Chapter 14 - THE BROTHER WHO CHOSE THE TRUTH
“ADRIEN, WHAT DID YOU DO?”
Léa stood across from her older half brother in the Delcourt library.
Camille remained beside her.
Victor had advised them not to confront Adrien privately, but Adrien had requested a formal interview after learning that investigators were examining the messages connected to Henri's death.
Now he sat with his attorney, looking more frightened than Léa had ever seen him.
For the first time, the man who had humiliated her at the birthday party seemed stripped of every advantage his family name had given him.
Adrien looked at Léa.
“I knew your mother was investigating us.”
Léa's stomach tightened.
“How?”
“She contacted me in October 2019.”
The room fell silent.
Adrien continued.
“She told me that Camille was her biological daughter. She said the family had stolen one of her twins.”
Camille covered her mouth.
“You knew before she died?”
Adrien nodded.
“Yes.”
Léa felt anger rising.
“And you did nothing?”
“I didn't believe her.”
“Did you tell Catherine?”
“Yes.”
Camille stepped backward.
Adrien's voice broke.
“I thought she was trying to extort the family. Mother told me Elise was unstable and had been making false accusations for years.”
Léa stared at him.
“So you handed her over to the people she was trying to expose.”
Adrien lowered his head.
“Yes.”
“Did you know Henri was going to meet her?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know he planned to threaten her?”
Adrien hesitated.
“I knew he intended to recover the documents. I didn't know he would hurt her.”
Léa looked away.
She wanted to believe him.
But the truth was becoming painfully familiar.
Everyone in this family had claimed ignorance.
Everyone had chosen convenience.
Everyone had believed that someone else would handle the consequences.
And Elise had died.
Adrien began crying.
“I've lived with this for seven years.”
Léa turned back.
“Then why didn't you tell me when I arrived?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That you would hate me.”
She stared at him.
“You were more afraid of being hated than of letting me spend the rest of my life believing my mother died by accident?”
Adrien closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The admission was devastating.
But it was also the first time he had told her the truth without being forced by evidence.
He reached into his briefcase.
“I have something for you.”
Léa did not move.
Adrien placed a small recording device on the table.
“After Elise contacted me, I began recording conversations with Henri. I wanted proof that he was lying.”
Victor examined the device.
“Why didn't you give this to the police?”
“Because I was ashamed of what it revealed.”
The recording was later transferred to investigators and examined.
It contained a conversation between Adrien and Henri from November 2019.
Henri's voice was unmistakable.
“The woman has become a problem.”
Adrien replied:
“Then give her the information she wants.”
Henri laughed.
“You don't understand how much your grandfather invested in keeping this secret.”
Adrien sounded angry.
“I'm not asking you to hurt her.”
Henri's reply was cold.
“Then stay out of it.”
The recording ended.
Léa stared at Adrien.
“You knew he was dangerous.”
Adrien nodded.
“Yes.”
“And you didn't warn my mother.”
“No.”
Léa felt tears running down her cheeks.
Adrien stood.
“I can't change what I did. But I can stop hiding it.”
He turned toward Victor.
“I'll testify. Against Henri's associates, against Catherine, against anyone involved. I'll provide every record I have.”
Victor nodded.
“That's the right decision.”
Adrien looked at Léa.
“I don't expect you to forgive me.”
She studied him.
“Good. Because I don't know whether I can.”
He lowered his head.
“But I hope someday you'll believe that I'm trying to become someone better.”
Léa did not answer.
She had spent years imagining that discovering her father's family would finally make her feel complete.
Instead, she had found people whose choices had shattered lives.
But she was also beginning to see something she had learned from Elise.
A person was not defined only by the worst thing they had done.
They were also responsible for what they chose to do afterward.
That did not erase consequences.
It did not demand forgiveness.
It simply left room for change.
The following morning, the authorities announced major developments in the investigation.
Catherine was facing charges connected to the unlawful transfer of Juliette, fraudulent records, and the concealment of evidence after Elise's death. The precise charges and her responsibility for the events in 2019 would be determined through the judicial process.
Additional suspects were under investigation for their roles in the hospital deception and financial arrangements.
Adrien had agreed to cooperate.
Raphaël had provided the family archives and accepted an independent examination of the companies involved.
For the first time, the Delcourt empire was being forced to confront its own history.
But Léa was no longer interested in destroying an empire.
She wanted justice for Elise.
And she wanted her sister to have the freedom to decide who she would become.
That afternoon, Camille arrived at Léa's apartment carrying two small suitcases.
Léa opened the door.
“What's all this?”
Camille smiled nervously.
“I moved out of the mansion.”
Léa stared at her.
“Where are you going?”
Camille took a breath.
“I was hoping I could stay here for a while.”
Léa looked at the suitcases.
Then at her sister.
Her apartment was small.
The furniture was old.
The kitchen barely had enough space for two people to cook together.
But for the first time in years, the thought of sharing it made Léa happy.
She stepped aside.
“Come in.”
Camille smiled through her tears.
“Thank you.”
They carried the suitcases inside.
That evening, the sisters cooked dinner together for the first time.
They burned the garlic.
They laughed at their terrible timing.
And when Camille accidentally knocked over a glass of water, Léa heard herself say something Elise used to say.
“Don't worry, sweetheart. It's only water.”
Camille froze.
“What?”
Léa smiled sadly.
“Mom used to say that.”
Camille's eyes filled with tears.
“I wish I could have heard her say it.”
Léa reached for her hand.
“You will.”
Camille looked confused.
“What do you mean?”
Léa opened an old wooden cabinet.
Inside was a box of home videos.
“My mother recorded everything. Birthdays, Christmas mornings, school plays. Even ordinary Sunday afternoons.”
Camille covered her mouth.
Léa picked up a small cassette.
“There's someone I want you to meet.”
She inserted the tape into an old player.
The screen flickered.
Then Elise appeared.
Younger.
Smiling.
Alive.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Hello, my beautiful girl.”
Camille began sobbing.
Léa held her hand.
On the screen, Elise continued.
“If you're watching this someday, I hope you know how much I love you.”
The sisters sat together, crying and smiling.
Then Elise's expression changed.
She glanced toward someone outside the frame.
May you like
And said something neither daughter had expected.
“NOW COME HERE, RAPHAËL. IT'S TIME OUR GIRLS HEARD THE PROMISE YOU MADE BEFORE THEY WERE BORN.”
