Chapter 10 - THE FATHER WHO MADE HIS SON A WEAPON
Julien didn't speak for almost a minute.
Antoine Girard remained on the telephone, waiting.
Finally, Julien whispered:
“That's impossible.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don't.”
His voice rose.
“Victor was my mentor. He helped me after my father died.”
Antoine answered quietly.
“He helped you because he needed your loyalty.”
Julien stood.
“You're lying.”
“I have documents.”
“Documents can be forged.”
“Yes,” Antoine said. “They can. That's why the originals have been submitted for independent verification.”
Julien closed his eyes.
His entire adult life had been built around a story.
His father was innocent.
Armand Delcourt destroyed him.
The Delcourts deserved punishment.
Victor Lemaire was the only powerful man willing to help.
Now the foundation of that story was collapsing.
“What about my mother?” Julien asked.
“Isabelle knew.”
Julien felt sick.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“That's a question only she can answer.”
Isabelle Mercier was still alive.
She lived in a quiet coastal town in Brittany.
Julien visited her twice a year.
Their relationship had become strained after Étienne's death.
She disliked Victor.
She warned Julien not to trust him.
But Julien had dismissed her concerns as bitterness.
Now he understood why she had looked so frightened whenever Victor's name came up.
He ended the call.
Then he booked the first available train to Brittany.
When he arrived at his mother's house that evening, Isabelle was watering plants on the terrace.
She looked surprised.
“Julien?”
He stood at the gate.
His face was pale.
“Mom, we need to talk.”
She set down the watering can.
Something in his expression frightened her.
“What happened?”
He walked toward her.
“Is Victor Lemaire my biological father?”
The watering can slipped from her hand.
Water spilled across the stone terrace.
Isabelle covered her mouth.
And Julien knew.
He stepped backward.
“Oh, God.”
“Julien—”
“You knew?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Yes.”
He turned away.
“All these years?”
“Yes.”
He laughed bitterly.
“Everyone knew except me.”
“Not everyone.”
“Victor knew.”
Isabelle nodded.
“And Madeleine Delcourt knew.”
“Yes.”
Julien stared at her.
“Did Dad know?”
Isabelle began crying.
“Étienne knew.”
Julien felt his knees weaken.
“He knew?”
“Yes.”
“And he raised me anyway?”
Isabelle nodded.
“He loved you more than anything.”
Julien sat heavily on the terrace steps.
For years, he had believed Étienne's greatest tragedy was losing his reputation.
Now he understood that Étienne had also lived with the knowledge that his son was biologically another man's child.
And he had loved Julien without hesitation.
Isabelle sat beside him.
“Your father wasn't perfect,” she said softly. “Neither was I. But he never once treated you as anything less than his son.”
Julien covered his face.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Étienne asked me not to let Victor interfere in your childhood.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor wanted control over everything.”
Julien looked up.
“Did Victor frame Dad?”
Isabelle closed her eyes.
“I believe he did.”
Julien stared at her.
“And you let me spend years blaming Armand?”
“I tried to tell you that the Delcourts weren't responsible.”
“You never told me the truth!”
“I was afraid Victor would hurt you.”
Julien stood.
“He already did.”
Isabelle began crying.
“I know.”
For several seconds, Julien wanted to shout.
To blame her.
To demand explanations for every lost year.
But then he looked at his mother.
She was seventy-one.
Her hands trembled.
Her face carried the exhaustion of decades spent protecting a secret.
He realized that she, too, had been trapped by Victor's manipulation.
That didn't erase her choices.
But it made them more complicated.
Julien sat beside her again.
“Tell me everything.”
And Isabelle did.
She described her brief affair with Victor.
Her decision to remain with Étienne.
Victor's growing obsession.
The financial scandal.
The threats.
And Madeleine's attempts to expose the truth.
When she finished, Julien sat in silence.
Then he asked:
“Did Madeleine ever try to contact me?”
Isabelle nodded.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Seven years ago.”
Julien remembered the meeting.
Madeleine had confronted him in Victor's office.
She had told him his understanding of the Mercier case was incomplete.
He had accused her of protecting Armand.
He had refused to listen.
Now shame washed over him.
“She was trying to help me,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
Julien closed his eyes.
“And I hated her.”
Isabelle placed a hand over his.
“Hatred is easy when someone gives you a story that explains your pain.”
He looked at her.
“What do I do now?”
She answered gently.
“You tell the truth.”
The next morning, Julien contacted Sofia Bennett.
He offered to provide every document Victor had given him.
He agreed to cooperate with investigators.
He acknowledged his role in the attempted transfer of Camille's shares.
And he made no request for forgiveness.
When Sofia asked why he had changed his mind, Julien answered:
“Because my father taught me that a man's word matters more than money.”
Sofia was silent.
Then she asked:
“Which father?”
Julien closed his eyes.
“Étienne Mercier.”
That afternoon, investigators reviewed Julien's documents.
One file immediately attracted attention.
It was a draft acquisition agreement between Northbridge Capital and a company called Meridian Strategic Partners.
The agreement contemplated the purchase of Asterion Systems after a potential financial default.
But the date was troubling.
It had been drafted almost a year before Julien proposed marriage.
The plan had been developing far longer than Camille realized.
Sofia called her immediately.
“Camille, we found something.”
She explained the agreement.
Camille listened carefully.
Then asked:
“Who owns Meridian Strategic Partners?”
Sofia hesitated.
“That's the problem.”
“What problem?”
“The ownership records point to a nominee structure.”
“Can Evelyn trace it?”
“She already has.”
Camille felt her pulse quicken.
“And?”
May you like
Sofia took a breath.
“The ultimate beneficiary appears to be someone inside your own board of directors.”
