Chapter 7: What the Lawyer Found
Daniel came back the next morning with a colleague — a woman named Patricia who specialized in family law and who carried her briefcase the way people carry things they intend to use.
They sat in the study.
Rosa was upstairs with Thomas.
Vivienne had not come down.
Patricia listened to the recording twice.
She made notes.
She did not react visibly to any of it, which Edward found both professional and slightly unnerving.
"The threat at the end," she said.
"She mentions friends in the city.
People who've known you for years.
Do you know who she means?"
"She has a social circle.
People from the charity boards she sits on.
Some of them are connected — locally, politically."
"Has she used those connections before?
To manage a situation?"
Edward thought about it.
"There was a contractor three years ago.
He made a complaint about non-payment.
It went away.
I assumed he'd been paid.
I didn't ask."
Patricia wrote something down.
"We'll look into that."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Edward, I need to ask you something directly.
The birth certificate — whose name is on it as mother?"
"Vivienne's."
"And Rosa signed documents at the time of the arrangement?"
"Vivienne says so.
Rosa confirms it.
She says she was nineteen, she had no legal advice, and she didn't fully understand what she was giving up."
Patricia set down her pen.
"If that's accurate — a vulnerable young woman, no independent legal counsel, signing away parental rights under pressure — there may be grounds to challenge those documents.
It won't be simple.
It won't be fast.
But it's not a closed door."
"What about Thomas?" Edward asked.
"What happens to him while this is being sorted out?"
"That depends on how Vivienne responds.
If she cooperates with a separation and agrees to supervised contact while the situation is assessed, it can be managed quietly.
If she fights—"
"She'll fight," Edward said.
Patricia nodded as if she'd expected that answer.
"Then we document everything.
Rosa's notebook is a strong start.
The recording helps.
We'll want a pediatric assessment — a doctor who can examine Thomas and note anything relevant.
And we'll want statements from anyone else in the household."
"There's only Rosa."
"Then Rosa's statement needs to be thorough.
And she needs her own legal representation — independent of yours.
Her interests and yours overlap right now, but they're not identical."
Edward looked at Daniel.
"Can you recommend someone?"
"Already have a name," Daniel said.
A sound from upstairs.
Footsteps — adult, deliberate.
Then the creak of the staircase.
All three of them looked at the study door.
Vivienne appeared in the doorway.
She was dressed and composed, her expression set to something that was meant to read as calm authority.
She looked at Patricia.
"I don't believe we've met," she said.
"Patricia Howe." Patricia did not stand.
"I'm representing Edward in a family matter."
Vivienne's eyes moved to Edward.
"You moved fast."
"You told me to think about next steps," he said.
"I did."
Vivienne stepped into the room.
"I'd like to speak with my husband alone."
"That's not going to be possible this morning," Daniel said.
Her jaw tightened.
"Daniel.
You're his brother, not his keeper."
"I'm his solicitor this morning.
Which means anything you'd like to say to him, you can say in front of us, or you can say it through your own representation."
A long pause.
"Fine." She looked at Edward.
"I want to propose something reasonable.
Rosa leaves — with a generous settlement, enough to start over somewhere else.
Thomas stays.
We get proper help, someone neutral, and we go to counseling.
We handle this privately, the way families do."
Patricia spoke before Edward could.
"Mrs.
Hartley, are you aware that your husband recorded your conversation last night?"
The composure cracked — just for a moment, just at the eyes.
"I—" She stopped.
"That's not legal."
"In this jurisdiction, one-party consent applies.
It's entirely legal." Patricia folded her hands.
"I'd encourage you to speak with a solicitor before making any further proposals."
Vivienne looked at Edward one more time.
The calculation behind her eyes was almost visible — running the numbers, measuring the distance between where she stood and where she needed to be.
"You're making a mistake," she said quietly.
"I made the mistake six years ago," Edward said.
"When I trusted you with something I should have been paying attention to myself."
She left the room.
Patricia waited until the sound of her footsteps faded, then looked at Edward.
"She'll have a solicitor by this afternoon," she said.
"Expect contact by end of day.
Don't speak to her again without letting me know first."
Edward nodded.
"One more thing," Patricia said.
"The boy.
Has he said anything to you directly?
In his own words?"
Edward was quiet for a moment.
"Last night, before I put him to bed, I asked him if he was all right.
He said yes.
Then he asked me if Rosa was going to have to go away." Edward paused.
"I told him no.
He said — " He stopped.
Cleared his throat.
"He said good.
Because Rosa is the one who checks on him at night when he has bad dreams.
He said his mother never comes."
Patricia wrote it down.
Outside the study window, a car pulled up to the front of the house.
A woman got out — mid-fifties, sharp coat, the kind of posture that announced itself before the face did.
Daniel stood and looked out the window.
"That's Margaret Voss," he said.
"She's the best family law barrister in the county." He turned to Edward.
"Vivienne called her last night."
May you like
The room shifted.
"Then we need to move faster than I thought," Patricia said, and reached for her phone.
