Chapter Five: Justice
Back home, Darya asked, “How was she?”
“Empty,” he said. “Pretty shell. Nothing inside.”
They took her to court.
They didn’t want money. They wanted the truth in writing.
Her husband, Viktor — a man of contracts and clean reputations — didn’t know. When Makar handed him the DNA test, the record of abandonment, the notarized statement, he sat in stunned silence.
“I don’t want revenge,” Makar said. “I want her to be recognized for what she did.”
In court, Lilia finally said, “I’m sorry.”
But it wasn’t for them. It was for herself — for being exposed.
The verdict was clear:
Biological mother. Proven abandonment. Name to be added. Sentence: Suspended and fined.
And then, quietly, the story began to shift.
Chapter Six: A New Kind of Family
Lilia fled. Again.
But Viktor stayed. He brought fruit, legal documents, and a gesture.
“I’m not your father,” he said. “But this — this is yours.” He handed over the deed to a house.
Makar and Darya didn’t need his money. But they took the gift — not for the brick and mortar, but for the dignity it honored.
“We’re bringing Grandma and Grandpa,” Darya said.
“They get their own entrance,” Makar added. “With heat, a porch. Maybe a workshop.”
Two weeks later, a cart rolled up to the new home. Jam jars, potatoes, an old icon bundle. Stepan smiled for the first time in years.
Anastasia looked around and whispered, “You didn’t do this for revenge. You did it for truth.”
Makar studied law. Darya worked at the library, wrote poems under the name Darya Lesnaya.
And in the living room of their warm new home, they hung a photo:
Two siblings, two elders, an old jacket — and the words carved in wood beneath:
“Family isn’t about blood. It’s about choice. And we chose each other.”
That night, snow fell gently outside.
And inside, there was pie, laughter, and the sound of a life reclaimed.
