I have spent every year since being present and calling it, at last, fatherhood.

Chapter 9 — The Documented Betrayals

At sunrise I took Hannah to a local pediatrician, who documented moderate malnutrition, anemia, and acute stress, and immediately filed a report with Child Protective Services.

Then we drove to her elementary school, where I uncovered a betrayal I had not even thought to look for: Veronica had officially un-enrolled Hannah six months earlier, claiming that she was being homeschooled.

“What were you studying at home?” I asked her, as we walked back to the truck.