Chapter 10 - THE WITNESS WHO CAME FROM THE DARK
“IF YOU KNOW WHO KILLED MY MOTHER, TELL ME NOW.”
Léa stood near the apartment door, her phone in her hand.
Anaïs looked exhausted. Her coat was damp from the rain, and a small cut marked her forehead.
“I will,” she whispered. “But first, you need to understand why I came here.”
Léa did not lower her phone.
“You broke into my apartment.”
“I know. I'm sorry.”
“You destroyed my mother's drawer.”
“I was looking for something.”
“What?”
Anaïs reached into her coat and removed a small memory card.
“Evidence.”
Léa stared at it.
“Evidence of what?”
“The night Elise Martin died.”
For a moment, the apartment seemed to lose all sound.
Anaïs explained that she had worked as a junior administrative assistant for Catherine's foundation in 2019.
Her responsibilities included arranging appointments, processing invoices, and coordinating security contractors for properties owned by the foundation.
Three weeks before Elise's death, Anaïs had been instructed to arrange a private meeting at the apartment on Rue des Martyrs.
The meeting involved Catherine, Henri Beaumont, Marianne Voss, and Elise Martin.
Léa gripped her phone.
“Why were they meeting?”
“Because Elise had discovered that her daughter Juliette was alive.”
Anaïs looked down.
“She had obtained copies of hospital records. She wanted Catherine to admit what happened and help reunite the girls.”
Léa's eyes filled with tears.
“What did Catherine say?”
“She refused.”
Anaïs continued.
“Elise threatened to take the evidence to the police. She said she didn't care what happened to the Delcourt name anymore.”
Léa closed her eyes.
She could hear her mother's voice.
Quiet but determined.
Elise had never been a woman who shouted to win an argument.
She simply refused to abandon what she believed was right.
“What happened that night?”
Anaïs hesitated.
“I wasn't inside the apartment. I was downstairs, working with the security contractor. But I heard shouting through the service intercom.”
“Who was shouting?”
“Catherine and Elise.”
“And then?”
“A crash.”
Léa felt sick.
Anaïs looked directly at her.
“Marianne came running downstairs. She was crying. She told me to call an ambulance.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Were you the anonymous caller?”
Anaïs nodded.
“I used a prepaid phone because Henri told me that if my name appeared in the report, I'd be accused of stealing foundation funds.”
Léa stared at her.
“My mother was dying, and you were worried about your job?”
Anaïs began to cry.
“I was twenty-three. I was frightened. I made the worst decision of my life.”
Léa turned away.
She wanted to hate the woman.
But the more she learned, the more she understood how fear had allowed one powerful family to silence ordinary people.
Anaïs continued.
“Marianne went back upstairs. A few minutes later, I heard another crash. When I reached the landing, she was unconscious beside the stairs.”
Léa looked at her.
“Someone attacked Marianne too?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Anaïs shook her head.
“I didn't see.”
“Then how do you know who killed my mother?”
“Because I heard a voice.”
Léa stepped closer.
“Whose voice?”
Anaïs swallowed.
“Henri Beaumont.”
She described hearing him shout:
“You should have let the woman leave when she had the chance.”
Léa felt cold.
“What did Catherine say?”
Anaïs hesitated.
“She said, ‘I never told you to kill her.’”
The words hung between them.
Léa struggled to breathe.
Her mother had not slipped.
She had gone to a meeting hoping to recover her stolen daughter.
And she had never returned.
Anaïs handed Léa the memory card.
“The building had an independent backup camera. Henri thought he had destroyed the recording, but the contractor copied part of it before the system was wiped.”
“Why didn't you go to the police?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Six months ago. I sent an anonymous message to a journalist. Two days later, someone broke into my apartment.”
Léa glanced at the cut on her forehead.
“Who hurt you?”
“I don't know. But they warned me to stop asking questions.”
Léa took a deep breath.
“Then we go to Victor. Right now.”
Anaïs nodded.
But before they could leave, Léa's phone rang.
It was Camille.
Léa answered immediately.
“Camille?”
Her sister's voice was trembling.
“Léa, where are you?”
“At home. Why?”
“Don't go outside.”
Léa froze.
“What happened?”
Camille began crying.
“Henri Beaumont was found dead in his office.”
Anaïs staggered backward.
Léa gripped the phone.
“Dead?”
“Yes. The police think someone attacked him.”
Léa looked toward the memory card.
Then Camille whispered:
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“They found a photograph beside his body.”
Léa closed her eyes.
“Of whom?”
May you like
Camille's voice broke.
“YOU, LÉA. WITH THE WORD ‘NEXT’ WRITTEN ACROSS YOUR FACE.”
