Chapter 5 - TURNING THE TABLES
Lorraine’s confident smirk faltered for a fraction of a second as she watched me pick up the pill bottle. She hadn't expected me to connect the dots so quickly. She had underestimated my professional background; in logistics, root-cause analysis was my bread and butter. When variables didn't add up, you looked for the hidden contaminant.
"Give me the baby, Lorraine," I said, my voice no longer shaking. It was cold, flat, and devoid of any familial warmth. The woman standing in front of me wasn't my mother anymore. She was an adversary.
"Don't be ridiculous, Travis. I am taking my grandson somewhere safe," Lorraine stepped toward the nursery door, holding Jonah tightly. "You can file for divorce whenever you're ready. I've already called a car."
As she moved past the crib toward the hallway, I didn't lunge or shout. Instead, I pulled my own phone out of my pocket, unlocked the screen with a single swift motion, and held it up.
"You might want to check your own pocket, Mom," I said smoothly.
Lorraine paused, her hand hovering over the doorknob. "What are you talking about?"
"When I was driving home, I didn't just watch the live camera feed," I replied, taking a slow step toward her. "I routed the nursery security system directly to my office cloud backup. Every single frame of video, every audio file, every threat you made to Brooke while holding my son has been streaming live to my corporate legal team and local law enforcement for the past twenty minutes."
The color drained entirely from Lorraine's face. The pristine, untouchable mask she wore cracked instantly.
"You... you wouldn't," she stammered, her voice losing its venomous edge.
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"Try me," I said, stepping right up to her. I didn't yell; I used the exact tone I reserved for negligent contractors who tried to compromise my supply chains. "You crossed the line into felony coercion, child endangerment, and poisoning. The police are already two blocks away. They'll be here in under sixty seconds."
Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder by the second. The sharp, flashing red and blue lights began to paint the nursery walls through the window blinds.
