Valentina smiled slightly.
“I have another plan for them.”
“What plan?”
“I’m going to make them a deal.”
“How?”
“I’ll find them and offer to pay Alexander’s debt. In exchange, they’ll do a few things for me.”
“What things?”
“When I have proof that he tried to rob us, I’ll turn it all over to the authorities. But before that, I’m going to give him a lesson he’ll never forget.”
Sophia shook her head.
“This is incredibly risky.”
“Maybe. But it’s the only way to make sure he never hurts anyone again. Alexander underestimates me. That’s my greatest advantage.”
Sophia let out a breath.
“All right. What do you need me to do?”
“First, I want all the details about the creditors. Names, addresses, contact information. Second, I need your help documenting everything he does over the next few days.”
“Documenting?”
“Recordings. Photos. Copies of documents. Anything that proves he’s trying to trick me.”
“And are you really sure you want to go all the way with this?”
Valentina turned back to the window. From the apartment, she could see her father’s company downtown. Three generations of honest work that Alexander wanted to tear apart in a few weeks.
“I’m sure.”
Alexander came back at the end of the afternoon carrying two suitcases.
“Hello, love. I brought the rest of my things.”
“How nice. Now we officially live together.”
“Yes.”
Alexander seemed to hesitate.
“Valentina, can we talk about something?”
“Sure. About what?”
“It’s about money. I’m a little tight right now.”
There it was.
“Tight how?”
“Just some overdue bills from the old apartment. Nothing serious. But I thought, now that we’re married, maybe we could unify our finances.”
“Unify how?”
“Well, put everything into a joint account. It would be easier to manage.”
Valentina pretended to think it over.
“That makes sense. But don’t you think it’s a little soon?”
“Valentina, we’re husband and wife. What’s mine is yours, and vice versa.”
“All right. Tomorrow we can go to the bank and take care of it.”
Alexander smiled with obvious relief.
“Perfect. And about working with your dad? What happens?”
“He wants to take you tomorrow to see the company.”
“I’m very excited.”
“That’s good. I’m sure it’ll go very well for you.”
“I think so. By the way, I was thinking… could your dad give me a power of attorney to speed up some procedures?”
“A power of attorney?”
“Don’t you think it would help? If he’s traveling or busy, I could take care of some things for him.”
Valentina pretended to consider that too.
“It makes sense. I’ll talk to him.”
Alexander hugged her.
“I knew you’d understand. We’re a real team.”
That night, while Alexander slept, Valentina sent message after message to Sophia, organizing the next steps. She also searched online for information about his creditors and found enough to make her even more uneasy.
The next morning, Alexander woke up full of excitement.
“Today’s my first day working with your dad. I’m nervous.”
“Everything will be fine,” Valentina said, making coffee. “My dad is very enthusiastic about your ideas.”
“Speaking of that, did you talk to him about the power?”
“Not yet, but I’ll try today.”
“Perfect.”
When Alexander left for the company, Valentina called Richard.
“Dad, can I talk to you?”
“Of course, daughter. Did something happen?”
“No. Nothing serious. It’s about Alexander.”
“What about him? Everything okay?”
“Yes, yes. He’s just very enthusiastic about helping with the business. He even asked if you could give him a power of attorney to speed up some procedures.”
There was a pause on the other end.
“A power of attorney? Daughter, he barely started working with me. Don’t you think that’s a little soon?”
“I told him the same thing, but he said he really wants to help.”
“Let me think about it. For now, I’m going to teach him the basics.”
“Of course, Dad. There’s no rush.”
“Valentina, can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Are you okay? Since the wedding, you seem different.”
Valentina took a deep breath.
“I’m okay, Dad. It’s just a lot of change at once.”
“I understand. If you need anything, I’m here.”
