alla walked to the door, then turned.
“By the way, Herman… I lied.”
“What?”
“I don’t have access to your email. You changed the password six months ago. I just opened a blank document and pretended to type.”
Herman went rigid.
“You… you tricked me?”
“Like you tricked us,” Alla said with a smile. “But here’s what’s true: I really was your accountant. And I really do know about your schemes. So don’t get angry. Who knows what I might ‘remember’ in a moment of a mother’s desperation.”
She left, carefully closing the door behind her.
Three months later, Katya’s surgery was a success. She was recovering well. Alla got a job at an audit firm—her experience and knowledge were in high demand. She rented a modest apartment near a good school.
Herman, meanwhile, ran into a chain of troubles. Veronica didn’t just leave—she told everyone she knew how he treated his sick daughter. Herman’s reputation in business circles cracked. Partners grew wary. One contract after another collapsed.
And then something happened that he truly didn’t expect.
A short, gray-haired man walked into Herman’s office.
“Igor Petrovich?” Herman rose from behind his desk. “This is unexpected.”
Igor Petrovich was his main investor and owned forty percent of the company.
“Sit down, Herman. We need to talk.”
“Did something happen?”
“Yes. I’m selling my stake.”
Herman felt cold all over.
“But… why? Everything is going well!”
“It was,” Igor Petrovich corrected. “Until I heard a story. About a sick girl and a father who left her to die.”
“That’s personal. It has nothing to do with business!”
“It does,” Igor Petrovich said evenly. “You see, Herman, I have a daughter too. And a granddaughter. And I can’t work with someone capable of that. It’s a matter of principle.”
“But it’ll destroy the company!”
“Maybe,” Igor Petrovich said. “By the way, the buyer is already lined up.”
“Who?”
The door opened—and Alla walked in. A crisp business suit, steady steps, a calm face.
“That’s impossible!” Herman lurched to his feet.
“It’s possible,” Igor Petrovich said, standing as well. “Alla Sergeyevna represents an investment fund that’s purchasing my stake. Review the paperwork with the lawyers.”
“Where did she get the money?”
Alla sat in the chair across from Herman.
“Remember my uncle? The one you called a loser? He died a month ago. Turns out his startup in America took off. And I decided to invest.” Her eyes were steady. “In your company.”
“I won’t allow it!”
“By the charter, you can’t block the sale,” Igor Petrovich reminded him. “The deal is already finalized. Congratulations—you have a new co-owner.”
He left, leaving the former spouses alone.
“Why are you doing this?” Herman asked, his voice thick with hatred.
“Justice,” Alla replied calmly. “You wanted to leave us with nothing. Now I’ll control forty percent of what you built.”
“I’ll do everything to push you out!”
“Try,” Alla said. “But remember—I know all your schemes. And if you try to harm me, that information will go where it needs to go.”
“That’s blackmail!”
“That’s business,” Alla said, standing. “By the way—shareholders’ meeting next week. We’ll be discussing a full audit. The last five years.”
Herman went pale.
“You’ll destroy the company!”
“No,” Alla said quietly. “I’ll clean it. Strip away the dirt, the fraud. Make it honest. You’ll either adapt—or you’ll leave. The choice is yours.”
She headed for the door, then turned back.
“And one more thing, Herman. Katya asks about you. Every day. Even after everything you did. I tell her the truth—that her father chose money over her. Do you know what she said? ‘I feel sorry for him, Mom. He lost the most important thing—his family.’”
Alla left. Herman remained in his luxurious office—alone. On his desk lay a photo: him, Alla, and little Katya at the sea. Happy faces, real smiles. It was only two years ago, but it felt like another lifetime.
His phone rang. Unknown number.
“Herman Olegovich? This is the clinic. Your test results are ready. I’m afraid the news isn’t good. You need to come in and see your doctor urgently.”
THE END
Finale
Herman stumbled out of the doctor’s office, bracing himself against the wall. The diagnosis wasn’t a mistake: a rare liver disease that required urgent treatment at a European clinic. The cost—two and a half million rubles. Without surgery, he had six months at most.
For the first time in years, he was truly afraid. Not for business, not for reputation—he was afraid for his life.
“This is ridiculous,” he thought, sitting in his car. “It can’t happen to me. I’m healthy, I work out…”
But the lab results were merciless.
“Time isn’t on your side,” the doctor warned. “You need to start treatment within the next three weeks. Otherwise the process becomes irreversible.”
Herman drove to the bank. A loan. A fast, big loan.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Herman Olegovich,” the manager said, eyes fixed on the screen. “You have three outstanding loans. Total debt—four million. In your current situation we can’t approve a new one.”
“But I have a business! A company!”
“Yes, we see that. But you are not listed as the owner. And the financial indicators for the last few months are… unfavorable.”
Herman tried three more banks. Refused everywhere.
That evening he sat in the empty apartment—Veronica had moved out a month ago, taking all her things. He opened a bottle of whiskey but didn’t drink. What was the point? His liver was dying already.
“Alla has money. Her uncle’s inheritance—fifteen million dollars. She can help. She isn’t a monster…”
The next day, Herman went to his ex-wife. A modest three-bedroom apartment. He rang the doorbell.
Alla opened, saw him, and tried to shut the door.
“Wait! I need to talk!”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” her voice was ice.
“Please. It’s important.”
Alla hesitated, then stepped aside.
“Five minutes. Katya’s at school. I don’t want her to see you.”
They went into the kitchen. Herman lowered himself into a chair.
“I have health problems,” he began. “Serious. I need treatment. Expensive treatment.”
Alla watched him without expression.
“I need money. Two and a half million. I know you have an inheritance…”
“Stop,” Alla raised a hand. “You came to ask me for money?”
“I’ll pay it back! I swear I will. I just—right now…”
“How will you pay it back?” Alla asked. “You have loans you aren’t paying. Your business is falling apart.”
“I’ll manage! I always manage!”
Alla poured herself a glass of water and took a sip.
“Do you remember what you said when Katya needed surgery?”
Herman’s face drained of color.
“That was different…”
“It was exactly the same. A sick person. Money needed. Only then you said: ‘Not my problem.’ And also: ‘There are other options. Charity foundations. Loans.’”
“Alla, please…”
“No,” she set the glass down. “This is your problem. Not mine. I’m not obligated to save someone who left his own child to die.”
“But I’ll die!”
“That’s unfortunate,” Alla stood. “Truly. But it’s the consequence of your choices. You chose money over family. A young mistress over a sick daughter.”
“Alla, I have no one! Everyone turned away from me!”
“Funny, isn’t it?” sarcasm cut through her voice. “When you left us, we didn’t have anyone either. But we survived.”
Herman grabbed her hand.
“I’ll do anything! I’ll give you my remaining shares!”
Alla pulled her hand free.
“I don’t need them. Besides, they’re already mine—forgot?” She opened the door. “Go, Herman. And don’t come back.”
“So you want me to die?” he snapped.
“Stop making that pathetic face. I don’t want your death or your life. I don’t care. You made your choice.” She held the door wide. “Goodbye.”
“How long are you going to do this?!” Herman exploded. “I understand my mistake! I’m ready to make it right!”
“Katya was dying while you ran off to your mistress,” Alla said evenly. “And you know what? I could give you money. Just not for treatment. For a wreath on your grave. A good one. Expensive. And I’ll even toss in for a cheap coffin.”
She slammed the door in his face.
Herman sold everything. The country house—fast, below market. The remaining sixty percent of his shares too—urgent, through a broker.
He scraped together two million. He still needed five hundred thousand more.
A week later he learned: a certain company had bought shares in his firm—and behind it stood Alla. She had purchased his business through a front, paying a third less than its real value.
When Herman came to the office to discuss his position, security wouldn’t let him in.
“I’m sorry, but you’re no longer on the staff,” the head of security said politely. “New management decided to restructure.”
“I founded this company!”
“You did found it,” the man replied. “Now you have no authority here. Goodbye.”
Herman stood outside the building he had poured twelve years into. Employees walked past—people he’d worked with for years. They looked away, pretending not to notice him.
His phone vibrated. Alla.
He answered.
“Thanks for the company,” she said. “A very profitable purchase. Oh, and by the way—I found some interesting documents in the archive. I’m sure the tax authorities will appreciate them.”
“You’re a cruel bitch!”
“I learned from the best—you,” Alla replied and ended the call.
Herman finally gathered the full sum by selling the last thing he owned—his father’s collection of antique books. The operation happened. The treatment was long and brutal.
He lay in a hospital room, cursing Alla. Her cruelty. Her revenge. Her coldness.
“How could she? How dare she?”
But somewhere deep inside, a voice whispered: “You did the same thing. You just did it first.”
Herman tried not to hear that voice.
Alla sat on the balcony with a cup of tea. Katya was doing homework in her room—healthy, cheerful, getting stronger every day.
Business was going well. The company, cleansed of shady schemes and fraud, began bringing steady profit.
Alla opened her laptop and checked reports. Everything was in order.
She didn’t think about Herman anymore. He vanished from her life like a bad dream. Ahead was a future—bright and calm.
“Mom, I’m done!” Katya ran onto the balcony. “Can we go to the movies today?”
“Of course,” Alla hugged her daughter.
And in that moment she understood the most important thing: everything that happened had been for the best. Life had put everything in its proper place. Everyone got what they deserved.
And Katya—the most precious thing she had—was here, alive and healthy.
Nothing else mattered.
