I Dare You To Meet Me
Chapter 11

-I don’t accept it! I shouted in desperation to the social services agent who was at the door of my house, next to her was a police officer, and one of my mother’s trusted lawyers.

-It is not a question of whether you accept it or not, since you are a minor and there is no one who can take care of you, the government has the obligation to provide you with a home until you reach the age of majority,” the lady explained patiently, but I just wanted to give her a word or two that on another occasion would make my mother punish me for weeks.

I transmit everything I feel with my eyes before answering.

-I can take care of myself, I don’t need the government to take care of me, my family has enough money to support me for the rest of my life if they want to. I tell him firmly.

-In fact, that is the reason why I am present at this moment.” The lawyer cut in, attracting my attention, “I am afraid we have found a loophole in your estate.

The little man said to me in a trembling voice, I frowned and as I grew angrier and angrier.

-What do you mean by a loophole, explain,” I demanded in a steely voice. The man blanched at my obvious anger and cleared his throat before speaking.

-Vera, I was checking all the contracts of ownership of your family’s properties, as well as the holders of the bank accounts, and everything, without exception, is in the name of your grandparents or your mother, there is nothing left to yours. I shrugged my shoulders without understanding the problem.

-I am not surprised, my family is very cautious and as you emphasize so much, I am still a minor, but I am sure that in the wills you will replace that in the absence of my mother, I am the only beneficiary of the family legacy.

-His grandparents’ wills were written years ago, before his birth, and were never renewed. In them it is stipulated that only their daughter Anabella was the one who would receive full control of everything in the event of their death- For the second time in a month I felt everything spinning around me while my head ached.

-What about my mother’s will, what does it say? Mom would never leave me alone, she would make sure to leave everything in order for me, but my hopes began to die when I saw the look in the little man’s eyes.

-There is a part of the will that can’t be accessed yet, because it will only be revealed when you turn 21. Until then, what it says is that in case of your mother’s death, the custody of you would pass to your grandparents as well as the control of all your inheritance.

My head was about to explode.

But my grandparents are dead, you big good-for-nothing, what you are saying makes no sense!

The man reddened at the insult and the social worker gave me a disapproving look.

But she could shove her education up her a*s right now.

-That’s what I mean by a loophole, until we can access the other part of your mother’s will, the government has to seize the property in your family’s name, freeze the bank accounts, meaning that neither you nor anyone else will be able to access them. At this moment everything registered under the Kozlov name is in a limbo controlled by the government until further notice.

-And what about the company, what about all the businesses, are they going to close them down, thousands of people will lose their jobs, besides, if the factories are closed and oil production stagnates, it will not only be my family’s coffers that will suffer. You know better than anyone the importance we have for the economy of this country, so don’t try to entangle me with these stories- I might only be 18 years old, but I was not stupid, my family prepared me since I can remember to take care of everything and I would not let anyone prevent me from doing so.

-If the properties generate some income and have a legal representative to take care of them, they can continue to be used. This means that businesses such as the company, which have shareholder members who can make important decisions, will continue as usual, obviously the deeds will remain in the name of the Kozlov family, and cannot be sold, rented, separated, or anything like that until the inheritance issue has been cleared up. The other properties that do not generate any income, such as the summer houses, the apartments in other countries, or the mansion we are standing in, are closed and will be government property until further notice.

Stupid, foolish, idiotic, unfair, were all the words that went through my mind as I listened to the lawyer.

-But…” But I didn’t finish my argument before I was interrupted.

-Look, Miss Kozlov, there is nothing you can do at this moment to fix your situation, there is no debate, there is nothing you can do or say to avoid what is happening. You have ten minutes to take whatever you see fit and say goodbye to your home before the police and state agents arrive to lock the doors of the Kozlov family estate, as soon as they do, it will be considered a crime against the nation to trespass. So I recommend that you hurry up and stop wasting your time in an argument that I fear you will not win-.

My lips tightened into a thin line as my brain worked at full speed looking for a solution.

-The annoying lady earned my contempt with that comment.

Resignedly I clicked my tongue in annoyance, turned and ran up the stairs to the rooms, caring little if she seemed impolite as I stood them up at the front door.

My hands were already moving, I pulled out the largest suitcase I had, and put in a decent amount of my clothes and shoes, rummaged through my drawers and put in a photo album and a few gifts of sentimental importance to me. I left the suitcase open on my bed and went out to my mother’s room, took the pictures out of the albums and also took all the jewelry and valuables.

I went back to my room and put the pictures in the suitcase before closing it, I also took out the jewelry I had and put them together with my mother’s, I took the cover off one of my pillows and put them all in it, I only had a small silver bracelet with bells that my mother always wore on special occasions.

I went downstairs with the suitcase in a hurry and saw the three people waiting for me in the living room, I gave them a hostile look and didn’t waste time in explanations, my feet flew to the study that my mother had at home.

I locked the door behind me, removed the books from the shelf and revealed the safe that was hidden, mom had told me the combination this year on my birthday so it didn’t cost me to open it, inside there were many important contracts and a very strong amount of cash, I put the pillowcase with everything inside, with big strides I went to the desk and emptied the drawers, all the papers that were inside and on top of it, I stacked them and put them as I could in the safe. I was not going to let any important documents fall into the wrong hands.

A knock sounded on the door and someone tried to open it.

-Your time is up, miss.” It was the officer’s voice that was heard.

-I’ll be out in a second. I answered.

I took out as much money as I dared before closing the safe again. I arranged everything so that nothing could be seen out of place.

I opened the suitcase on the floor and hid the money in my shoes. The door tried to open again and this time it knocked more insistently, I looked around and made sure that nothing was missing, when I was convinced that everything was secure I closed the suitcase and hurried to open the door.

I was greeted by the face of an annoyed officer with the social services lady with her arms crossed looking at me seriously.

-Come on, we have to go, we don’t want to arrive at night.

I hurried to follow her and refused the officer’s help when she tried to touch my suitcase.

-Where are you taking me?

-To a shelter in the center of the city.

My b***d boiled with indignation but I kept quiet, as we were leaving what had been my home for so many years, I could see how more patrol cars arrived with several government agents, who rushed into my house.

-Don’t worry Miss Kozlov, I will make sure that everything inside remains intact. The lawyer said to me, and I looked away from the door to him.

I threw daggers at him with my eyes, if that old man had done his job right, I wouldn’t be in this situation.

The little man gulped and hurried out of my sight, surely to do as he said.

They put me in the back of a patrol car, the officer in the driver’s seat and the social lady in the passenger seat.

Slowly the car began to move forward, leaving my home behind, and taking me to an uncertain future where I would spend the next three years.

It would not stay that way.

I would go back, no matter what.

I was going back to that house even if it cost me my life.

And with those thoughts the gates that bounded the entrance to the mansion closed, isolating me in the world.

I was Natasha Kozlov.

And I would not break down.