A summary of Tatyana Korsakova’s "The Backstreet Millionaire" Automatic translate

This book is a melodramatic crime story about betrayal, revenge, and forgiveness. Written in 2007, the novel centers on a successful businessman playing the pauper and a simple woman who suddenly becomes the heiress to a vast fortune. The novel was published in the author’s "Queen of the Mystery Novel" and "Love and Mystery" series.

Meeting someone on the street

Simona Vishnevskaya works as an office manager at a tiny architectural firm. She’s desperate for money, sewing custom clothes at night. One evening, she returns home. A filthy man in thick-rimmed glasses accosts her. The stranger insistently offers to buy a bunch of limp radishes for twenty rubles. Sima hates radishes and despises beggars. She gives the man her last hundred-ruble bill to rid herself of the unpleasant companion.

Later, in a dark park, Simone’s path is blocked by three drunken thugs. The rapists hold a knife to her throat. The radish seller suddenly appears from the darkness. He beats up the thugs and saves Sima from certain death. In gratitude, Sima invites the savior into her home. The stranger is washing himself in the bathroom, and Sima notices his magnificent athletic figure. The man calls himself Ilya.

A bet between rich friends

In reality, Ilya Severin is the twenty-seven-year-old owner of a large construction empire called "Northern Lights." He is wealthy, successful, and incredibly tired from the constant stress. Ilya’s friend, banker Vladimir Danchenko, recruits him into a semi-underground club. Club members regularly compete in extreme challenges. One of the challenges is codenamed "Full Immersion." Ilya disguises himself as a homeless person and earns money by selling radishes. Vladimir Danchenko loses a bet to Ilya. The banker promises to pay Severin ten thousand dollars if he can seduce the yellow-eyed Simone within three months. The main condition of the bet is that Ilya must maintain the guise of a homeless loser. Severin accepts the challenge.

Rapprochement and dangers

Ilya continues to visit Simona. The man gives her sprigs of jasmine. She contracts a severe case of rubella. Ilya brings Maxim, a professional vascular surgeon, who administers an IV to Simona. Ilya cares for the ailing Simona for a long time. A strong attraction develops between the young people. Meanwhile, frightening events unfold around Sima. An unknown man pushes her onto the subway tracks right in front of an oncoming train. Sima is saved by a random passerby, market vendor Serafima Gaiko.

Later, the same shadowy silhouette stalks Simona on the street at night. Ilya reassures her and dismisses the incidents as coincidences. Sima falls completely in love with Ilya. She loses her virginity to Severin right on an old mattress. Soon, Ilya introduces Simona to his foreman, Vovan, who is disguised as the banker Danchenko.

The truth comes out

Simona’s friend, Inna Shelest, works as a journalist for the glossy magazine "Master of Life." Inna interviews successful construction magnate Ilya Severin. After a business dinner, she spends a wild night with the businessman. Inna shows Simona the latest issue of the magazine with photos of Severin. Simona is horrified to recognize the successful millionaire as her homeless lover. Simona realizes the depth of his deception. She remembers the scar on Ilya’s forehead and realizes Severin has cruelly played with her emotions. Simona attends the magazine’s corporate ball in a luxurious red dress. She finds Ilya in the crowd of guests. Sima hurls hurtful words at him and leaves forever.

Inheritance and assassination attempts

Ksenia, a former classmate, borrows Simona’s red dress. She attaches a false ponytail to her black hair. That evening, Ksenia is brutally stabbed to death near Sima’s home. A blind neighbor, Leokadia Stanislavovna, mistakes the victim for Simona. Simona learns a horrific truth: the killer was targeting her. Soon, a prestigious notary informs Simona of her biological father’s death. Cuban immigrant Diego Marcos died of an incurable blood disease in the United States. He left his construction empire and colossal bank accounts to his daughter. If Simona had died before the document was made public, the money would have gone to her mother. Simona’s half-brother, Vadim, was the mastermind behind the murder. He hired a young lawyer, Roman. Roman pushed Simona onto the tracks, chased her into the park, and accidentally killed Ksenia. Simona leaves for the United States forever. She takes the surname Marcos and learns to manage her father’s corporation from scratch.

Simone’s Return

Seven agonizing years pass. Simona returns to Russia. She has become a tough and calculating businesswoman. She has a six-year-old son, Maxim. The boy is the spitting image of his father, Ilya Severin. Simona carefully conceals the child’s existence from everyone she knows, even keeping it from Ilya himself. The boy lives peacefully in a suburban village under the watchful eye of his grumpy but devoted nanny, Aunt Klava. Simona opens a shell company, Maxima-StroyServis. The corporation’s true goal is the complete and utter bankruptcy of Ilya Severin’s company. Simona buys up lucrative contracts, poaches reliable suppliers, and methodically destroys the business reputation of Northern Lights.

Corporate war

Ilya is completely baffled by the sudden aggression from an unknown American company. Severin’s construction business is suffering colossal financial losses. A bribed foreman causes a warehouse recently built by Ilya’s company to collapse. Simona’s company unexpectedly turns out to be the client for the collapsed building. The case inevitably ends up in court. In the spacious courthouse, Ilya finally meets the owner of the competing company in person. Severin is shocked to recognize Simona. Ilya demands an immediate explanation, but Simona responds only with cold, barbed sarcasm. Simona considers her long-awaited revenge complete.

Child abduction

The devious lawyer Roman deceives Simona into working for him. He learns of a long-running corporate feud between Simona and Ilya. Roman ambushed the nanny and kidnapped Maxim during an evening stroll. He knocked Aunt Klava unconscious with a heavy object on the head. Later, Roman called Simona and lured her to an empty country house. In the gloomy room, Simona was horrified to encounter Roman and her half-brother Vadim. Roman knocked Simona down with a powerful blow to the face. He then bound Simona’s hands and feet with duct tape. The deranged maniac planned to murder Ilya, Simona, and little Maxim in cold blood.

Trap in a country house

Roman calls Ilya Severin. The criminal introduces himself as Junior Lieutenant Samokhvalov and summons the businessman to his country dacha. Unsuspecting, Ilya arrives at the false address. Roman stuns Severin with a powerful electric shock. Ilya awakens bound hand and foot. Roman boastfully describes his flawless plan to his captives. The criminal stages Simone’s bloody murder out of jealousy. Ilya is then supposedly to commit suicide. Roman will secretly poison the little boy with a lethal dose of sleeping pills. Maxim’s death is crucial for the criminals to secure the Cuban millionaire’s inheritance. Vadim categorically refuses to participate in the brutal murder of an innocent child. Simone’s half-brother hurriedly leaves the cursed house.

Liberation

Sima breaks the silence in a panic. The girl openly shouts to Ilya that little Maxim is his own son. Ilya discreetly loosens a loosely fastened fireplace grate rod. The businessman carefully cuts the bonds with a penknife. When Roman presumptuously turns his back, Ilya delivers a crushing blow to the neck with a heavy iron rod. The attacker instantly falls unconscious. Ilya orders Simona up to the second floor. The girl finds her sleeping son. Sima falls into severe hysterics, believing the boy has stopped breathing. Ilya quickly brings Simona back to her senses with a hard slap. The man convinces his mother that Maxim is simply deeply sedated. Ilya securely ties Roman with a curtain cord and calls the police. Simona’s half-brother, Vadim, dies in a terrible car accident at a nearby railroad crossing.

Reconciliation in the hospital

Maxim is recovering quickly. He is in the intensive care unit under the 24-hour care of professional doctors. Ilya negotiates with the hospital’s chief physician for a complete renovation of the unit and replacement of the plumbing. In exchange, Ilya is allowed to secretly visit his son, wearing a mask and scrubs. Simona keeps vigil at Maxim’s bedside for days. Exhausted, she faints in the street. Ilya picks her up and takes her home. Simona wakes up in Severin’s warm bed. Ilya tells Simona of the sudden death of her half-brother, Vadim. Sima takes the tragic news surprisingly calmly. Ilya conducts a secret genetic test. The test irrefutably confirms his biological paternity. Ilya asks Simona to allow him to participate in Maxim’s day-to-day upbringing. Simona quietly agrees.

New life

Some time passes. Ilya Severin arrives at Simone’s with sincere apologies and a bottle of expensive vintage wine. He complains about the insurmountable difficulties of living in two homes. Ilya asks Simone to marry him immediately. In response, she happily announces to Severin that she is pregnant again. The pregnancy is exactly seven weeks along. The astonished man kneels and formally proposes to Simone. During a wild romantic dinner, the happy couple accidentally breaks a vintage bottle of wine on the table. Ilya completely ignores this unfortunate incident. Conversations about their difficult past cease forever.