Chapter 1 Sandra Hernandes, a 35-year-old single mother, sat at the kitchen table, sipping her morning coffee. Her eyes drifted to the framed photo on the wall—a picture of her and her 16-year-old son Erik in front of his high school. He was tall and strong, with the chiseled features of a young Viking, just like his father. Sandra had only met Erik's father once, a fleeting encounter that resulted in her pregnancy. She n...