Risks

Lee Hill Kavanaugh: Her phone rings at 10 p.m. The voice on the other end is quiet, uncertain.

I just got picked up by the police. … Do you hate me?

Donnette Siems takes a deep breath and looks down at Victoria’s baby cradled in her lap.

Maddie. Seven pounds of hope.

Big eyes and silky curls. A near copy of her mother. Innocent. Vulnerable.

Helpless.

No, Victoria, I don’t hate you, Donnette says. What happened?