I was barely conscious, trying to nurse my crying twins through the agonizing pain of a t:orn ut:erus, when my adult stepdaughter stormed in and dumped a cup of scalding coffee over my lap.
The coffee hit my lap like burning acid while one twin screamed against my chest and the other searched weakly at my hospital gown. For one split second, the entire room faded white. Then Vanessa smiled. My adult stepdaughter stood beside my hospital bed wearing a cream blazer, diamond earrings glinting beneath fluorescent lights, one…