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Chapter 35: The Final Stretch
Last Updated:
2025-03-02 21:42:56
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THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 36: The Weight of the Truth
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
Last Updated : 2025-03-02THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 37: The Truth Unveiled
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
Last Updated : 2025-03-03THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 38: The Chains of Uncertainty
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
Last Updated : 2025-03-04THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 39: The Fragile Border
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
Last Updated : 2025-03-04THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 40: The Weight of Choice
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
Last Updated : 2025-03-05THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 41: The Road to Truth
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
Last Updated : 2025-03-06THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 42: The Dilemma of Heart and Reason
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
Last Updated : 2025-03-06THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 43: The Inevitable Confrontation
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
Last Updated : 2025-03-07
Latest chapter
THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapitre 72 : Le Poids des Cendres
SofiaL’air est lourd.Trop lourd.Chaque respiration est une brûlure chaque pas, une condamnation.Je m’éloigne de Daniel mais mon cœur, lui, reste là-bas.Quelque part entre la peur et la pitié.Entre l’amour et l’horreur.Entre ce que je croyais être la vérité et ce que je ne peux plus nier.Je n’ai pas fui pour me protéger pas seulement.J’ai fui parce que je ne reconnaissais plus l’homme que j’avais aimé.Parce que cette violence, ce feu sombre dans ses yeux, m’a rappelé trop de souvenirs Des souvenirs qu’on enterre, qu’on recouvre de silence, mais qui, parfois, se relèvent, hurlants, sous les décombres de notre mémoire.Et dans ses cris muets, j’ai reconnu les miens.Dans sa fureur, j’ai senti la mienne, celle d’avant, celle que j’avais étouffée.Je traverse les couloirs du manoir.Mes pas résonnent sur le carrelage glacé chaque écho me renvoie l’image de ce que je ne suis plus.Les murs suintent d’humidité et de souvenirs.Des portraits déchirés me regardent avec reproche.Des
THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 71: The Promise of an Escape
DanielDarkness wraps around me. Not just the darkness of night, but of everything I’ve become, everything I’ve allowed to happen. Sofia is standing there, frozen in a kind of silent terror. I see her, but I can’t stop feeling the abyss growing between us. She saw the violence that took over me, saw what I’m capable of when anger and fear take control. And I know there’s no way back, that the image I built—of a man worthy of her trust—has collapsed, reduced to nothing under the weight of my actions.The men joining me are no more than shadows, ghosts in the night. Gabriel, still on the ground, gets up slowly, but he seems less certain now, less sure of himself. Reality is setting in. He’s understood this wasn’t just a fight. It wasn’t just revenge. It was survival. A battle for everything at stake.Sofia takes a step back, and I see the fear in her eyes, her trembling lips. She wants to run, but she’s trapped here, in this devastated room. The flames of rage that had guided me begin t
THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapitre 70 : La Descente dans l'Abîme
DanielLe bruit du métal contre le sol, des chaînes qui s’entrechoquent, me parvient comme un écho lointain, étouffé par la violence de la confrontation. Gabriel se relève, une lueur de défi dans ses yeux. Ce n’est pas la surprise, cette fois. Non, il est plus calculateur que ça, plus intelligent. Il sait que ça ne finira pas ici. Il sait que je suis venu pour l’affronter, que cette rencontre est la dernière chance de tout effacer, tout brûler. Et pourtant, il me regarde comme si rien n’avait changé.Mais quelque chose en lui, quelque chose d’invisible, commence à vaciller. C’est la peur, je le vois dans son regard. Ce n’est pas de la peur de la mort. Ce n’est pas de la peur de moi. C’est la peur d’avoir tout perdu. La peur de perdre sa domination. La peur de voir son empire s’effondrer sous le poids de ses propres mensonges.Je n’ai pas le temps de réfléchir à ce qu’il pourrait encore faire. Je suis déjà en mouvement, une impulsion brute qui me propulse vers lui, prêt à tout détruire
THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 69: The Inevitable Confrontation
DanielThe warehouse is plunged into total darkness. Not a sound, not a breath, nothing but the crash of my own pain and rage. The wind, which accompanied me throughout the night, seems to dissipate as soon as I cross this threshold, giving way to a heavy, almost suffocating silence. My heart beats faster, each pulse resonates in my head, echoed by the emptiness around me.I stop for a moment, observing the blurred outlines of the space. The smell of mold and rusty metal invades my nostrils. The place is vast, a warehouse abandoned long ago, with piles of crates, old machines covered in dusty canvases. Everything is frozen in time, like a vestige of a bygone past. But this silence does not deceive me. I know they are there. Behind these walls, waiting for me.I advance cautiously, my steps resonating on the concrete floor. The atmosphere is stifling. I feel a presence, invisible, that follows me. My instincts are on alert, but I am too enraged, too determined to let myself be paralyze
THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 68: The Weight of Shadows
DanielThe wind hits the window. A furious gust that shakes the glass, like a warning. But there’s no turning back. Sofia is gone. She left me, and now I find myself alone in this cold room, with the bitter taste of silence in my mouth. The world around me seems to move on, without a care for what’s happening here, inside these walls. Inside my head.I clench my fists. I need to do something. To make a decision. But every choice I make pulls me deeper into this endless spiral. I let her go. I let her run away, to protect her. To protect us. But in doing that, I lost a part of myself. And I’m acutely aware that this was just the first step. The beginning of a path I never wanted to walk.The rain continues to fall, heavier, more relentless, like an unforgiving judgment. My phone vibrates on the desk. A message. I hesitate, already knowing what it means. Yet, I take it.“We found out where she went. Ready to make your final move?”I close my eyes for a moment, my teeth clenched. Gabriel
THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 67: The Final Gear Daniel
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
THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 66: The Emerging Truth
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
THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 65: The Choice of the Heart
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
THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 64: The Confrontation
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
