The door was ajar.
Alexander did not strike.
He entered quietly.
Claire Moreau was sitting on the thin mattress, cradling Léo against her chest. Mathis was sleeping next to her, on his stomach, his cheek resting on the worn sheet.
She looked up.
There were no surprises.
There was fatigue.
"It's over," said Alexandre in a low voice.
He placed a thick folder on the hard-packed earth floor.
— Camille is in custody. Julien too. All the evidence is public. The trust is already active. Legally, everything is in your name and our children's names.
Claire didn't move.
"I didn't come to buy your forgiveness," he continued. "I came to give you back what has always been yours... and to take responsibility for what is mine."
She held his gaze for several long seconds.
— Do you know what hurt me the most? — she finally asked.
Alexander lowered his head.
"That you didn't trust me," she replied without raising her voice. "Not the money. Not the humiliation. But the fact that you chose to believe someone else before listening to me."
The silence became heavy.
