ClaireThe cold night wind blew violently through the narrow alleys, carrying with it crumpled papers and blurred memories. I walked briskly, my coat pulled tightly around my shoulders, but my mind was elsewhere. There was no turning back. Every step I took led me closer to the unknown, and yet, I couldn't help but feel drawn to this path I had chosen to follow, this path I had chosen with Daniel.The rain fell softly, a fine drizzle that clung to my hair and eyelashes. But I didn’t feel the cold. My mind was occupied with something else. The investigation. The truth. The friendship that had transformed into something greater. And, of course, the fear. The fear of what would happen if Daniel or I failed in our mission.The truth. That was what we were seeking. What we had to uncover at all costs. But at what price? I felt as though I was walking a fragile line, on the verge of tipping over, and I didn’t know if I could catch myself in time. Daniel, this complex man, determined to uncov
DanielThe air is heavy, almost suffocating, as Claire and I step into the darkness of the building. Dust floats in the beams of light barely escaping through the cracks in the walls. The silence is oppressive, as if this place had been abandoned for centuries—deserted by human life but haunted by an invisible presence. Something weighs on my shoulders, a dull tension, a shiver creeping up my spine.I’m not superstitious. I don’t believe in ghosts or omens. But tonight, there’s something that makes my skin crawl—an unsettling feeling of crossing a forbidden threshold. Claire instinctively moves closer to me, and I can feel her presence, her light breath, the weight of her unease. She says nothing, but I can tell she feels the same way.We move cautiously, guided only by the dim glow of our flashlights. Every step makes the wooden floor creak beneath our feet, the sound echoing through the heavy silence. The place looks as if it was abandoned in a hurry—overturned chairs, scattered pap
DanielThe air is heavier than ever, an invisible weight pressing down on us, suffocating every breath, every unspoken word. There is no room for doubt, and yet, it is everywhere, creeping into the corners of my mind like a slow poison. Around us, scattered papers lie on the table—damning evidence, fragments of truth fitting together to form a reality I can no longer afford to ignore.It feels like my entire life is confined to this small room, to these silent walls that have borne witness to the breaking point. We have ventured too far to turn back now, and Claire knows it as well as I do. I can sense her just behind me, still yet present, a force keeping me from falling apart.I stand with my back to the window, my eyes fixed on the dark streets below. The flickering streetlights cast strange shadows on the pavement, distorted figures dancing with the wind. I find myself envying their carefreeness. Outside, the world keeps turning, indifferent to the storm raging within me.Behind m
DanielDays pass, heavy and relentless. The pressure around us keeps growing, like a vise tightening with each new revelation. Claire and I have no choice but to keep moving forward, driven by a visceral need for the truth. A truth that, I now realize, could cost us more than we are ready to lose.Each day is a battle. A battle against uncertainty, against fear, against the shadows of the past stretching out to consume us. But above all, it’s a battle against ourselves. Against these emotions we can no longer ignore.That morning, like the ones before, sleep has eluded me. Lying on my back, I stare at the ceiling, counting invisible cracks, listening to the heavy silence of the apartment. My mind keeps spinning, unable to rest, unable to forget.Every little sound seems amplified: Claire’s distant breathing from the next room, the steady ticking of the clock, the wind whistling softly through the window’s cracks.I slowly sit up, my muscles sore from lack of sleep and the constant ten
DanielI have never felt such pressure in my entire career. As I prepare to face painful truths, a deep rift forms within me. My hands tremble slightly as I hold the file containing the latest findings of the investigation. Everything I have uncovered in recent weeks places me on a perilous path—one where I risk losing my balance, but more importantly, losing Claire.I stand up, my eyes fixed on the open file, but I can’t concentrate. My thoughts are elsewhere, buried deep inside me, where the attraction I feel for Claire battles against my duty. Despite everything I have learned, I cannot rid myself of this growing feeling, this obsession to protect her, to shield her from the evil that lies at the end of this investigation.Claire enters the room quietly, her steps light yet filled with certainty. She approaches me, hesitant, but the look we exchange speaks volumes about what we both feel. She knows something has changed. She sees it in my eyes, in the way I drown in my thoughts, as
DanielThe wind blows fiercely through the city, rushing through the narrow streets and stirring up swirls of dust on the sidewalks. The air carries an unusual chill for a spring afternoon, as if the weather itself senses the approaching storm.I stand in front of Commissioner Lemoine’s office door. My fist is raised, ready to knock, but I can’t bring myself to do it. My breath is shallow, my heart pounding against my chest with unbearable force.Every clue I’ve uncovered in this investigation has led me here. To this moment of no return. To this truth that burns on my lips, a truth that, once spoken, can never be erased.My father.The man I have admired all my life.The man who, today, is at the heart of this case.I clench my teeth, swallowing the pain that threatens to consume me, and finally knock on the door.— Come in.Lemoine’s voice is calm, controlled, but I sense a hint of weariness. He already knows something is wrong. He knows I don’t usually have this look, this haunted
DanielI sit at my desk, my gaze fixed on the open file in front of me, but my mind is elsewhere. Since I started this investigation, I have kept running into a truth that grows darker with each revelation—a truth that shakes the very foundations of everything I believe in. But today, the confrontation with my father is inevitable. Every passing minute brings me closer to that decisive moment when I must choose between my duty as a police officer and the filial love I still feel for the man I have always admired.I scan the files one last time, the evidence and testimonies intertwining in a complex web. But there is something I can no longer ignore: my father is not just involved in this crime—he is the mastermind behind it. Every discovery has led me to this devastating conclusion, and with each new piece of the puzzle, I feel the weight on my shoulders grow heavier. Truth is no longer just an ideal to pursue; it has become a weapon, ready to shatter everything I have built in my lif
DanielI keep my eyes fixed on the entrance of the manor. Every step I take feels heavier than the last, as if gravity itself is trying to hold me back. I know that whatever I’m about to discover behind this door will change my life forever. But the urgency of the situation leaves me no choice.He’s there, the man who was once my role model, my father, now burdened with a truth I never thought possible.Claire stands beside me, silent. She knows this is the crucial moment. She’s been with me from the beginning, but this final act is mine alone. This isn’t just a moral dilemma anymore; it’s a question of loyalty—to justice, and to myself.I take a deep breath before pressing the doorbell. The sound echoes through the vast empty space beyond the door, and my heart pounds faster. The door opens slowly, revealing my father, standing in the same grand frame I’ve always seen him in. His expression is calm, almost implacable."Daniel," he says, his voice even, his sharp gaze piercing through
Daniel The silence after her words is a chasm. A void that sucks me in and strangles me. Sofia looks at me for a second longer, and I read in her eyes the shadow of regret, of an impossible promise. Then she turns away, her body tense, as if ready to flee.But I can’t let her go.I’m a cop. I’m supposed to see things in black and white. Justice or crime. Innocent or guilty. But with her, there’s only gray. A damn gray that keeps me from breathing.“Sofia.”My voice is an anchor, a chain that holds her back. She stops, her back to me. The tension hums between us, electric, unbearable.“Tell me there’s another way.”She doesn’t answer right away. Her shoulders lift slightly under a sigh. When she finally turns, her gaze is an abyss I’m ready to fall into.“There isn’t.”Three words. Three stabs to the heart.I grit my teeth. Damn it, none of this makes sense. I need to think. Find a way out. But time is slipping away. The city outside continues to breathe, unaware of the chaos explodin
DanielThe office is silent, except for the steady hum of the fan pushing around the heavy, sticky air. The heat clings to my skin, oppressive, almost suffocating. I watch Sofia, every muscle in my body strung tight like a wire ready to snap. My gaze is locked on her, unable to look away. Everything is suspended. Time, breath, reason. I know this moment is crucial, that whatever comes out of her mouth next will change everything. Not just the case. Not just this damn murder. But me. Us.Yet she keeps her eyes down, lips pressed shut, unable to speak. She’s fighting. I see it in the clench of her jaw, in the way her fists tighten on her knees as if holding her heart inside her chest. She’s scared. And that fear... I feel it in my gut. It’s eating me alive.I hold my breath. She promised me the truth. She looked me straight in the eye and told me she’d tell me everything. But now... now she’s standing on the edge of the abyss. And I’ve got this damn feeling that one wrong word will push
AurélieI stand in my father’s garden. The soft wind plays with my hair, but I can’t feel the slightest hint of peace in front of the scene laid out before me. Everything feels fake, staged—like a perfect backdrop hiding an unbearable truth. Since yesterday, since the revelations, I am no longer the same. Every stone of this house I once loved now feels foreign. As if I never truly belonged here.I turn my head toward the house, that familiar facade that used to comfort me. But today, it’s nothing more than a prison built of lies and distorted memories. Everything I believed in has cracked. My father… What he confessed still haunts me. All those years feeding me illusions, hiding his mistakes, his choices.I’m torn. Caught between anger and understanding. I know he wanted to protect me. But at what cost? The cost of my truth. The cost of who I am.“You’re here.”His voice startles me. Daniel. He approached without a sound, as always. His shadow stretches out toward me, and my heart ra
Daniel The rain was beating against the windows of the police station, adding to the tense atmosphere in the room. Gabriel stood there, his eyes fixed on the file in his hands. His mind was caught in a whirlwind of emotions. The truth that he had long tried to ignore had struck him with a brutality he hadn’t anticipated. He was no longer just a policeman seeking justice, he was now a man torn between his duty and his feelings.The murder from that evening was just one facet of the complex puzzle that had formed around him. But that wasn’t what troubled him the most. No, what deeply unsettled him was the figure of that young woman, Sofia. The prime suspect, a woman he barely knew, but whose presence unsettled him in a way he couldn’t explain. Every glance, every exchange with her only added to the confusion that overwhelmed him. An attraction he couldn’t ignore.He placed the file on the table, his trembling hands, and then collapsed into the chair in front of him. The wind outside wa
AurélieI stand there, frozen in the center of this vast room with its cold walls, unable to move, unable to breathe properly. Sophie's words still echo in my head, clashing in my mind like shards of shattered glass.I always believed my father was a righteous man, a man of unwavering integrity, someone I could admire without a single doubt. I built my entire existence on that certainty. But what I just learned shatters everything.My heartbeat pounds in my temples. This can't be true. There must be a mistake. A lie. A misunderstanding.But Sophie didn't waver. She didn’t hesitate when she spoke those words, and her gaze pierced through me like a blade sinking straight into my chest.I close my eyes for a moment, trying to calm the storm raging inside me. A part of me wants to scream, to reject this truth, to refuse to believe that the man I have loved and respected all my life could have committed such acts. But another part, darker, more lucid, whispers that this was inevitable. Tha
AurélieThe cool wind blew over the garden surrounding Sophie Devereux’s house, and I could feel my heart pounding harder with every step I took toward the door. Daniel, beside me, remained silent, understanding that words would only add to the weight of the moment. We were here, standing before the house that would reveal a truth I both dreaded and longed for.The door closed behind us with a dull thud. Inside, the dim light of an old chandelier cast shadows on the walls adorned with ancient portraits. The living room seemed frozen in time, as if someone had wanted to preserve every moment, every memory of the past. But I wasn’t here for memories; I was here for a buried truth, a truth I had to uncover for myself.Sophie Devereux was waiting for us in the living room, a glass of red wine resting on the coffee table in front of her. She stood up as soon as I entered, her cold, piercing eyes scrutinizing me, but there was no surprise in her gaze. She had probably known for a long time
Aurélie Silence surrounds me, heavy and suffocating. I feel as though I’m suspended in time, as if everything around me has stopped moving, leaving me alone in front of the unknown. The weight of the revelations contained in my father’s letter crushes my chest. Each word, each sentence seems to imprint itself deeply in my memory, looping over and over in my head, overwhelming me, dragging me into a reality I never imagined. The truth I am discovering is a kind of slow poison, a venom eating me from the inside, but I can’t erase it. It’s there, etched into me, indelible.I turn the letter over and over in my hands, as if with one fleeting glance, I could find an explanation that would lighten this burden. But the more I try to understand, the more everything seems to slip away. My eyes fall one last time on the final lines, the ones that echo in my head like a distant, incomprehensible, and threatening echo. My father… the man I’ve always seen as a reassuring, stable, loving figure, i
Aurélie The cool night wind blew through the empty streets as Daniel and I made our way toward the house of my childhood. The information I had gathered from Sophie Devereux's manor swirled in my mind like a whirlwind. The connection between my father and this woman, the unsolved mysteries, and the riddle of my past were becoming harder and harder to ignore. A part of me still hesitated, dreading what I was about to uncover, but deep down I knew there was no other choice.The lights from the house glowed in the dimness. The place seemed bigger and more menacing as I approached. The façade, which had once appeared warm to me, now seemed strangely cold, as if the house itself held the secrets I was about to reveal.I stopped in front of the door, my hands trembling on the doorknob. "Are you ready?" Daniel asked, his voice soft yet marked by anxiety.I nodded silently. Our gazes met, and a shiver ran down my spine. That look, full of empathy, support, and also a shared fear, strengthene
AurélieThe heavy silence of the hospital room seemed to suffocate me with every breath. The truth that my mother had just barely touched upon, barely sketched out, twisted in my mind like a knot of unresolved pain. Every word she had spoken, weak and interrupted by tears, had only added uncertainty to my torment. There was something more, something I wasn’t ready to face, but I now knew it was inevitably tied to my search for answers.I glanced at Daniel, who remained in the shadow of the door, silently observing the scene. His eyes were filled with understanding, but also concern. He knew that the confrontation with my mother had only just begun, and he wasn’t sure I had the strength to go any further without breaking down. But he also knew that I had no choice anymore. The truth, whether I wanted it or not, was going to change everything."What did she mean by… another truth?" I whispered in a broken voice. My trembling hands rested on the smooth surface of the bedside table, searc