«And now the bride will gift her business to the groom!» — the emcee announced at the mother-in-law’s request, but instead of the deed, I played the video and the mother-in-law had to flee through the back door…….
«Forging signatures, asset withdrawal, fraud.» Anna nodded. «Only proving it will be hard.»
«Everything looked like I signed it myself.» «They have resources, connections.» «And I have a cafe that’s no longer there.»
Ashley was silent. Then she pulled a flash drive from her bag. «I have something that might help you.»
«Remember, three months ago I accidentally saw Ethan’s correspondence with his mother on his laptop?» «I saved screenshots then.» «You got mad at me, but I didn’t delete them.» In them, they discussed your weakness for approval, how to lead you to the right decisions.
And specifically, the transfer of shares. There are dates and hints at issuing a fake power of attorney. «I think this could be a start.»
Anna looked at her in shock. Tears welled up in her eyes. «Why didn’t you tell me then?» «Because you wouldn’t have believed me.»
«You were in love, blind, and too proud that you were chosen.» Anna nodded. It hurt not that she was betrayed, but that she allowed it.
«What are we going to do?» She asked, her voice firmer. «If you decide, we go to the police.» «If you want to play it differently, I have a lawyer who knows how to work in the shadows.»
«But first, make a choice.» «Will you fight or let go?» Anna stood up. Walked to the window.
Outside the glass, rain still fell. In the reflection – a bride from whom everything was taken. But beneath that – a woman with her main will left.
«I won’t let go,» she said. «I’ll take it back. Even if I have to go through the mud.
Even if I have to fight without rules. Then we’ll start tomorrow. Rest now.»
Anna nodded, but there was no sleep. She stayed in the cafe, lay right on the couch in the office. Ashley left, promising to return in the morning.
The light was off. The street quieted. But inside, everything boiled.
Suddenly the phone vibrated. Unknown number. She didn’t answer.
A second later – a new message. «If you don’t shut up, we’ll expose your old debts. Remember who you asked to lend without papers in 2019?» Screenshot with a transfer to her card.
Name – an old acquaintance she turned to in desperation to pay rent. Without receipts, without witnesses. A minute later – a second message.
«You don’t want the IRS to get interested in this, right? Or for the media to get the story about your ‘gray’ calculations in the first years of business? We know how to protect our reputation. Hope you do too, period.» Her chest tightened.
They started pressing her. She stared at the screen for a long time, not moving. This wasn’t just blackmail.
This was an attempt to erase her from the face of the earth, make her guilty in her own catastrophe. Now her past was against her. Every mistake, every weakness – a weapon in others’ hands.
She stood up, approached the mirror, looked at her reflection. «And now it will be different,» she whispered. The next morning, she entered the office of her former lawyer, whom she fired a year ago when he tried to warn her about the power of attorney suggested by the mother-in-law.
He was surprised to see her but didn’t refuse. Sat opposite, listened. Then sighed.
«I knew it would come to this. But you need to understand, if you start, there’s no way back. They’ll hit you from all sides.»
Anna looked at him. «They’re already hitting.» I just decided not to stand still.
He extended his hand. «Then let’s begin.» And when she returned to the cafe, there was a note taped to the glass.
«Handwritten.» «Even, neat handwriting. You know there are many questions in your accounting.
Sure you want them to dig in.» On this sheet was a lipstick imprint. The color the mother-in-law wore.
Anna slowly crumpled the note and threw it in the trash. It was at that moment she understood that now everything personal had become a weapon. And that means they’d hit not only the business.
But those she loved. The note still lay in the trash, but its words swirled in her head like sand on teeth. «Sure you want them to dig in.»
The mother-in-law wasn’t just threatening. She was reminding: you have shadows too. You’re not a saint.
You’re vulnerable. Anna walked through the cafe, without turning on the light. Everything as before: cups standing evenly, chairs pulled up, floor clean.
Only now it all seemed not to belong to her. The world she built with her own hands could collapse with one click. And she wasn’t sure she could rebuild it.
Or would want to. She sat at the bar counter and opened the laptop. Opened the file with financial statements for 2019.
Indeed, there were gray calculations. There were moments when she paid suppliers in cash, not formalizing everything legally. Then she was saving the business.
Each time – a choice between closing or cheating. It was a compromise. Dirty, but seemingly necessary.
And now – a trap. The door rustled. Anna flinched.
It was Ashley again, with disheveled hair and a hard face. «We have a problem,» she said, not stepping further than the threshold. I traced one of the contacts who issued the power of attorney…
