Chapter 10 - THE BOY WHO REFUSED TO BREAK
Mathéo had been locked inside the clinic for nearly thirty-six hours.
He had food.
Water.
A bed.
A television.
Everything a child supposedly needed.
Except freedom.
Every time he asked to call his mother, someone told him later.
Every time he asked about Uncle Gabriel, someone changed the subject.
And every time Adrien entered the room, Mathéo felt the same cold fear settle in his stomach.
But he had made a decision.
He would not give them the key.
Not until he knew his mother was safe.
He kept it hidden inside the lining of his shoe.
Camille had shown him how to loosen a seam without damaging the outside.
She had also told him something important.
“People who frighten children are not powerful because they're right. They're powerful because they want you to feel alone.”
Mathéo had asked:
“Am I alone?”
Camille had shaken her head.
“No.”
Now, sitting on the bed, he repeated that answer to himself.
No.
He wasn't alone.
His mother was looking for him.
Uncle Gabriel was somewhere nearby.
And even if he couldn't see them, he knew they hadn't stopped loving him.
The door opened.
Adrien entered.
He carried a tablet.
“Your father wants to speak with you.”
Mathéo said nothing.
Adrien placed the tablet on the desk.
Laurent's face appeared.
For a moment, Mathéo felt an instinctive longing.
This was his real father.
The man who had taught him to ride a bicycle.
The man who had taken him skiing.
The man who had once promised that fathers always protected their children.
Then Mathéo remembered the threats.
The photographs.
The courtroom.
And the fear in his mother's eyes.
“Hello, son,” Laurent said.
Mathéo looked down.
“Hi.”
“I hear you've been difficult.”
“I want to go home.”
“You are home.”
“No.”
Laurent's expression tightened.
“Mathéo.”
“I want Mom.”
A silence followed.
Then Laurent sighed.
“Your mother is making this complicated.”
Mathéo looked up.
“She didn't do anything.”
“She has been listening to people who want to hurt our family.”
“Like Uncle Gabriel?”
Laurent went still.
“Who told you about Gabriel?”
Mathéo shrugged.
“I heard people talking.”
“Your uncle was a troubled man.”
“No, he wasn't.”
Laurent's eyes narrowed.
“You don't know him.”
Mathéo lifted his chin.
“I know he loved us.”
For a moment, Laurent said nothing.
Then he leaned closer to the camera.
“Listen carefully. I need the silver key.”
Mathéo's stomach tightened.
“What key?”
“Don't insult my intelligence.”
“I don't have it.”
Laurent stared at him.
“Your mother taught you to lie.”
Mathéo felt tears rise.
But he refused to look away.
“No. You did.”
Adrien moved toward him.
Laurent raised a hand.
“Leave us.”
Adrien hesitated.
“Laurent—”
“Now.”
Adrien stepped outside.
Laurent lowered his voice.
“Mathéo, I'm going to explain something to you.”
The boy remained silent.
“Everything I've done has been for our family.”
“Then why did you scare Mom?”
“Because she wouldn't listen.”
“Why did you make me lie to the judge?”
Laurent's jaw tightened.
“I gave you a better future.”
“You made me hurt her.”
Laurent looked away.
For the first time, Mathéo saw something uncertain in his father's expression.
Not regret.
Not exactly.
Something closer to frustration that the boy had understood too much.
“Your mother doesn't understand how the world works,” Laurent said.
Mathéo swallowed.
“She understands me.”
The words hung between them.
Laurent's face hardened.
“You have until tomorrow to tell Adrien where the key is.”
“And if I don't?”
Laurent leaned closer.
“Then your mother may lose the opportunity to see you again.”
The screen went black.
Mathéo sat motionless.
Then he began to cry.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just quiet tears slipping down his cheeks.
He missed his mother so much that it felt like a physical ache.
He missed her cooking.
Her voice.
The way she tucked the blanket beneath his feet when he fell asleep on the couch.
He missed their tiny apartment.
The old radiator that clicked at night.
The kitchen table where they did homework.
He would have given every luxury apartment in the world just to sit there with her again.
A few minutes later, Camille entered.
She saw his face.
Without asking questions, she sat beside him.
Mathéo leaned against her shoulder.
“I'm scared.”
“I know.”
“What if Mom can't find me?”
Camille gently brushed his hair away from his forehead.
“Then we keep helping her.”
“How?”
Camille glanced toward the door.
Then reached into her pocket.
She withdrew a small folded map.
“There's a service corridor behind the laundry room. It leads to a delivery entrance.”
Mathéo stared at her.
“Can we leave?”
“Not yet. There are guards.”
“Then why show me?”
“Because someone is coming tonight.”
“David?”
Camille shook her head.
“No. David is trying to protect his daughter. He's trapped too.”
“Then who?”
Camille's eyes filled with tears.
“Someone who has waited seven years to meet you again.”
Mathéo's heart began pounding.
“Uncle Gabriel?”
Camille nodded.
“He's alive?”
“Yes.”
“Is he okay?”
“He's hurt, but he's alive.”
Mathéo wiped his eyes.
“Where is he?”
Camille leaned close.
“In the old building behind the clinic.”
The boy stared at her.
“Can I see him?”
“Tonight, if we can get you there safely.”
Mathéo held the folded map.
Then he whispered:
“I have the key.”
Camille nodded.
“I know.”
“But there's something else.”
“What?”
Mathéo reached beneath the mattress.
He withdrew a small notebook.
“I've been writing down everything I hear.”
Camille opened it.
Names.
Times.
Room numbers.
Vehicle descriptions.
The boy had recorded details for days.
Camille stared at him.
“Mathéo…”
He looked frightened.
“Did I do something wrong?”
She shook her head.
“No, sweetheart.”
Her voice trembled.
“You may have done something very important.”
Then footsteps sounded outside.
Camille quickly hid the notebook.
The door opened.
Adrien entered with two men.
His face was furious.
“Where is it?”
Mathéo froze.
Adrien held up a photograph.
It showed the silver key.
“We found the hidden camera footage.”
Camille stood.
“Adrien, stop.”
He ignored her.
He stepped toward Mathéo.
“Give me the key.”
The boy backed against the wall.
Adrien reached for his shoe.
Mathéo tried to pull away.
Then a loud alarm sounded throughout the clinic.
Red lights flashed.
A voice shouted from the hallway.
“Fire! Everyone out!”
Adrien turned.
Camille grabbed Mathéo's hand.
“Run!”
They rushed toward the service corridor.
Smoke drifted beneath a doorway.
Footsteps thundered behind them.
Mathéo stumbled.
Camille pulled him upright.
“Keep going!”
They reached the delivery entrance.
A man stood outside.
Tall.
Thin.
With a bandage above his eyebrow.
Mathéo stopped.
The man stared at him.
His eyes filled with tears.
“Mathéo?”
The boy recognized the face from his mother's photographs.
“Uncle Gabriel?”
Gabriel dropped to his knees.
“My little explorer.”
Mathéo ran into his arms.
For one beautiful second, the world felt safe.
Then a gunshot cracked through the night.
May you like
Gabriel jerked backward.
And Mathéo screamed.
