Chapter 13 - THE CONFESSION IN THE HOSPITAL ROOM
Elodie did not sleep.
She sat beside the boathouse window until morning, staring at the gray Atlantic.
Her entire childhood had been built around a lie.
Her mother had not died.
Her father had helped conceal the truth.
And Henri de Valmont, the man whose blood she carried, might have approved the deception.
When Alexandre approached, she did not turn.
"Don't tell me they were trying to protect me."
"I wasn't going to."
"Good."
He sat beside her.
For several minutes, they listened to the waves.
Then Elodie spoke.
"I loved my father."
"You still can."
"How?"
"By loving the person he was to you without pretending the things he did were right."
Elodie looked at him.
"Is that what you're doing with Catherine?"
Alexandre considered the question.
"I'm trying."
He looked toward the horizon.
"But loving someone doesn't mean protecting them from consequences."
Later that morning, Claire called.
She had located Luc.
He had been transferred to a private clinic outside Paris.
His condition was critical.
Elodie insisted on going.
Alexandre and Isabelle accompanied her.
They arrived shortly before sunset.
Luc Martin lay in a hospital bed, pale and exhausted.
When he saw Elodie, he began to cry.
"My little girl."
Elodie stood at the foot of the bed.
"Don't."
He lowered his eyes.
"I deserve that."
"Did you know Mom was alive?"
Luc closed his eyes.
"Not at first."
"When did you find out?"
"Six months ago."
Elodie felt her throat tighten.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I was afraid Catherine would hurt you."
"She was already hurting me!"
Luc began to cough.
A nurse checked his oxygen.
When he could speak again, his voice was barely audible.
"I know."
Elodie stepped closer.
"Did you help her steal from the foundation?"
"Yes."
The answer was immediate.
No excuse.
No denial.
"I was young. My business was failing. Catherine offered contracts and money. I told myself the invoices were harmless."
"And when you discovered they weren't?"
"I kept going."
"Why?"
"Because I was afraid of losing everything."
Elodie wiped away tears.
"And you lost us anyway."
Luc nodded.
"Yes."
A long silence followed.
Then Elodie asked the question she feared most.
"Did you sign the papers that sent Mom away?"
Luc began to cry.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Catherine told me Marie was unstable. She said Marie had become dangerous and needed treatment."
"You believed her?"
"I wanted to believe her."
Elodie stepped backward.
Luc continued.
"Then Catherine showed me documents claiming Marie had died after being transferred. I accepted them because I couldn't bear to discover what my cowardice had done."
Elodie covered her mouth.
For years, she had imagined her father as a victim.
Now she saw a more complicated truth.
He had been frightened.
He had been manipulated.
But he had also made choices.
And those choices had destroyed lives.
Luc reached beneath his pillow.
He removed a small digital recorder.
"I kept this."
Elodie stared.
"What is it?"
"A recording of Catherine."
"When?"
"Six months ago. When she came to tell me about the marriage."
Claire stepped forward.
"Does it contain an admission?"
Luc nodded.
"She thought I was too weak to understand what she was saying."
He pressed play.
Catherine's voice filled the room.
"Elodie will sign. She has no choice."
Luc's voice followed.
"She's my daughter."
Catherine laughed.
"She's Henri's daughter, Luc. And that makes her far more useful than you ever were."
Elodie closed her eyes.
The recording continued.
"Once the marriage certificate is accepted and the transfer is registered, I can replace the Aurelia directors. The archive will finally belong to me."
Luc asked:
"And Marie?"
Catherine's answer came without hesitation.
"Marie will remain exactly where she's been for seventeen years."
The recording ended.
Claire took a careful breath.
"This is important evidence."
Luc looked at Elodie.
"There's more."
He reached for her hand.
"I know who altered Geneviève's medical records."
Elodie leaned closer.
"Who?"
Luc whispered a name.
Then his breathing changed.
The monitor began to beep.
A nurse rushed forward.
"Everyone out!"
Elodie backed toward the door.
Doctors entered.
Alexandre caught her before she fell.
Behind them, the medical team worked desperately.
Then the monitor produced one long, continuous tone.
Elodie screamed.
May you like
And the last name her father had whispered echoed in her mind.
Étienne Marchand.
