Britney Spears apparently has no intention of letting her parents infringe on her newfound freedom. On the other hand, her parents maintain that they're "trying to avert a tragedy."
Just hours after her surprise release from UCLA Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon, the troubled songstress, with boyfriend Adnan Ghalib back in the picture, made a stop at the Century City offices of Loeb & Loeb, where Adam Streisand, the attorney Britney has been attempting to hire, practices.
Sources tell E! News Spears and Ghalib arrived shortly before 6 p.m., after spending about two hours at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and then left soon after 7 p.m., somehow without being photographed or followed.
Even the paparazzi were impressed.
Later the couple were rumored to be back at the hotel, along with Jamie Spears. A source close to Britney's dad, who on Friday was named temporary conservator of her welfare and finances, says Jamie planned to remind Britney of the court order and tell Ghalib "he better be paying for the room." Other reports, however, placed the foursome including mom Lynne back at Britney's Summit home.
A family insider said Britney's parents, who objected to her early release, are very concerned about their firstborn's welfare.
And apparently they want everyone to know they feel Britney is in no shape to be gallivanting about.
"As parents of an adult child in the throes of a mental health crisis, we were extremely disappointed this morning to learn that over the recommendation of her treating psychiatrist, our daughter Britney was released from the hospital that could best care for her and keep her safe," Lynne and Jamie Spears said in a joint statement to E! News.
"We are deeply concerned about our daughter's safety and vulnerability, and we believe her life is presently at risk. There are conservatorship orders in place created to protect our daughter that are being blatantly disregarded.
"We ask only that the court's orders be enforced so that a tragedy may be averted."
A family insider told E! News the statement was issued because "when you are under conservatorship, anyone who allows or encourages Britney to purchase anything, secure anything or make legal or financial decisions without court approval is violating a court order. This would include Adnan. So, it was public notice to everybody in America."
Another source close to Britney told E! News Wednesday that the "Gimme More" songbird's biggest issue right now is that she does not trust her father, Jamie.
After being retained over the weekend, Streisand appeared Monday at a hearing to argue against extending the conservatorship, but he was effectively ordered out of the courtroom after Jamie's legal camp successfully argued that Britney wasn't fit to hire her own counsel.
It is suspected that Britney met with Streisand this evening to orchestrate a game plan to strip her father of his interim guardian duties.
If she is in fact planning to challenge the conservatorship, she would need to file a petition to dissolve the arrangement, in which she would have to state why she doesn't need a conservator, Santa Monica attorney Steve Cron told E! News Wednesday. A judge could then either deny the request or set a hearing so Britney's team could present evidence in her favor.
The conservatorship would stay in effect until that takes place.
"The judge is not going to do anything rash," Cron said. "He is going to want to hear from both sides and have a hearing and then make a decision."
Another issue perhaps plaguing Britney is the temporary restraining order issued Friday against confidant Sam Lutfi, who helped arrange her hospitalization.
Lynne Spears has accused the manager of drugging Britney, hiding her cell phone and engaging in various other devious activities meant to emotionally and mentally manipulate her.
Lutfi, who admitted earlier this week to providing Britney with pills the night before she was hospitalized to soften the edge of her mood swings, has denied Mama Spears' more lurid allegations, telling E! News simply, "It's not true."
Cron said Lutfi could face charges in connection with the alleged pill pushing under the California Health and Safety Code.
"There are laws against that," the attorney said. "If it is done without her knowledge, and by someone who is not a medical practitioner, it is illegal. The fact that they are prescribed to her could mitigate the punishment. He has no legal right to decide what to give her or how much."
Lutfi has apparently been lying low since Britney's release this afternoon, reportedly in part because, up until now, he has been able to avoid being served with the papers detailing the court's order against him.
Meanwhile, Britney's other constant companions—the ones with flashbulbs—are pretty miffed at having missed her for the second time today.
Earlier, Britney managed to slip past the media hordes that have been camped outside UCLA Medical Center for the past week, although she couldn't shake the mob for long.
After stopping briefly at her home, where she hadn't been since being committed to the hospital in the wee hours of Jan. 31, the "Toxic" songstress was driven in her new black Mercedes by paparazzo pal Felipe over to the Beverly Hills Hotel, where she met up with Ghalib.
This time around, news helicopters joined the earthbound shutterbugs in reporting on what her next move would be, further heightening the frenzy factor surrounding the Grammy winner's homecoming.
Britney remained at the Pink Palace for about two hours, at one point exchanging pleasantries with California First Lady Maria Shriver in the lobby, before heading back out with Ghalib behind the wheel.
(Originally published Feb. 6, 2008 at 7:56 p.m. PT)
—Additional reporting by Ken Baker, Jeanifer Hwang and Ryan Seacrest