Chapter 8: What Clare Said They Should Do
"We don't go to Graham first," Clare said.
"We go to the Law Society."
Naomi was quiet for a moment.
"Holloway."
"Holloway.
The prior complaint against him was never formally investigated — Renata's solicitor sent the letter, Holloway's firm didn't respond, and Renata didn't have the resources to push it further at the time.
But a second complainant, with documentation showing the same method used against a different mother, is a different matter entirely." Clare paused.
"A formal complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, supported by both cases, is not something that gets quietly filed away."
"What does that do to the custody application?"
"The moment Holloway is under formal investigation for professional misconduct, any application he has filed or is preparing to file becomes compromised.
A family court judge will not look favorably on proceedings initiated by a solicitor whose conduct is under active review." Clare's voice was precise.
"We also apply for an emergency hearing to have the existing application set aside on the grounds that it was built on fabricated evidence.
With Eleanor's recording and the text messages, I believe we have sufficient grounds."
"And Vanessa?"
"Vanessa is a harder question.
She hasn't filed anything herself — she's been operating through Graham's name and Holloway's office.
But the recording establishes her as the directing mind behind the application.
If the court finds the application was made in bad faith, using fabricated evidence, there are consequences for everyone involved in its preparation." Clare paused again.
"Including the person who instructed it."
Naomi stood at her kitchen window.
The street outside was quiet and dark.
"Graham called me this afternoon," she said.
"He wants to meet again."
"What did you tell him?"
"That I'd call him back."
"Meet him," Clare said.
"But don't tell him about the SRA complaint yet.
Let him come to you.
If he's genuinely trying to make this right, he'll say so without needing to know what you're holding.
And if he's still protecting her—" A brief pause.
"Then you'll know that too."
Naomi met Graham the next morning at a coffee shop near his office.
He was already there when she arrived, both hands around a cup he hadn't drunk from.
He looked like a man who hadn't slept.
"I listened to the recording again," he said, before she sat down.
"Three times."
"And?"
"And I called Holloway this morning and told him to cease all work on the application immediately." He looked up.
"He pushed back.
He said the application was at a critical stage and that withdrawing now would look like an admission.
I told him I didn't care how it looked."
Naomi sat down.
"He's going to go to Vanessa," she said.
"He already has.
She called me twenty minutes after I spoke to him." Graham set down the cup.
"She told me you'd been manipulating my mother.
That the recording was taken out of context.
That you're trying to destroy our marriage because you can't accept that I've moved on."
"What did you say?"
He was quiet for a moment.
"I said I needed some space to think." He looked at her directly.
"Which she took very badly."
"Graham—"
"I know." His voice was tired.
Not angry.
Just tired in the way of someone who has been wrong for a long time and is only now letting himself know it.
"I know what I've let happen.
I know what I've been told and what I chose to believe because it was easier than looking at what was in front of me." He stopped.
"I'm sorry, Naomi.
For the pickups.
For the calls.
For letting her—" He stopped again.
"Maisie was waiting by the window."
The coffee shop was busy around them.
Nobody was paying attention.
"She wasn't the only one," Naomi said quietly.
"There was a woman before me.
Named Renata.
She has a daughter named Cora.
Vanessa did the same thing to them.
Same method.
Same lawyer."
Graham's face went very still.
"How long ago?"
"Three years before your wedding."
He picked up his coffee cup.
Put it down without drinking.
"She told me Renata was unstable," he said.
"That Patrick had barely escaped a very difficult situation." His jaw tightened.
"I remember her saying that."
"I know."
He looked at the table for a long moment.
May you like
Then he looked up.
"What do you need me to do?"
