Chapter 10: What the Solicitor Found
Helen called the next morning at half past nine.
"Diane's solicitor has confirmed that a DNA test was commissioned," she said.
"However, it was never completed.
The instruction was issued but the sample was never obtained."
"She couldn't get a sample without access to Evan," I said.
"Correct.
Which is likely why she needed to maintain family contact.
The test was a contingency.
If she could get close enough to the child, she intended to use it."
I sat down at the kitchen table.
"So she never had proof.
She was sending those emails without any proof."
"She was sending them based on suspicion and hoping to manufacture evidence later," Helen said.
"Which actually strengthens the defamation angle considerably.
She made specific factual claims about your son's parentage to multiple people, with no evidence to support them."
"What happens now?"
"I've sent a formal letter to her solicitor this morning.
It outlines the defamatory statements, the coercive use of the recording, the unauthorized attempt to commission a DNA test on a minor, and the attempted property claim.
We've requested a full written retraction to be sent to every individual who received the original emails.
We've also requested that the recording be permanently deleted and that no further contact be made with you, Marcus, or Evan."
"And if she refuses?"
"Then we proceed.
But I suspect she won't refuse.
Her solicitor called me back within forty minutes of receiving my letter.
That's not the response of someone who thinks they're on solid ground."
I looked out the window.
Evan was at the table behind me, eating toast and drawing a dog that looked more like a cloud.
"There's one more thing," Helen said.
"Ruth has offered to provide a formal witness statement.
She's willing to confirm the content of the emails, the conversations she had with Diane, and the circumstances under which she obtained the documents.
That's significant.
A family member testifying to a pattern of behavior carries weight."
"Ruth has been carrying this for eight months," I said.
"She said she's glad to finally put it down somewhere useful."
I thanked Helen and ended the call.
Marcus was in the doorway.
He had heard most of it.
"Her solicitor called back in forty minutes," he said.
"Yes."
He nodded slowly.
"She's scared."
"She should be."
Evan looked up from his drawing.
"Dad, does this look like a dog?"
Marcus crossed the room and crouched beside him.
He studied the drawing seriously.
"It looks like a very fast dog," he said.
"Like it's running."
Evan considered this.
"Yeah," he said, satisfied.
"He's running away from a monster."
Marcus looked at me over Evan's head.
I looked back.
Neither of us said anything.
But three days later, Diane's solicitor sent Helen a response.
May you like
She would not be retracting anything.
She was, instead, filing a formal challenge to the estate.
