Chapter 8: The Woman Who Switched Sides
Diane made a call from our kitchen at seven thirty that evening.
I didn't know who she was calling.
She stepped into the hallway and kept her voice low.
When she came back, she set her phone face-down on the table.
"The mortgage servicer," she said.
"It's a private company registered eighteen months ago.
I had a colleague run the registration." She paused.
"Linda is listed as a director."
Daniel put both hands flat on the table.
"She has a financial interest in our mortgage," I said.
"A small one.
But yes.
If you default, or if the property transfers, she benefits." Diane sat down.
"This is no longer just a family dispute.
This is coordinated financial fraud."
"And Margaret?" Daniel asked.
"I think Margaret found out something Linda didn't want her to know." Diane looked at my phone on the table.
"Those messages she's been sending you — she's not threatening you.
She's giving you ammunition."
"Why would she do that?"
"Because Linda lied to her too, would be my guess." Diane folded her hands.
"Margaret may have believed she was helping a friend navigate a genuinely broken marriage.
At some point she found out the marriage wasn't broken.
That Linda had manufactured the whole thing.
And that she — Margaret — had put her name on a fraudulent document."
"She's trying to get ahead of it," I said.
"She's trying to not go down with Linda." Diane looked at me steadily.
"I'd like your permission to make contact with her."
Daniel looked at me.
I looked at Diane.
"Will it help?" I asked.
"If she's willing to provide a statement, yes.
Significantly."
"Do it," Daniel said.
Diane reached Margaret Holt by phone at eight fifteen.
I sat across from Diane and listened to one side of the conversation.
"Ms.
Holt, my name is Diane Marsh.
I represent Daniel and Sarah…"
A pause.
"Yes, she told them about you…"
A longer pause.
"I understand.
I'm not calling to threaten you…"
The longest pause yet.
"That would be very helpful.
Yes.
Can you send those directly to my office email?…"
Diane wrote something on her notepad and turned it toward me.
*She has everything.
Emails, voice messages, the original plan in writing.
Linda told her Daniel was separated and that Sarah had abandoned the family.
She found out two weeks ago that none of it was true.
She's been trying to figure out what to do.*
I read it twice.
Daniel read it over my shoulder.
Diane finished the call.
She set her phone down.
"She'll provide a full written statement," she said.
"She'll hand over every communication Linda sent her going back fourteen months.
She'll also confirm that Linda approached her daughter directly and told her Daniel would be available within the year."
The room was quiet.
"She feels used," Diane said.
"And she's frightened.
She signed that deed amendment as a witness.
She didn't know what it was.
Linda told her it was a routine estate document."
"Linda told Daniel the same thing," I said.
"Yes." Diane looked at her notes.
"Two people signed a fraudulent document because they trusted Linda.
One of them is her son.
The other is now a witness for your case."
Daniel stood up and walked to the window.
He stood there with his back to us for a moment.
"She planned all of this," he said.
"For two years.
She built it piece by piece."
"Yes."
He turned around.
His face was composed, but his eyes were very tired.
"What happens to her now?"
Diane set her pen down.
"With Margaret's statement, the deed amendment evidence, the letter Paul kept, the tablet photos, and the recorded call from tonight — the fraud case is strong.
The mortgage company directorship adds a financial crime dimension.
The Crown Prosecution Service will make the final call, but my assessment is that Linda will be charged."
Chloe appeared in the doorway.
She was in her pyjamas, holding a stuffed rabbit by one ear.
"Is it finished?" she asked.
I opened my arms.
She crossed the room and climbed into my lap.
"Not yet," I said.
"But it's going to be."
She leaned her head against my shoulder.
May you like
"Good," she said.
And closed her eyes.
