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Chapter 73: The Wolves and the Ashes

last update Last Updated: 2025-05-20 01:29:22

Daniel

The smell of blood seeps into my nostrils.

Not mine. The others'.

The one I made flow.

I am on my knees. My hands are red. My eyes are empty.

She is gone.

And it’s my fault.

The silence around me is deafening. Not a breath. Not a step. Only the echo of my mistakes, beating against my temples like war drums.

I see her footsteps in the dust.

Her eyes.

That void in her eyes, as if I were nothing more than another monster in her story.

I would have liked to scream. Call her. Go back. But my vocal cords are dead strings. My throat, a grave.

It’s over.

She saw me as I truly am.

And I am not the man she hoped for.

I reach out towards the farthest bloodstain. Maybe it’s hers. Maybe not.

But it burns my fingers as if it were my own heart, shattered there on the ground, too late.

Gabriel

Somewhere in the manor, I scream.

I don’t even know what I'm shouting. Orders. Names. Insults. Memories.

My voice, shattered by rage and pain, vibrates the walls.

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  • THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT   Chapter 74: Those Who Remain

    GabrielThe mansion is a tomb.Each room breathes the memory of an intimate war.I walk among the ruins, and my steps resonate like those of a ghost.The marble is cracked.The chandelier hangs askew, like a suspended corpse.The paintings are torn.Faceless, eyeless. Mouths frozen in a silent scream.The men no longer speak to me. They avoid me.They pass by without lifting their eyes.They may still obey me.But it is no longer loyalty.It is fear.Or shame.I climb the stairs.The steps creak under my weight, as if the house itself wants to push me away.Dried blood still clings to the walls.There is a streak, thin, almost erased, but I see it.I always see it.It is here that she screamed.Here that my hand closed too tightly around her arm.Here that I saw in her eyes something sharper than hatred.The end.I stop in front of the room she o

  • THE ATTRACTION OF DOUBT   Chapter 73: The Wolves and the Ashes

    Daniel The smell of blood seeps into my nostrils. Not mine. The others'. The one I made flow.I am on my knees. My hands are red. My eyes are empty. She is gone. And it’s my fault.The silence around me is deafening. Not a breath. Not a step. Only the echo of my mistakes, beating against my temples like war drums. I see her footsteps in the dust. Her eyes. That void in her eyes, as if I were nothing more than another monster in her story.I would have liked to scream. Call her. Go back. But my vocal cords are dead strings. My throat, a grave. It’s over. She saw me as I truly am. And I am not the man she hoped for.I reach out towards the farthest bloodstain. Maybe it’s hers. Maybe not. But it burns my fingers as if it were my own heart, shattered there on the ground, too late.Gabriel Somewhere in the manor, I scream. I don’t even know what I'm shouting. Orders. Names. Insults. Memories.My voice, shattered by rage and pain, vibrates the walls. The window

  • 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

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