July 2, 2007

"Everything is going to be fine."

So declares a sanguine Lynne Spears to People, just days after dingy daughter Britney made a paparazzi-documented production out of presenting her with a letter that purportedly warned her (per TMZ.com) to stay away from grandchildren Sean Preston, 21 months, and Jayden James, 9 months, if she is taking any medication that could impair her judgment.

"I've got a strong family," maintained Lynne, "and everything is going to be fine."

Britney, 25, however, doesn't seem to share her optimism.

"I'm praying for her right now," she saccharinely told a crush of shutterbugs on Sunday outside a Los Angeles sushi joint, before adding a pot-and-kettle-tinged potshot, "I hope she gets all the help she needs."

When asked about the chances of patching up the rift, Spears sing-songed, "In time, who knows what will happen?"

And while a hopeful Lynne has extended an invitation to her spiraling daughter to join the family in her hometown of Kentwood, La., for a Fourth of July celebration, it's likely she'll be a no-show.

"I don't know," Brit said of the possibility of returning home. "I like it here."

So just what prompted the T&A-flashing, umbrella-wielding, wonky weave-sporting fashion victim, who is facing mounting speculation that she's on the brink of another meltdown, to sever ties with the woman she once called her "role model"?

According to TMZ, Spears "feels totally betrayed" by Lynne, her almost-ex-husband Kevin Federline and fired manager Larry Rudolph (anyone see a wedge-driving pattern here?), whom she believes "railroaded" her into the swanky Promises treatment center in February.

Seems her simmering anger over the rehab stint has lately boiled over because she's convinced she never had a drug or alcohol problem (this, despite pre-check-in reports alleging she partied to the point of puking and passing out) and was instead dealing with "emotional problems" after the birth of Jayden. (TMZ says she recently called Promises and demanded her test results, which were supposedly clean.)

"I think Britney is angry that her family got involved in getting her into rehab," a source tells People, with another reiterating to Us, "She felt betrayed by her mom after she linked up with Kevin. Lynne just handed the kids over to Kevin -- and he got all the power."

Her suspicion over where her mother's loyalties lie apparently led to her ill-considered decision to hand-deliver the alleged warning to her on Thursday in full view of the press.

The New York Post reports Spears, after learning from the shutterbugs stationed outside her Beverly Hills, Calif.,  estate that she could find her mom with her still fresh-faced sister Jamie Lynn, 16, on the Valencia, Calif.,  set of "Zoey 101," loaded up her sons and, with bodyguards and photographers in tow, made the hour-long drive out to see her.

Upon arrival, Britney made a beeline for her mother, who was standing on the steps of a trailer. Amid that oh-so-appropriate milieu and with cameras rolling, she thrust the letter at Lynne, who sat down and perused the contents as her classy offspring picked a wedgie out of her indecent-exposure-inciting denim short-shorts.

Spears then jiggled her way back to her Mercedes and her sons, a seeming look of satisfaction on her face.

Too bad she failed to realize she could have made her point far better if she'd simply stuck a stamp on the missive and instead spent the day bonding with her babies, who will one day know they were dragged along on their mom's mission to alienate their grandma.

Another apparent downside to the trek: Sean and Jayden's mommy-and-me time may have taught them how to litter. A photographer for Splash News claims that on the drive home, "Britney kept throwing sandwich crusts and wrappers out of the window of her car. It was all very odd."

Britney's fury toward Lynne is quite a change from three years ago, when she gushed in a Letter of Truth that she "was and still is a Supermom."

Now, Mama Spears "is brokenhearted" and "has cried her heart out over the trouble between her and Britney," an insider tells People. "She wants her baby to be OK and to bring her grandkids home to Kentwood and raise them in a normal environment."

If by "normal" she means nightclub-free, that might not sit too well with her id-fueled daughter, who, despite her continued tussle with K-Fed over custody issues, appears unwilling to sacrifice any of her fun-time by prudently nesting with her tykes.

On Friday, she hit hot spot Les Deux, while a week earlier People spied her downing "rum-based" cocktails at a Los Angeles eatery.

X17.com, meanwhile, claims she's become "very good friends" with a moneyed mystery man, whom she's been "spending a lot of time hanging out with..."

And while Spears has kvetched loudly about taking back "control of my life" from those who were threatened when she began "to use my brain for a change," as she wrote in her May Letter of Truth, her new pal is supposedly steering some of her recent "business decisions."

For now, it remains unclear whether any of Brit's behavior will serve as legal fodder for Federline, who is reportedly holding off on signing the divorce papers.

" ... Kevin and his lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan are dragging their heels out of concern over reports of Britney's post-rehab partying," a mole tells People, adding that Federline, who has kept an admirably low profile in the wake of the split, "wants to make sure that the divorce document makes it simple enough for [him] to downsize Britney's access to her kids the next time her behavior troubles him."

Next: Nick & Vanessa's X-Rated Romp?