Chapter 5 - Exposing the Truth
I held Oliver securely against my chest, feeling his soft breath against my collarbone.
"Natalie," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on my mother. "Go upstairs and take care of Emma. Tell her it's over, and bring her medicine from my emergency stash in the master bathroom."
Natalie nodded, tears streaming down her face, and ran upstairs immediately.
Vivian stood in the center of the kitchen, her hair disheveled, her mask completely destroyed. She tried to pull her composure together, smoothing her floral blouse with quick, nervous strokes.
"Fine," Vivian spat, her voice shedding all maternal warmth, exposing the bitter, arrogant core beneath. "If this is how I am treated after everything I've sacrificed for this family, I will leave! But don't you dare come crawling back to me when that weak girl breaks down again, Daniel! You'll see who was really keeping this family together!"
She grabbed her designer purse from the island and turned toward the front door.
"You're not going home, Vivian," Richard said quietly, standing near the hallway.
Vivian paused, looking back at her husband. "What did you say?"
"I am changing the locks on the house today," Richard said, his voice firm and steady despite the deep pain in his eyes. "You will stay at a hotel. My lawyer will contact you by Monday morning with the divorce papers."
"Divorce?!" Vivian shrieked, her voice echoing off the high ceilings. "Are you out of your mind, Richard?! After thirty-five years?! You're going to throw away our life over a maid-servant daughter-in-law?!"
"You didn't just ruin Emma's peace, Vivian," Richard said softly, looking at her with pity. "You ruined our family. I am ashamed that I took thirty-five years to see who you really were."
Vivian glared at him, then turned to me, her eyes burning with hatred. "You think you've won, Daniel? You think you can destroy me? Everyone in our church, everyone in our social club knows who I am! They know I'm a loving mother and grandmother! No one will ever believe your ridiculous stories!"
I pulled out my phone once more, tapping the screen twice.
"They won't have to take my word for it, Mom," I said smoothly.
Vivian froze. "What did you do?"
"Ten minutes ago, while you were standing in the kitchen telling me how unstable Emma was, I uploaded the unedited twenty-minute camera feed to your public Facebook profile," I said, showing her the phone screen. "The post is tagged with your ladies' church committee, your bridge club, your real estate agency, and all three hundred of your friends."
Vivian’s face turned completely grey.
"Delete it!" she screamed, lunging toward me. "Delete it right now, Daniel! That's my life! That's my reputation!"
I took a simple step back, holding Oliver safely out of her reach.
"It already has forty shares, Mom," I noted indifferently. "Your pastor just left a comment asking if you need spiritual intervention."
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Vivian let out a strangled, animalistic cry of pure rage and horror. Realizing that her carefully constructed world of lies, social prestige, and fake maternal perfection had been thoroughly shattered beyond repair, she turned around and ran out the front door, slamming it behind her so hard the glass side-lights rattled.
The sound of her car tires screeching down the driveway faded into the distance.
