"STOLEN IMMORTALITY"

TATYANA VIKENTYEVA

"STOLEN IMMORTALITY"

( novel)

BOOK ONE.

Alexander Zavidov walked along the sidewalk of one of the capital's streets. Five minutes ago, he had gotten out of a luxury Mercedes and ordered his chauffeur to go to the office without him. He wanted to take a walk, breathe some fresh air, and look at people... Alexander walked with a leisurely, measured stride. He walked and thought about his current life. Could he ever have dreamed of the life he was leading now? No, he couldn't! Could he ever have imagined that the whole world would lie at his feet? No, he couldn't! .. But it had happened! ... Lord! How wonderful it had all worked out! .. His soul was not simply joyful! Alexander felt delight and pleasure incomparable to anything! Had he ever in his life been as boundlessly happy as he was now? No! No! And again no! There had been moments of brief happiness in his life. But he had never been as happy as he was now! After all, now he was basking in happiness! He enjoyed and reveled in it every day, every hour, every minute! And at the same time, he was perfectly aware that his current happiness was eternal! Just as he himself was now eternal!

People were walking towards him—ordinary people. With ordinary faces. With ordinary problems in life. Alexander looked down on them, with a contemptuous smirk. And he thought that all these people were mortal and would die someday. They considered death a natural phenomenon and therefore resigned themselves to it. Yes, resigned themselves to it. After all, they didn't know that one could live forever on Earth. And he,

Alexander knows this. Moreover, he doesn't just know... He put this knowledge into practice, making himself immortal. Now he will live forever. And immortality will make him master of the universe. Humanity will bow before him, honor him, and live by his law! And he, at his own discretion and will, will grant people the priceless treasure he possesses—eternal life! By "grant," Alexander meant "sell." In his view, only the rich and powerful could attain the right to eternal life, and he would thus become their ruler.

Alexander was so consumed by thoughts of his immortality and superiority over others that he didn't notice a group of ragged, dirty children walking towards him. Only when the children drew level with him and began asking for money did he

Alexander came to his senses, came to his senses, and began to vigorously wave off the little ragamuffins. But it was no use. The children swarmed around him from all sides and

They shouted loudly: "Uncle! Give me money for bread! We're hungry! Give me money, Uncle! Give me! Give me! Give me!" Their voices were unpleasant to Alexander. And their dirty hands, which were reaching for him, and the disgusting smell emanating from their bodies, filled the man with disgust. To quickly get rid of these disgusting children, he decided to give them money. He took his wallet from his pocket, opened it, and pulled out five hundred dollar bills (there were no bills of lesser value in his wallet). Having handed over the money, Alexander quickly began to walk away from the little tramps. But for a long time he heard their screams behind him. The children could not divide the money, they were swearing among themselves, quarreling...

These abandoned children reminded Alexander of his past. A past he didn't want to remember. But one that stubbornly refused to be forgotten. And it kept coming back. Reminded him with excruciating pain, tearing at his soul and darkening the joy of immortality.

Alexander's mind was transported back to his distant childhood. And he clearly saw himself—five-year-old Sasha Zavidov, a poorly dressed village boy, and next to him—his mother, a thin, gray-eyed woman, exhausted by backbreaking, unwomanly labor. They were walking along the sidewalk of one of the capital's streets. Just as he was now walking. It had been a long, long time ago. Thirty-five years had passed since then. But Alexander remembered everything, down to the last detail. And now he found himself back on that distant day...

"Sasha! Come faster! Do you hear me, son? Hurry up! Otherwise we'll miss the train!" Antonina Yegorovna said to her son, tugging at his hand.

"Mom! But you promised to buy me a car!" Sasha shouted, out of breath from walking so fast.

"I'll buy it! I'll buy it! We'll go to the Detsky Mir store now and buy it! Just hurry up, son! Or we'll miss the train!" the mother replied as she ran, tugging hard on Sasha's arm again.

People walking toward them looked in surprise at Antonina Yegorovna and her five-year-old son. And indeed, there was reason to be surprised! A thin, emaciated, poorly dressed woman, clearly a provincial, carried a heavy, old-fashioned suitcase in one hand and held her son's hand in the other, tugging him along. The couple looked quite incongruous on a city street, especially compared to the other pedestrians, who were well-dressed and respectable. But Antonina Yegorovna, ignoring the sidelong glances of passersby, continued to tug her son's hand. The boy, unaccustomed to walking so quickly, was out of breath and snoring. After a few minutes, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Mom! I'm tired. Let's rest," Sasha said.

"What's wrong, son? We'll miss the train! Come on! It's almost there! You can see Detsky Mir!" Antonina Yegorovna pointed at the multi-story store standing a hundred meters away and tugged Sasha's hand again. "Come on, son! We'll buy you a car there!"

The boy, seeing the store, hurried off again with his mother. His desire to get the promised toy was stronger than his fatigue.

When Antonina Yegorovna and her son approached the store, it was already sixteen o'clock. Looking at her watch, the mother said to Sasha:

- Well, son. It's already four o'clock in the afternoon. Our train leaves Moscow in fifty minutes. Come to the store quickly. We'll buy you a car and then we'll go to the station.

The boy obediently entered the store. Antonina Yegorovna followed him. Then mother and son went up to the second floor, where the toy department was. Sasha was so amazed that he gasped in amazement! Never had he seen so many different toys! The boy's eyes widened!

-Mom! Mom!- he shouted.- Look how many toys there are here! And how new and beautiful they are!

At that moment, a well-groomed saleswoman in high heels, a beautifully manicured hairdo, and beautifully manicured hands approached Antonina Yegorovna and Sasha. Looking the mother and son up and down, she asked sharply:

-What do you want?

Antonina Yegorovna took Sasha's hand and quietly answered:

-My son and I would like to buy a car.

"A car?" the saleswoman asked again. "Are you sure about that? Our toys are very expensive!" and again she looked the provincial girl and her child up and down.

"I think I have enough money for a car for my son. I promised to buy him one a long time ago," Antonina Yegorovna said timidly.

"Well, then, come with me. I'll show you the section where the cars are." Having said this curtly and casually, the saleswoman turned and walked deeper into the sales area. The mother and son followed her.

A minute later, they were at the right place. And the boy saw a huge variety of cars! There were cars, trucks, and sports cars. All of them were miniature versions of real automobiles and looked very impressive. And for Sasha, they were simply a miracle! After all, he had never seen such toys in his village.

"Well, there you go. Take your pick," said the saleswoman. "We have manual cars, battery-powered cars, and remote-controlled cars..."

“We’d like a simple one,” Antonina Yegorovna interrupted her.

“What do you mean, simple?” the saleswoman asked, puzzled.

“Cheaper,” Antonina Yegorovna clarified.

“You could have just said so!” the saleswoman muttered irritably and pointed to the far shelf where the smallest cars stood. “These are the cheapest ones.”

"Sasha! Son! Look at these little cars," Antonina Yegorovna suggested to her son, also pointing to the little cars.

"No, Mom! I've already chosen. Look! This car," Sasha said, pointing to the large Mercedes he'd chosen.

The mother looked at the chosen toy, then at the price sign and said softly:

- Son! This car is very expensive. We won't be able to buy it. Look at other cars.

"No! I don't want any other ones! I want this one, Mom! I've already chosen! Look how good it is!" Sasha chattered enthusiastically, showing his mother the toy he liked again and again.

Antonina Yegorovna approached her son and began to persuade him:

- Sasha! Son! The car you chose is very expensive! Mommy won't have enough money to buy it. Please, look at other cars!

-No! I want this one! - the boy stubbornly insisted.

Then the mother approached the little cars and pointed them out to Sasha again:

- Son, look! These cars are good too. Choose one of them!

"No! I want this one! Only this one!" Sasha screamed and grabbed the toy Mercedes with both hands.

"What is he doing? The bully! He's going to break the toy!" the saleswoman screamed, running up to the boy and forcibly pulling him away from the car.

Sasha burst into tears. But he didn't give up the toy, instead clutching it even tighter. Antonina Yegorovna ran to her son and began to calm him down and persuade him to give the toy to the saleswoman. This unpleasant scene lasted for several minutes. The boy's mother tried in vain to persuade him to move away from his beloved toy. Sasha became increasingly capricious, crying and screaming, clutching the car tightly in his hands. The saleswoman scolded Antonina Yegorovna and tried to take the toy Mercedes from the boy.

At this time, a young married couple approached with their son, who was the same age as Sasha.

An intelligent man of Jewish appearance in an expensive suit asked:

-What's going on here?

The saleswoman walked away from the boy and said, pointing at Sasha and his mother:

- Look! They came to buy a car. But they have nothing to pay with. Scammers!

"That's not true!" Antonina Yegorovna began to justify herself with tears in her eyes. "I have money. But my boy chose too expensive a car."

"Who's going to believe you?" the saleswoman screamed, looking angrily at the provincial girl. "Look at yourself! You're a beggar! A ragamuffin! You can't even buy yourself a decent dress, let alone a toy for your child!"

These words made Antonina Yegorovna even more upset and, barely holding back her sobs, she said:

-Oh, I...You see...I earn very little...

"She doesn't earn enough! She found an excuse!" the saleswoman, filled with hatred for the provincial girl, grew even more furious. "Stop lying! It's obvious you don't work at all! You make a living stealing! So you came here to steal a toy!"

"No! No! How could you even think that? I'm not a thief!" Antonina Yegorovna cried out in despair and burst into tears.

-And who are you? A thief, indeed! And your son is a thief too! That's why he won't even give up the toy! But I'll find a way to deal with you! I'll go and call the police right now!

-What are you talking about? Why call the police? We haven't done anything wrong!

-You're lying! You wanted to steal the toy! Your son still hasn't given it back!

"He'll give it back. Please, don't call the police! We have to go back to our village. Here! We have train tickets." Antonina Yegorovna, with a trembling hand, took the tickets out of her pocket and began to show them to the saleswoman. However, she didn't even look at them.

- I don't care about your tickets! You wanted to steal a toy and you'll pay for it! I'll call the police now and let them deal with you! - Having said this, the saleswoman approached the married couple and turned to the man. - Please, keep an eye on this woman! - She pointed at the provincial girl. - So that she doesn't run away while I call the police. She's a thief! And the police should deal with her.

The man didn't answer. The saleswoman turned abruptly and went to call the police. Antonina Yegorovna began to sob even harder and shouted after the saleswoman:

-Wait! Wait! Don't call the police! Please! I beg you!

Then, in shock and great confusion, the woman ran up to the couple and began to speak nervously:

-Listen! I'm not a thief! I'm an honest woman! Please, help me and my son! Let us go! We have to go to our village. Here, we have train tickets! - Antonina Yegorovna began to show them with shaking hands. - Don't hand us over to the police! I beg you! We haven't done anything wrong!

Without waiting for a response from the married couple, Antonina Yegorovna, in a fit of madness, ran up to her son and shouted:

- Sasha! Son! Let's get out of here quickly! Run before the police arrive!

A frightened Sasha, finally abandoning the toy, was about to flee with his mother. But Antonina Yegorovna suddenly swayed, clutched her heart, and, managing only to exclaim, "Oh, how sick I feel!", fell to the floor and lost consciousness.

The boy began to cry loudly, leaned over his mother and began to call her:

-Mom! Mommy! What's wrong with you, Mommy? Get up!.. I don't need their car! I only need you! Mommy, get up!

A young married couple ran up to Antonina Yegorovna. The man shouted at the top of his lungs, "What's wrong?"

- Hey, shop assistants! Don't call the police! Call an ambulance! The woman is sick!

Within a minute, a large crowd had gathered. Mostly, they were shoppers who happened to be nearby and heard the child's screams and cries. But there were also a few salespeople who had come from other departments out of curiosity.

Everyone gathered looked with interest at the unconscious Antonina Yegorovna and heatedly debated whether she would survive. Meanwhile, Sasha continued to cry, sitting on the floor next to his mother, looking at the strangers with a haunted expression.

The ambulance arrived only twenty minutes later. After examining Antonina Yegorovna, the doctors gave her an injection, then placed her on a stretcher and told her they were taking her to the hospital.

Sasha wanted to go with his mother. But the doctors wouldn't allow it, explaining it wasn't allowed. So the boy was left alone. He stood in the middle of the store and cried. Only after Antonina Yegorovna was taken away did someone remember the boy and say:

-What will happen to the boy now? Where should we place him?

Other voices were immediately heard:

-We can place him in an orphanage.

-Yes. He will live there until his mother recovers.

-Is it possible to place the boy in an orphanage?

-Well, why go to an orphanage? A boarding school would be better!

While the strangers were arguing over where to place the boy, a young married couple who had been present during the unpleasant incident with the saleswoman approached Sasha. The man said to Sasha:

- Boy! We can take you in. You can stay with us while your mother is in the hospital. Well, how about it? You don't mind?

Sasha didn't answer. He just looked at the man with fear. Then the man's wife, a fragile and very beautiful woman, turned to Sasha:

- Boy! Don't be afraid! We only wish you the best! We have a son just like you. There he is! Look! - She pointed to a boy standing a little further away. - His name is Yasha. You will meet him and become friends. You will play together. We have lots of toys at home. Well, how about it? Would you like to stay with us until your mother gets better?

Sasha looked at the beautiful woman, then at her son Yasha and quietly answered:

-Yes.

Alexander's reminiscences were interrupted by a sharp ringing sound, like a dog's drawn-out bark. It was his cell phone.

The man took his phone out of his briefcase and looked at the number that had appeared. He realized it was his agent, Arthur, calling. He said firmly into the receiver:

- Hello, Arthur!.. No. I'm not in the office yet. I'll be there in ten minutes. I'm walking down the street now. I decided to take a walk, get some fresh air... No, I don't think this walk is dangerous. You know that I'm in a new body. No one will recognize me in Moscow... Yes, I'll make it. What time is the Arab sheikh supposed to arrive?.. I see. Everything is fine. I'll make it. Better tell me, did you warn him that everything must be kept in strict confidence?.. Well, great! Will he be with an interpreter?.. Good. Is he also aware of the confidentiality of the deal?.. Well, look! I'm counting on you! If anything happens, you know yourself, I'll find you anywhere!.. Of course, it's not in your interests to betray me. I pay you well, after all. And besides, with me, you are guaranteed immortality!.. Well, okay. Enough about that. I believe you. For now I believe you. Your part of the job is done. I'll do the rest myself... What? How about the money? Today I'll transfer the amount we agreed on to your account... Yes, rest assured. And wait for the next contact. I'll contact you myself. Bye!

Alexander hung up and sighed heavily. It was difficult to return to reality from the world of memories. It felt like his heart was aching. But he knew it was only his imagination. His heart couldn't hurt. After all, it was someone else's. Like the entire body Alexander now occupied. It was his soul that was aching. His soul! Aching and aching from the tormenting memory he had immersed himself in.

Alexander knew that by reliving the past, he became vulnerable, despite his immortality. That's why he was so afraid of these memories and desperately wanted to forget the past forever. But it didn't work. Not yet.

Ten minutes later, Alexander was already in his office. He was met by his secretary, a slender and beautiful woman he had hired a month ago.

"Hello, Alexander Ivanovich! I've already made you some coffee!" the secretary chirped, looking tenderly into her boss's eyes.

“Hello, Lenochka!” Alexander answered and went into his office.

Before closing the door behind him, the man turned and stared at the girl. Beautiful! Very beautiful! A seductive figure and long dark hair. His favorite type of woman. He had chosen his secretary based on this type. He wanted her to remind him of Victoria, the girl he had madly loved his entire life. And so it turned out. Outwardly, Lenochka was similar to Victoria. But inside... That's where there was a huge difference between them! Lenochka was limited and primitive, like most women. The limit of her dreams was a rich husband and a happy family life. And Victoria... Oh, Victoria! She was so smart and so intellectual! She thought so deeply and so broadly! Great things could be accomplished with her! Ah, if only Victoria were by his side now!

Alexander sighed and closed the door behind him. He walked over to the table.

Everything in his office was new and ultra-modern: the desk, the chair, the office equipment... Alexander spared no expense. He'd been swimming in it lately. He could now buy anything! Airplanes, yachts, villas, cars! Luxurious mansions! Famous paintings! Magnificent jewelry! The most expensive things in the world were within his means! And what's more, he could buy people too! After all, he knew all people were corruptible. But each person has their own price!

Alexander had once dreamed of becoming rich. But now he was more than just rich.

He was an oligarch! And what is an oligarch? He's practically a god on earth. There's little he can't control. With money, he could solve any problem! And Alexander did solve...

There was a timid knock at the door. Then the secretary opened it and, smiling sweetly, said:

- Excuse me, Alexander Ivanovich. I wanted to know: should I bring you some coffee?

"Coffee?" Alexander asked thoughtfully. "No, Lenochka. Not yet. You can bring it later. I have an important meeting today. An Arab sheikh and his translator should be arriving any minute. As soon as they arrive, take them to me."

"Okay, Alexander Ivanovich," the secretary turned on her heels so the boss could see her beautiful, shapely legs. After a brief pause, she swayed her hips sexily and closed the door behind her.

Alexander felt desire. A passionate desire for a woman. He wasn't surprised. After all, his new body matched his real age. He'd chosen this body specifically—the body of a healthy forty-year-old man.

The body of a basketball player. Not a beauty. But not ugly either. Athletically built. With perfectly functioning internal organs.

And now his new body responded most naturally to the beautiful woman. However, Alexander had no intention of giving in to the instincts of his new body. His soul had long been free of passions. Therefore, he could always tame his new flesh. And now he did not fail to do so, turning his thoughts to the topic he had pondered before—wealth. This topic had intrigued him since childhood. He was only five years old when he first began to wonder why some people lived richly and others poorly. This happened during that memorable time when fate had brought the boy into a wealthy Jewish family.

Alexander sat down on a chair, closed his eyes and again plunged into memories...

The young couple who picked up Sasha Zavidov from the Detsky Mir store brought the boy to their country house in the Moscow region.

It was a huge, beautiful house. Three floors, eighteen rooms, a magnificent living room with an expensive fireplace, a large, cozy dining room, three magnificent rooms with musical instruments, and a fabulous children's room filled with a variety of toys!

Near the house was a summer swimming pool and flowerbeds filled with rare and beautiful flowers. A little further away stood a modern garage for several cars. And even further away lay a fragrant orchard!

When Sasha saw this enormous house, he gasped in amazement! He had never imagined such houses existed! He had never seen such a wonder in his village. The boy was so amazed that he temporarily forgot his grief and examined the house with curiosity. Luckily, no one stopped him!

The young couple was busy with their own affairs. The man left to park the car in the garage. His wife went into the kitchen, entrusting her son Yasha to look after the little guest. However, the Jewish boy had disappeared without ever meeting his Russian peer. So Sasha wandered the house alone, curiously examining every room...

Half an hour later, the boy's interesting activity was interrupted by a woman's melodious voice. She was calling everyone to dinner. Sasha entered the dining room, looked at the dining table, and gasped in amazement again! The table was laden with dishes he'd never seen before! Beautiful vases held fruits he'd never tasted before! The boy was amazed again!

The woman invited them to the table. Sasha sat down. Soon the woman's husband and son arrived. They began the meal.

Sasha ate with incredible speed and greed. He swallowed the delicious food almost without chewing, filling his mouth with more. No one reprimanded him. The owners merely exchanged glances and looked compassionately at the boy. Their son, Yasha, paid no attention to their gluttonous guest.

When the dinner was over, the man said:

-Boy! We know your name is Sasha. What's your last name?

“Zavidov,” said Sasha, swallowing the last piece of food.

- I see. So your name is Sasha Zavidov. And our last name is Levin. My name is Joseph. And my wife is Sonya. You can call us: Uncle Joseph and Aunt Sonya. - The man paused briefly, and then continued. - And you already know the name of our son. I hope you have become friends with him?