Chapter 9: Ask Diane
Patrick called at seven forty-five the next morning.
"The message you forwarded," he said.
"It came from a number registered to a pay-as-you-go SIM purchased in central London six weeks ago."
"Callum."
"Almost certainly.
It's a pressure tactic — introduce doubt about your witness before you can use her." He paused.
"I called Diane last night, with your permission assumed.
I hope that's acceptable."
"It is.
What did she say?"
"She told me everything, including the parts she hadn't told you." A brief pause.
"When she left Rebecca's employment, she took digital copies of documents she had created or handled in her professional capacity.
Technically, that's a grey area — she created them, but on Rebecca's behalf.
Rebecca could argue they're proprietary."
"Can that be used against Diane?"
"Rebecca's solicitor could try.
But here's the problem for them — the moment they challenge Diane's possession of those documents, they implicitly confirm the documents are real.
They can't simultaneously claim the documents are fabricated and stolen." He let that settle.
"Diane knew this.
She's not naive.
She took the copies precisely because she understood they'd be difficult to discredit without self-incrimination."
"She planned this carefully."
"She planned it the way someone plans something when they're frightened and doing it anyway." A pause.
"I think she's telling the truth about her reasons.
The message last night was meant to make you doubt her before you thought it through."
I poured coffee.
Outside, Emily was in the garden in her coat, crouching over something near the fence — an insect, probably, or a stone she found interesting.
"What's the next step?" I asked.
"I've drafted a formal letter to Rebecca's solicitor advising them that we are in possession of documentation relating to a coordinated plan to deceive and that any attempt to initiate family court proceedings will be met with a full counter-filing." He paused.
"I've also forwarded the financial emails to a colleague who specializes in civil fraud.
He'll advise by end of week."
"And Callum?"
"Callum is the more exposed party, legally.
Rebecca can claim she was advised badly and acted in good faith — it's not a strong defense, but it's a defense.
Callum has his name on emails that describe a child as a complication to be removed as part of a financial strategy.
That's considerably harder to walk back."
Emily stood up from whatever she'd been examining and looked back toward the house.
She waved when she saw me through the window.
I raised my hand.
"Patrick," I said.
"Is there anything Rebecca can do to Emily now?
Any legal move she can make before we file?"
"Not without a formal relationship to the child, which she doesn't have.
She has no standing." A pause.
"Emily is safe.
That's the first thing I checked."
I watched my daughter crouch back down over her discovery in the grass.
"Thank you," I said.
"I'll call you when the letter goes out," Patrick said.
"Probably this afternoon."
I ended the call and went outside.
Emily looked up.
She was holding a small snail on the tip of her finger, watching it extend slowly toward the light.
"Look," she said.
"I see it."
"It's not scared."
"No," I said.
"It's not."
She set it carefully back on the stone wall and watched it move away.
"Daddy," she said, not looking up.
"Is Rebecca going to try to take me again?"
I sat down on the cold step beside her.
"No," I said.
"She's not."
Emily nodded slowly, as if filing this information away.
"Good," she said.
Then: "Can we have pancakes?"
"Yes," I said.
"We can have pancakes."
But when I went back inside, there was an email from Patrick already waiting.
*Rebecca's solicitor responded within the hour.
May you like
They're not backing down.
They're filing.*
