‘Grace, I came here to reach an arrangement with you, as we are both after the same thing. It’s very simple. I want custody of my daughter and you have to pay for her support. You can give me that and cooperate, or I could force you into bankrupting your mother to pay your legal fees and compromise your job. I always plan every detail, you know that. That’s my insurance policy.’ He gave a thin smile and seemed to relax as he changed tack. ‘You know, two can play the game you’re playing. Stuff can get out there on the internet – lots of stuff – very, very cleverly photoshopped.’

‘Like what, Lawrence? I’ve never done anything to be ashamed of.’

‘These guys are good. You’d have to work really hard to convince the world it’s not really you.’

She hesitated but straightened up. ‘You’d try that hard?’

It was a stand-off for a second or two. Then out of the blue something came back to Grace. Whenever they’d watched a quiz show on TV, Lawrence had always tried to answer the questions, to show off what he knew whenever he could. If they were going to meet anyone with a high-profile job, Lawrence would swot like crazy about them and their field so he could challenge and debate them to show them how smart he was. Even at a friendly dinner party he always had to come out on top. It was a weakness of his, and she aimed straight for it now.

‘I don’t have to convince anyone of anything, I’ve earned my stripes,’ she said smoothly, adding, ‘I don’t have to get honours degrees forged and a whole fake academic career mocked up so I can hang fraudulent certificates on the wall.’ Grace had no idea if he’d done this, but she now recalled glimpsing framed certificates of some kind on her last visit to his office that she’d never seen before.

This time Lawrence didn’t bother to hide the grimace that crossed his face. ‘Rubbish. What bullshit. I can destroy you and your fragile reputation.’

‘Well, go ahead and test me then.’ She folded her arms. ‘Nobody who knows me well would ever believe anything you say or do, especially if I let them know that’s what you’re planning. And you don’t have to resort to gutter language.’

Grace knew his mind must be spinning as he looked for another bluff or threat, so she ploughed on before he could settle on one.