"Nothing Personal" by Tatyana Korsakova, summary Automatic translate

"Nothing Personal" is a melodrama novel with a crime twist, written in 2015. This book tells the story of how a sham marriage and cold calculation unexpectedly develop into genuine feelings amidst mortal danger. Published as part of the author’s "Tatiana Korsakova: Queen of the Mystical Novel" series, it stands alone as a standalone story. The plot is built around the characters’ profound psychological insights. Their fractured destinies are woven into a tight knot of old grievances and new hopes.

Dating on the South Coast

Young businessman Andrei Likhovtsev is vacationing at a resort with his trusted friend, Semyon Vinogradov. He’s trying to escape the daily grind and hide from his powerful grandfather, Sergei Alekseevich. The stern old man has given his grandson an ultimatum: find a worthy wife and produce an heir. Management of the family corporation will pass into someone else’s hands if he disobeys. In protest, the businessman decides to marry a woman of easy virtue. By a ridiculous mistake, he mistakes the red-haired Katerina, vacationing at the resort, for such a woman.

The drama of the current situation is compounded by Likhovtsev’s difficult past. As a teenager, he belonged to a street gang. He killed the leader of a local gang while defending his first love from an attack by hooligans. He received a prison sentence. His cellmates left him with a deep scar on his face. It was then that Sergei Alekseevich entered his life. A relative rescued his grandson from prison and provided him with an excellent education in France. His grandfather’s guardianship forever deprived Andrei of the right to make his own choices.

In reality, Katya works as a forensic psychiatrist. She conducts specialized examinations on serious crimes. She is in dire financial straits due to the illness of her four-year-old nephew, Denis. The boy requires expensive heart surgery at a cardiology center in Germany. Andrey proposes a two-year marriage to his new acquaintance for thirty thousand euros. Katerina agrees to save her child. Soon, the young couple formalize their relationship at the registry office and stage a fake wedding to distract attention.

During a resort vacation, a terrible tragedy occurs. Semyon is hit hard in the chest by a ball. The sports injury leads to ventricular fibrillation — a sudden irregular heartbeat. Katya skillfully stops the attack and saves his life. Later, Semyon inquires about his friend’s wife. His friend reveals to Likhovtsev the truth about the girl’s real job and her nephew’s fatal illness. The husband realizes the enormity of his mistake and feels guilty for his constant insults to Katerina.

Anxieties of a new family life

Returning to Moscow, Andrei tries to right the wrongs he’s committed and showers his wife with care. The businessman secretly pays for Denis’s medical treatment and helps his sister Katya move abroad. The newlyweds’ relationship gradually warms. Andrei’s grandfather welcomes his new relative into his medieval castle. Soon, shocking news is revealed: Katya is expecting a child after their one, chance wedding night at a boarding house. Andrei is genuinely happy and intends to keep the family together for the sake of the baby’s future.

The idyll crumbles in an instant. The girl begins receiving threatening phone calls and horrific postcards featuring disfigured babies. The danger quickly escalates. An unknown driver hits Katya in a dark alley. Miraculously, the expectant mother escapes with bruises, and the fetus is unharmed. The husband tightens his security, assigning his experienced bodyguard, Ivan, to his wife. The businessman blames former patients of the clinic for the attack. Events soon take a different, far bloodier turn.

Staging a death and searching for the customer

During a severe snowstorm, Likhovtsev’s massive SUV explodes at a railroad crossing. The police and all his relatives are convinced the businessman is dead. The person in the burned-out car was actually his young friend, Anton Gromov, nicknamed Grom. Shortly before the tragedy, Anton had gotten a chimera tattoo on his shoulder, based on Andrey’s design. This detail led forensic investigators to mistakenly identify the remains. Likhovtsev decides to fake his death and hides in a rented apartment with Sema and his security guard, Ivan.

Grom’s tragic death is a devastating blow to Andrey. He blames himself for the death of his devoted comrade. The situation is complicated by a police investigation. Law enforcement considers Semyon, who has disappeared without a trace, the prime suspect in the explosion. Vinogradov served in the French Legion and is well versed in explosives. Andrey is forced to hide in a dingy rented apartment on the outskirts of the capital and smoke heavily. He seeks the motive for this daring crime through Ivan, who is working undercover at his grandfather’s corporation.

The widow is grieving over her husband’s supposed death and visits his grave daily. The old man makes his last will and testament. Shortly before the explosion, the grandfather transferred the company to his grandson. Katya and her unborn child now become the sole heirs to a vast business empire. Successful model Elena Kolesnikova accuses Katerina of orchestrating the murder. A short time later, Likhovtsev’s former lover is found dead on the railroad tracks. Investigators attribute the tragedy to a classic suicide under the influence of hard drugs.

The true face of the criminal

The young woman refuses to believe the official police findings and launches a secret investigation. The widow visits Yegor Silantyev’s wooden country house. The Old Man’s deputy arouses her suspicions. Under the pretext of taking a break from the bustle of the city, she picks the keys to the locked interior doors of the mansion. The brave woman breaks into a secret room and discovers Kolesnikova’s hidden personal diary. Crime photos from the scene of the SUV explosion lie nearby. At that very moment, the owner of the house appears behind her.

Yegor Silantyev confesses to the astonished heroine about all the crimes he committed. The Deputy had been the Old Man’s protégé since early childhood and hoped to become his successor. The sudden arrival of his own grandson dashed these ambitious plans. The man eliminated every obstacle to gain control of the corporation. First, the villain hooked his wife, Alina, on hard drugs. Her death from an overdose helped him shed the burden and create the image of a grieving widower in the eyes of a naive public.

Silantyev later orchestrated the bombing of Likhovtsev’s SUV. He used his military skills to plant the bomb. Then, the grandfather’s assistant disposed of the hysterical Kolesnikova. The killer cleverly staged her suicide on the icy railroad tracks. It was this same man who hit Katya in a dark alley to provoke a miscarriage. The villain tells his captive his plan for her murder. Oxytocin, a hormonal drug used to induce labor, was intended to induce internal bleeding. The heroine’s death at the dacha would look like a tragic physiological accident.

Rescue and family celebration

The killer’s perfect plan goes awry at the last second. Andrei and Sema infiltrate the country house, having long since tracked Silantyev’s routes. Vinogradov incapacitates the criminal with one powerful blow and saves the defenseless girl. The man rushes to his wife, expecting bitter reproaches, but Katya hugs her husband tightly. The widow admits her suspicions about the body switch. In the police photo from the explosion scene, the tattooed chimera was missing a small spike on its tail.

Some time later, a joyful family celebration takes place on the green lawn in front of the ancient castle. The enemies have been defeated, and the dark criminal secrets are behind them. The rescued couple has become a strong, loving couple and is raising a healthy son, Andrei Jr., together. The domineering grandfather has forgotten about the corporation and devotes all his free time to the tender love of his great-grandson. The old man has handed over management of the business to his grown grandson. Faithful friend Semyon lives happily with his wife Marya, raising their little daughter, Nastya.