All Chapters of THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

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

I’m back in my apartment, but I can’t feel at home. Everything seems too narrow, too silent, as if the very walls are closing in on me, crushing me under the weight of my thoughts.I thought telling the truth would set me free. But reality is far different.Every word exchanged with my father, every look he gave me, every silence that settled between us… It all keeps echoing in my mind, again and again, trapping me in a whirlwind of doubt.Why did he do this?Why did the man I once admired, the man I looked up to, betray everything he claimed to stand for?I run a trembling hand over my face, trying to organize my thoughts. I feel like I’m losing my grip, like I no longer know who I am or what I should do.With a sigh, I stand up and walk toward the window. The city stretches before me, bathed in a pale glow. The streetlights cast strange shadows on the wet asphalt. The streets are empty, silent.Like me.I feel alone. Terribly alone.And yet, Claire is here.She doesn’t say anything,

(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

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.

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