Irina sat at the kitchen table, her fingers trembling as she scrolled through the email notifications on her phone. The message that caught her attention was titled, Late Payment Notice: Online Loan. She frowned as she clicked it open, her eyes scanning the details. The loan was for an amount that made her heart sink — 600,000 rubles.
But what struck her most was the name listed as the borrower: her own.
Her mind raced. She hadn’t taken out a loan. Then, she saw it — an electronic signature. Her signature. But Irina had never signed any such document. The anger flared up in her chest as realization hit her. Her husband, Valeriy, had done this. He had used her identity, her account, without a word of consent.
“Valera!” she shouted, her voice sharp and full of fear.
Valeriy appeared in the doorway, his face unreadable. He took a slow glance at her, chewing on an apple as if nothing was amiss. Irina felt the suffocating silence between them, the weight of betrayal settling like a heavy fog.
She placed the laptop in front of him. He glanced at the screen, and for a brief moment, his eyes betrayed a flicker of guilt.
“Oh, that… Well, Lena needed it,” he explained casually, brushing it off with a nonchalant wave.
Lena. The daughter he had always put before Irina. She had always been their excuse — the reason for so many late-night phone calls, the reason for financial sacrifice, and now, the reason he had broken trust.
“You used my name to sign a loan,” Irina’s voice quivered, “You forged my signature. You didn’t even ask me first.”
Valeriy waved a hand dismissively. “It’s just a loan, Irina. Lena’s struggling. She’s got a child, her business is falling apart. You know how it is.”
“You didn’t ask!” Irina’s heart pounded in her chest. “You didn’t even tell me! And now I’m getting notices that the loan is overdue. It’s my name on it, Valeriy, but it’s my responsibility now.”
He sighed, leaning back in his chair, rubbing his temples. “It’s just a formality, Irina. Lena will pay it off. You know how things are.”
But it wasn’t just a formality to Irina. It was a betrayal of her trust, a betrayal that went deeper than money. Irina had always been the one to pick up the pieces, to fix what had been broken, but this? This was different.
Later that day, Irina called Lena, her words cold and measured. “We need to talk. About the loan you took out in my name.”
Lena’s voice cracked with surprise. “Wait… you found out about that?”
“Yes, and I need you to explain why this was done without my permission. Why my name was used without a word from either of you.”
Lena was silent for a long moment before finally responding. “I… I didn’t think you’d mind. Dad said it was okay, that you knew about it.”
“He lied to you. And you knew it,” Irina said flatly, her voice like ice. “I’m filing a police report. If this loan is not re-registered to your father or to you, I’ll have no choice but to pursue this legally.”
On the other end, there was a strained silence before Lena finally spoke. “But we’re family, Irina. We’re supposed to trust each other.”
“Family?” Irina scoffed. “You used me as a source of money. That’s not family. And this? This is a crime.”
When Irina returned home that evening, Valeriy was in the kitchen, stirring a pot absentmindedly. He glanced at her, but didn’t meet her eyes.
“Did you talk to Lena?” he asked, as if it were just another conversation.
Irina stood there for a moment, her breath catching in her throat. She was tired — tired of being the one who always fixed things, tired of always being the “reasonable” one.
“I did,” she said softly. “She thinks this is all just a formality. That it’s no big deal.”
Valeriy shrugged. “Well, maybe it’s not. We’ll handle it. You always handle things.”
Irina took a deep breath, and for the first time in years, she felt the weight of her own decisions. “I’m done handling it, Valeriy. I’m done smoothing things over. I’m tired of being the one who fixes your mistakes. You made this mess, and now you’ll have to deal with it.”
For the first time, Valeriy looked truly uncertain, his facade cracking. But it was too late. Irina had made her decision. She was done.
The silence that followed was thick, but Irina knew it was a silence that would change everything.