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Chapter 44: Ties of the Past
Last Updated:
2025-03-07 02:35:53
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THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 45: The Truth Unveiled
DanielI stand before my father’s house, my hands trembling. My heart pounds furiously, and the evening heat tightens around me like a suffocating embrace. Every step I’ve taken since deciding to uncover the truth has led me to this fateful moment. There is no turning back. What happens next will change my life forever.For days, I’ve been digging through documents, meeting my father’s former associates, piecing together a puzzle far more complex than I ever imagined. And tonight, as the shadow of doubt gnaws at me, I know that everything is about to change.I take a deep breath before knocking on the door. Seconds pass, and finally, it opens. My father stands before me, looking exhausted but still as imposing as ever. He hasn’t changed. Yet in his eyes, I see something I’ve never seen before. A flicker of uncertainty.— Daniel…His voice is hoarse, lower than usual. He says my name as if it’s an inevitability, as if he already knows why I’m here.— I was expecting you.Our eyes meet,
Last Updated : 2025-03-07THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 46: Shadows of the Past
(Daniel)The wind howls through the slightly open windows of my car, sending a deep chill into my bones. My hands grip the steering wheel tightly, knuckles white from the pressure. I am far from home, in a neighborhood I have never visited before, yet it feels strangely familiar. This is no coincidence. This is where my father grew up. This is where it all began. This is where the lies, the secrets, and the betrayals took root.I close my eyes for a moment, trying to steady my erratic heartbeat. What I am about to do—I never thought it would come to this. But it’s too late to turn back. The truth is calling me, and I can no longer ignore it.I turn off the engine and step out of the car. The street is silent, disturbed only by the distant hum of a city that never sleeps. The streetlights cast a pale, almost ghostly glow, enhancing the eerie atmosphere of this place, frozen in a past long gone. My footsteps echo against the pavement, each sound a reminder that I am alone in this search
Last Updated : 2025-03-07THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 47: The Border of Desire
(Daniel)I’m sitting in the office of the criminal brigade, my mind caught in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. In front of me, files pile up, their dog-eared pages bearing the marks of my frantic research. Hours. Weeks. Months spent dissecting every detail, trying to understand, chasing the truth like a wild animal that refuses to be caught. But the more I dig, the more the ground crumbles beneath my feet.The investigation should have been clear. The evidence is piling up, the testimonies all point in one direction. And yet, a persistent doubt clings to my mind like a shadow. A doubt that has a name.Aurélie.I stand up abruptly, unable to stay still. I pace the room, hands in my pockets, nerves on edge. Every detail of the case brings me back to her. Every piece of evidence pushes me to consider her guilty. But every instinct in me screams otherwise.I walk over to the window. Outside, the city is bathed in a dim, uncertain light, the glow of weary streetlights struggling to pie
Last Updated : 2025-03-07THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 48: The Inevitable Confrontation
DanielI stand in front of Aurélie’s apartment, my gaze fixed on the door. The time has come. The moment when my convictions, my desires, and my fears will collide in a whirlwind beyond my control. My hands tremble slightly, but I clench them into fists, as if grasping onto a semblance of control over my own fragility.For weeks, I’ve hesitated, imagining this moment in a thousand different ways. But now that I’m here, I feel more lost than ever. Every inch of ground I’ve crossed to get here weighs on my shoulders. I may be a policeman, but the clarity of a crime is fading, and my sense of justice dissolves with every second I spend staring at the place where Aurélie lives.I lean in slightly, listening for any sound from inside. Nothing. Only silence, a heavy silence that crushes me. I didn’t come here just for the investigation. No. My reasons are far more complicated. I’m under her spell, and I know it. That’s what I fear the most.Aurélie is not just a suspect in a criminal case.
Last Updated : 2025-03-07THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 49: The Trial of the Heart
DanielI rise abruptly, my hands trembling as I try to regain control. The atmosphere in Aurélie’s apartment is heavy, almost unreal. She has placed her words like stones in a calm stream, disrupting everything I thought I knew. Doubt grows within me, instilling an uncertainty I haven’t felt in a long time. But deep down, I know that it’s not just the truth I’m trying to uncover. No, I’m also on a far more personal, more intimate quest.Aurélie, however, doesn’t move. She watches me with that same look—both fascinating and unsettling—as if she knows everything about me, everything that has brought me here, to this crossroads where I must choose between my responsibilities and my feelings."You say you’re no longer who you thought you were," she says calmly, "but you’re deluding yourself, Daniel. The truth is, you never really saw me. Not for who I am. You saw me through your eyes, your prejudices, your position as a policeman, but never as a woman."Her words resonate in the room, lin
Last Updated : 2025-03-07THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 50: The Weight of Choice
DanielI stand there, frozen, just inches away from Aurélie. Time holds its breath. Every beat of my heart echoes through the space, like a drum announcing the imminence of a crucial decision. Aurélie hasn’t moved, and yet everything about her seems to vibrate with a palpable tension. We are standing at the peak of an emotional mountain, each word, each breath bringing us closer to an abyss we never anticipated.I close my eyes, trying to push back the waves of confusion crashing over me. Everything feels blurred now—my investigation, my certainties, my role as a police officer. I was so sure in the beginning, so determined to untangle the threads of an apparently clear mystery. But Aurélie… she has shattered everything I thought I knew. She does not fit the image I had created of her. The guilty woman, the manipulator, hiding her truth behind a mask of sweetness. No, she is not that. Not only that.And me—who am I, really? A man guided by justice or a man broken by his emotions? A po
Last Updated : 2025-03-07THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 51: The Weight of the Secret
DanielThe sun rises slowly over the city, casting a soft light on the streets. Through the bay window of my apartment, the first rays brush against the rooftops, painting the landscape in a golden hue. Yet, this morning beauty does nothing to calm the storm raging inside me.I stand in the kitchen, a cup of burning coffee in my hands, but I don't drink it. I merely stare at the black liquid, as if it could reveal the answers to the questions haunting me. The conversation with Aurélie from the night before keeps replaying in my mind. Every word, every nuance of her gaze, every hesitation... Everything comes back with painful clarity.I wanted to believe in her. I wanted to see her as a victim, a woman caught in a web beyond her control. But reality is crueler. My instincts scream at me to stay on guard. Not to let my feelings blind me. Yet, there's a part of me that refuses to let go, that clings to the hope that she told me the truth.But what if she lied?I close my eyes for a momen
Last Updated : 2025-03-07THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT Chapter 52: The Weight of Truth
DanielI stand at the entrance of the café where I asked Aurélie to meet me. The place is nearly deserted, the usual patrons nowhere to be seen, as if the city itself is holding its breath. The soft afternoon light filters through the curtains, casting gentle shadows on the walls. Everything is calm—too calm—but inside my mind, it’s pure chaos.I still don’t know what I’m going to say to her. Or even how I’ll feel when I see her. Since my call with Marc, my thoughts have been spiraling between anger, confusion, and a dull ache gnawing at me from within. That file… that damn file changed everything. The harsh light it cast on Aurélie left me shattered. And yet, despite what I’ve learned, despite the evidence, despite everything I should think about her at this moment, part of me refuses to let go of the image I had of her. The woman I thought was sincere. The woman I loved.A metallic chime pulls me from my thoughts. The door opens. I lift my head.She’s here.Aurélie stands in the doo
Last Updated : 2025-03-07
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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
