Chapter 7: The Last Move Linda Made
Diane filed the injunction that afternoon.
By five o'clock, the attempted title transfer was frozen.
By six, Diane had sent a formal letter to Linda's address notifying her that legal proceedings had been initiated and that she should retain her own counsel.
Daniel's phone rang at six forty-three.
He put it on speaker without hesitating.
"You went to a solicitor." Linda's voice was controlled.
Barely.
"Yes," Daniel said.
"That was a mistake."
"Mom—"
"I still have options, Daniel.
Margaret has the account statements.
Two years of them.
And she has a contact at the county assessor's office who can delay any injunction filing for up to thirty days.
Thirty days is enough time to complete the transfer."
I looked at Diane, who had come back to the house with us.
She was already writing on her notepad.
"You're telling me this because you want me to stop," Daniel said.
"I'm telling you this because I want you to think." Linda's voice softened.
Precisely.
Deliberately.
"Everything I did was to protect you.
That woman has never been right for you.
I have watched her pull you away from your family for eight years and I have said nothing—"
"You said nothing and then you forged evidence."
"I gave you a reason to make the choice you should have made years ago."
"I didn't want to make that choice."
"You didn't know you did."
Daniel looked at me across the table.
His jaw was tight.
"Linda." Diane spoke for the first time.
"This is Diane Marsh.
I'm representing Daniel and Sarah.
I need to advise you that this call is being recorded and that anything you say may be used in the proceedings.
I also want to advise you that the contact at the county assessor's office you just mentioned — if that person is used to interfere with a filed injunction, that is obstruction.
For both of you."
Silence.
"Furthermore," Diane continued, "the document Daniel signed in March has been identified as a fraudulently misdescribed deed amendment.
Your co-signature on that document makes you a named party to the fraud.
The account statements Margaret Holt holds, if used in any legal action, will require her to disclose how she obtained them.
If they were obtained without authorisation, that is a separate offence."
More silence.
"I would strongly suggest," Diane said, "that you speak to a solicitor before you make any further calls tonight."
Linda's voice came back quieter.
Stripped of the warmth.
"You have no idea what I'm capable of."
"I think we're getting a clearer picture," Diane said.
The call ended.
Chloe was at the top of the stairs.
She had heard everything.
She looked down at her father.
"Is Grandma going to jail?" she asked.
Daniel looked at Diane.
"That depends on what she does next," Diane said honestly.
Chloe thought about this.
"She'll do something bad," she said.
"She always does something bad when she's losing."
She went back to her room and closed the door quietly.
Diane looked at her notepad.
"Smart kid."
"She's been watching this longer than any of us," I said.
My phone buzzed.
Margaret Holt's name didn't appear — it was the same unknown number as before.
The message read: *Tell your solicitor to check who owns the company that services your mortgage.*
I showed it to Diane.
She read it twice.
May you like
Then she looked up at me with an expression I hadn't seen from her yet.
"I think," she said carefully, "that Margaret Holt may not be entirely on Linda's side anymore."
