Chapter 5 - THE CROPPED PHOTOGRAPH AND THE VIRAL LIE
For the first time, my mother’s grip on the baby tightened slightly, though she eventually handed him over. I placed him safely in the bassinet and knelt beside Clara. That was when my mother’s phone lit up with notifications. She had already posted a cropped photograph of Clara on the nursery floor—deliberately cutting out the shattered medication, her own body, and the baby held out of reach—alongside a caption asking people to pray for a grandmother forced to protect her grandson from an unstable mother. The comments were already pouring in, proving she hadn't just lost her temper; she had meticulously staged an online narrative eight minutes before my camera alert even triggered.
