Then something else snapped, then another, like balloons popping

At first I thought they had given her baby Tylenol, but the second time through I realized that those were lives being extinguished. Definitely creepier that way.

I enjoy this story more all the time. I agree with cissasghost, who said above that she's cringing that everyone thinks Dawn is a child genius. I can see that going very wrong long-term, but I suspect you'll re-age Dawn before she internally gets to college-age.