“You thought I was that stupid?” Adam said triumphantly. “I could see you were thinking about a divorce. So I made sure.”
Penny sat down slowly in a chair. The car was worth four million. They’d taken out a three-year loan, and they’d already paid off half. And all this time…”
“How could you?”w
“Very easy,” Adam headed for the door. “Mom gave her consent, and I took care of everything. Now the car is ours, with her, not yours.”
“And Nina Petrovna knew?”
“Of course!” Her mother-in-law appeared in the doorway. “What did you think? That we were going to let you profit from the divorce?”
Penny looked at her husband and then at her mother-in-law, who seemed to be enjoying herself.
“Artyom, you did the right thing,” her mother said. “A car is more essential for a man. Otherwise, he would have left you and driven off into the sunset.”
“Do you think you’re the smartest?” Penny asked quietly.
“Of course!” Adam said with a mocking bow. “Learn while you can.”
“So the car is yours now?”
“Exactly,” Nina Petrovna replied proudly. “And don’t even think about doing anything. It’s all legal.”
Penny wordlessly pulled out her phone.
“Who are you calling?” Adam asked uneasily.
“My lawyer.”
“Useless!” Nina Petrovna laughed. “The document is perfect. Call all the lawyers in town if you want.”
“Good afternoon, Mikhail Sergeyevich. Remember I told you about my husband’s schemes? Well, he transferred the car to his mother…”
Adam’s smile disappeared.
“What schemes? What are you talking about?”
“Listen carefully.” Penny put her phone away. “I’ve suspected this for a long time. That’s why I spent six months collecting evidence…”
She opened the cabinet and took out a thick folder of documents: the sales contract, the payment schedule, the bank statements.
“Look,” she placed the papers on the table. “Here are all the monthly payments: made from my account. The loan is in my name.” And you haven’t paid a cent.
“So what?” Nina snorted. “The car is mine now. According to the papers, everything is in order.”
“Oh, really?” She pulled out another sheet of paper. “Here’s the divorce petition, dated the fifteenth. And the deed of transfer was signed on the seventeenth.”
Adam paled.
“How did you know the date?”
“I did some research,” Penny said. “Here’s also a statement from the dealer, confirming that I chose and paid for the car. My income tax return. And here, proof that you, Adam, haven’t worked in three years.”
“Not even ten!” Nina interrupted. “But the deed is legal!”
