Chapter 5 - THE CLAIM THAT I HAD KIDNAPPED THEM
Viktor petitioned for the children’s immediate return.
His attorney argued that Mariyka had encouraged truancy, hidden the children, provided medication without permission, and created a false abuse narrative because she resented authority.
The emergency family hearing lasted two days.
I testified about what happened beneath the bed.
Viktor’s attorney approached.
“You deceived your daughter by pretending to leave for work?”
“Yes.”
“You entered her bedroom secretly?”
“Yes.”
“You hid beneath her bed?”
“Yes.”
“You then discovered two children whom she had been concealing in your home for weeks?”
“Yes.”
“So your household was being used to interfere with Mr. Koval’s custody.”
“Without my knowledge.”
“But by your daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Did you immediately open the bedroom door when their father arrived?”
“No.”
“You barricaded it.”
“Yes.”
“You prevented a legal parent from reaching his children.”
“I prevented a man who had broken my window from reaching injured children while emergency services were responding.”
“Did you witness Mr. Koval injure them?”
“No.”
“Then your decision relied on what frightened children said.”
“It relied on their condition, the blood, the forced entry, his threats, and the dispatcher’s instructions.”
The 911 recording played.
Viktor’s voice filled the courtroom.
You are interfering with a father disciplining his children.
Your son is bleeding.
He fell.
Your daughter has marks around her wrists.
She hurts herself for attention.
Then my own voice:
Touch that handle again, and everyone listening hears exactly what you did.
The attorney argued Viktor’s language reflected frustration rather than admission.
The judge did not treat the call as proof of every injury.
It showed his conduct at my home and his immediate explanations.
Medical reports followed.
Maksym’s fractures occurred at different times.
The fresh wound matched impact against a metal-edged workbench.
Sofiyka’s wrist bruising was consistent with forceful restraint.
The burn was consistent with contact from a heated object.
Could another person have caused the injuries?
In theory, yes.
The children’s separate statements, basement recordings, school history, messages, and witness testimony supplied the surrounding evidence.
Viktor testified.
“My children lie when influenced.”
“Who influenced them?” his attorney asked.
“Mariyka.”
“Why?”
“She wants attention.”
“Did you ever intentionally injure your children?”
“No.”
“Did you lock them in the basement?”
“I used structured reflection.”
“Did you withhold food?”
“I restricted privileges.”
“Did you burn Sofiyka with a spoon?”
“No.”
“Did you kick Maksym?”
“No.”
The child-protection attorney asked:
“Why does your basement door lock from the outside?”
“To prevent wandering during reflection.”
“Why was a camera aimed at the children?”
“To document behavior.”
“Why were recordings deleted after the hospital called?”
“Automatic storage limits.”
A digital expert showed manual deletion from Viktor’s account.
He blamed a system error.
Messages showed him instructing Michael:
REMOVE SCHOOL RECORDS BEFORE THEY MAKE THIS A PATTERN.
“Why did you write that?” the attorney asked.
“Because Mariyka was creating a false pattern.”
“Before police interviewed her?”
“I knew what she would say.”
The judge denied immediate return.
Temporary placement with Halyna was approved after her home passed assessment and the children requested to remain together.
Viktor received no direct contact.
Any future communication required therapeutic and judicial approval.
The ruling did not terminate his parental rights permanently.
That would require separate proceedings.
Afterward, Mariyka stood outside the courtroom.
“Does this mean they’re safe forever?”
“No,” I said.
She looked angry.
“Why can’t anything be forever?”
“Because courts review evidence and circumstances over time.”
“He’ll lie again.”
“Then records will answer.”
“What if records disappear?”
“Multiple people are preserving them now.”
She folded her arms.
“You sound like the school.”
The accusation hurt.
“I understand why.”
“No, you don’t.”
“You’re right. I did not live what you lived.”
She turned away.
I allowed her anger to remain.
Children who have carried impossible responsibility often become furious when adults finally arrive and ask them to surrender control.
Mariyka had saved her friends by making herself responsible for everything.
Now healing required learning that responsibility could be shared without becoming abandonment.
Halyna moved the children to Minnesota after court approval.
Before leaving, Sofiyka gave Mariyka the rag doll from her shelf.
“You should keep your own toy,” Mariyka said.
“It isn’t mine.”
“Whose is it?”
“Your mom said it belonged in your room.”
Mariyka looked toward me.
I had placed the doll inside a travel bag by mistake.
Sofiyka smiled faintly.
“I want you to keep something that knows the truth.”
Mariyka hugged her.
“Call me when you get there.”
Halyna answered gently:
“We will contact you through the approved plan.”
Sofiyka stiffened.
Mariyka whispered:
May you like
“That means yes, but with adults making it complicated.”
For the first time in weeks, both girls laughed.
