CHAPTER 12 LORRAINE FALLS
Two weeks passed.
The hospital room that had once been filled with fear slowly transformed into something else.
Hope.
Every morning began with the same ritual.
Dr. Carter checked the monitors.
Sadie's heartbeat remained strong.
The placenta continued to improve.
The iron infusions had done their job.
My blood counts climbed little by little.
For the first time in months...
My body no longer craved dirt.
Or clay.
Or anything that wasn't food.
The cravings had disappeared as suddenly as they had arrived.
Dr. Carter smiled when I told her.
"That's exactly what we hoped."
Thirty-three weeks.
Then thirty-four.
Every extra day inside the womb mattered.
Every sunrise meant Sadie's lungs grew a little stronger.
Her brain a little more developed.
Her body a little more prepared for the world waiting outside.
Across town...
Lorraine's world was collapsing.
The district attorney had officially charged her with:
Conspiracy to commit fraud.
Evidence tampering.
Distribution of counterfeit medical products.
Obstruction of justice.
She faced years in prison.
But none of those charges hurt as much as what happened next.
Her social media accounts disappeared overnight.
Sponsors terminated their contracts.
Advertising platforms froze every payment.
The channels she had spent years building vanished one after another.
Followers who had once praised her now filled the comments with anger.
"You exploited your own family."
"How could you film someone instead of helping?"
"That baby could have died."
The numbers kept falling.
One million followers...
Became five hundred thousand.
Then two hundred thousand.
Then less than fifty thousand.
Within a week...
Almost no one remained.
The audience that had made her famous had moved on.
Exactly as Richard Kane had once promised they would.
Detective Brooks visited Lorraine again.
This time there were no cameras.
No interrogations.
Just two chairs separated by a small table.
Lorraine looked exhausted.
Dark circles framed her eyes.
"I have another statement."
Brooks nodded.
"I'm listening."
Lorraine took a long breath.
"I want to testify."
"Against Richard Kane?"
"Against everyone."
She lowered her head.
"There were others."
Brooks remained perfectly still.
"How many?"
"I don't know."
"But I wasn't the only one he recruited."
She explained everything.
Richard Kane had built a private online network.
Members never met in person.
Each received assignments.
Film this.
Follow them.
Record reactions.
Never intervene.
Some targeted celebrities.
Some targeted politicians.
Others...
Ordinary families.
Pregnancies.
Illnesses.
Divorces.
Funerals.
Anything capable of creating outrage.
Brooks wrote page after page.
"What did he call the group?"
Lorraine closed her eyes.
"The Storymakers."
Back at the hospital...
Owen sat beside my bed assembling a tiny wooden crib.
The nurses laughed.
"I thought you were putting together a bookshelf."
"It looked easier on the instructions."
He held up two identical pieces of wood.
"I have no idea where these go."
I smiled.
"Sadie isn't going to inspect your carpentry."
"You don't know that."
Another kick interrupted him.
He rested his hand against my belly.
"See?"
"She's already judging me."
The laughter faded when someone knocked softly at the door.
Detective Brooks stepped inside.
Behind her stood another woman.
Gray hair.
Kind eyes.
A face Owen recognized immediately.
His mother.
Elaine Hayes.
Owen slowly stood.
"Mom?"
She looked as though she hadn't slept for days.
"I've been afraid to come."
No one spoke.
Finally...
She turned toward me.
"Maren..."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry."
I looked at her quietly.
"You knew?"
She nodded.
"I knew Lorraine was making videos."
"But I thought they were harmless."
Her voice broke.
"I never imagined..."
"...that she'd become involved with criminals."
She covered her face.
"I should have stopped her."
Owen stared at his mother.
"You defended Lorraine."
"I know."
"You told me I was overreacting."
"I know."
"You said Maren was imagining things."
Elaine nodded slowly.
"I was wrong."
There was no excuse.
No attempt to justify herself.
Only regret.
She reached into her purse and placed a small envelope on the bedside table.
Inside...
Old family photographs.
One showed Owen and Lorraine as children building a treehouse together.
Another showed Lorraine holding a stray kitten she'd rescued at age twelve.
Then another...
Their late father smiling beside both children.
Elaine whispered,
"She wasn't born cruel."
I looked at the photographs.
Neither was Richard Kane.
Somewhere...
At some point...
Choices had changed both of them.
Later that afternoon...
Lorraine requested one final meeting before her transfer to the county jail.
She wasn't asking for Owen.
She wasn't asking for Detective Brooks.
She was asking for me.
Everyone advised against it.
Dr. Carter.
The prosecutor.
Even Owen.
"You don't owe her anything."
He was right.
I didn't.
But after a long silence...
I said yes.
The meeting took place in a secure room inside the hospital.
A correctional officer remained outside the door.
Lorraine entered wearing handcuffs.
She looked smaller than I remembered.
As though guilt had stolen every ounce of confidence she once carried.
For several seconds...
Neither of us spoke.
Finally...
She whispered,
"I don't expect forgiveness."
I remained silent.
"I came because..."
Her voice cracked.
"...I need you to know one thing."
She looked directly into my eyes.
"I never touched the vitamins."
I frowned.
"What?"
"I bought them."
"I delivered them."
"But they were already sealed."
"I didn't know they were fake."
I studied her face.
For the first time...
She wasn't performing.
She wasn't crying for attention.
She wasn't holding a camera.
She was simply telling the truth.
"I still chose money over you."
She swallowed hard.
"And that's something I'll regret for the rest of my life."
She slowly stood.
"I hope..."
She glanced toward my stomach.
"...your daughter never has to choose between being loved..."
"...and being watched."
The officer opened the door.
Lorraine paused one last time.
"I'm sorry, Maren."
Then she walked away.
I never answered.
Not because I hated her.
But because some wounds need silence before they can begin to heal.
As the door closed behind her, I placed a hand on my belly.
Sadie responded with one strong, confident kick.
Life was moving forward.
May you like
Even if not everyone could come with it.
End of Chapter 12
