‘Well, at least ask Beatrice where they are,’ Mel said. ‘You can make it clear that you don’t want to bother them. Information is going to be the best ammunition we have.’

‘Okay. I guess then I’ll have more facts to put to him.’

Tina sat down and stared at the laptops, phones and notepads covering the table. ‘May I ask what you’re planning, exactly?’ she asked quietly.

‘The showdown to end all showdowns,’ said Mel. ‘Grace is going to call Lawrence’s bluff.’

Tina looked shocked. ‘How? You never know with Lawrence . . . he can bluff better than anyone and spout what sounds like ridiculous bulldust only to damn well pull something off.’

‘Or he just gets lucky. You never know with liars, cheats and conmen,’ said Mel.

Grace was reading the email from Mr Judd in which he’d forwarded the details of the mediation date, and tapped her finger thoughtfully on the table. ‘What I can’t work out is why Lawrence is suddenly okay with the idea of a divorce, but desperate to have Daisy and not willing to negotiate about anything else. What’s he up to?’

Mel’s eyes widened ‘What’s more romantic and stable than a loving single father? I bet he’s just going to use Daisy as a prop, so he can present a squeaky clean image to help woo this Alicia!’

Grace sat up straight. ‘Now there’s a thought. Alicia Feng . . . Mr Judd said she’s a businesswoman from an influential family.’

‘She sure is. Listen to this.’ Mel flipped to an internet page on her laptop. ‘To paraphrase this article, the Fengs are old money, highly regarded, and they have been running major businesses in Singapore for generations.’ She read on further to herself then said, ‘Have connections in Malaysia. Recently invested in a tech enterprise in KL and Australia is next in their sights. Seems they want to do something in the Australian education and training sector for students from Singapore. That’s a big part of the student body at my uni,’ Mel said. ‘It’s certainly still a money-spinning growth area.’

‘I’ll bet Lawrence wants some money to splash around and impress Alicia and her family, and a neat divorce so he can tie the knot with her quick smart.’

Mel grinned. ‘We need to leverage this, Grace. The Fengs would want to be squeaky clean. They couldn’t tarnish their reputation by anything Lawrence did or has done in the past, because word would spread among other wealthy families who are considering sending their kids to Australia.’ She sat back and smiled. ‘It can work to your advantage if he wants the divorce to go through smoothly and quietly just as much as you do, Gracie.’

‘But what about the flat?’ Tina sounded worried.