‘You know, that’s not so unusual. You’re a working mother. You have to divide up who takes care of what in a partnership. You have your child, your job, and running the house. Sounds normal to me that Lawrence would look after something, and in your case it was the finances and your insurance.’ Mel turned onto the freeway heading into the city. ‘What do you spend your money on?’ she asked. ‘I mean, Mac and I used to divvy up who paid for what. When we divorced, we went fifty-fifty. The only conflict was over books and some pictures. ’Course, we didn’t have kids. God, I don’t know why we bothered getting married.’ She shook her head.

‘I spend what I make on Daisy, the house, food, personal stuff. Lawrence looked after the big things. And our investments,’ she added. ‘Huh. What a joke that’s turned out to be.’

Mel glanced at her. ‘So what’s happening about your Paddo flat?’

‘Mum’s solicitor is dealing with it. It’s been taken off the market for the moment. We’re trying to get a copy of that trust document to see what Lawrence, as the trustee, has set up.’

‘Do you know what else he’s put in the trust?’ asked Melanie.

‘God knows. That’s what we want to find out. It’s all too depressing. Looking back, I can see the red flags that I should have noticed. Don’t people always say you should read the fine print? But I went along with things. I trusted him – of course I did, and I should have been able to! He’s my husband. Plus, he’s older and a big successful businessman, or so I thought.’ Grace shook her head.

‘Yes, the successful businessman who managed to undermine and demean you. I hated watching him treat you the way he did. Like one of his assets. A possession. I should have butted in, but you were a bit defensive about him, Gracie.’

Grace looked away. ‘I know. I guess I didn’t want to admit that I might have made a mistake. On the other hand, he could be very generous. The lavish gifts, the way he kept saying that he liked to spoil me . . .’

‘Did he spoil Daisy too?’

Grace thought for a moment. ‘From when she was born I always paid for the practical things. Clothes, cot, stroller, doctors’ appointments and so on.’ She paused. ‘Last birthday when Daisy turned five, he gave her a diamond charm bracelet. Said he’d add a charm to it every year.’

‘Sell the bloody thing.’

‘No. I don’t want to find out it’s a fake.’ Grace burst out laughing.

Melanie gave her a swift look. ‘What’s so funny?’

Grace sighed heavily. ‘Dunno. I just feel so stupid. It’s nice to have the blinkers off. You’ve stuck by me. But I see now why none of my other friends keep in touch very much. It’s because of Lawrence, isn’t it?’

‘Well, he ain’t much fun. The blokes can’t stand him. Pompous, arrogant, boring. Think about it: once he came into your life, you were out of the loop with your old friends. No one liked spending time with Lawrence, which meant they also spent less time with you. Jeez, he must have had something going for him. Was he any good in bed?’