All Chapters of The Revenge of One Humiliated: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

 I crouch down to his level, I look at the garland, I look at his work, his tape, his string, his knots, his efforts, everything he put into this repair, everything he wanted to do, everything he succeeded at, everything he failed at, everything he learned, everything he understood, everything he gave, everything he received, and I tell him, in a voice I want to be that of the father, of the one who is proud, who is happy, who is grateful, who is loving, who is everything a father should be, for his son, for his daughter, for his family, for his life, for everything he has, everything he doesn't have, everything he will have, if we want, if we dare, if we believe, if we hope, if we love:"It's magnificent, big guy, it's truly magnificent, you did a very good job, you fixed the garland like a pro, like a real handyman, like a real superhero, and I'm proud of you, very proud, so proud, you are my big guy, my son, my hero, my everything, everything, everything."

"And her? Does she love you, does she love you, does she really love you, or does she love the idea of being loved, the idea of having someone, the idea of not being alone, the idea of not being abandoned, the idea of not being forgotten, the idea of everything she could have, everything she could be, everything she could live, if she stopped fleeing, if she stopped being afraid, if she stopped doubting, if she stopped hiding, if she stopped forgetting herself, if she stopped forgetting everything that matters, everything that is worth it, everything that deserves that we fight, that we stay, that we love, that we live?"I look at her, I look at her and I know, I know that's the question, the real one, the one that hurts, the one that scares, the one that makes you doubt, the one that makes you hope, the one that makes you believe, the one that makes you love, the one that makes you live, and I answer her, in a voice that is nothing more than a whisper, a voice t

ÉlianorThe day after the party, I am in my office when Commander Renaud calls me, her voice is tense, grave, almost solemn, like the voice one has when announcing important news, news that will change the course of things, that will tip destiny, that will advance justice, truth, life, everything we wait for, everything we hope for, everything we fear, everything we dread, from the beginning, for six months, since my father fell into a coma, since I knew that someone wanted to kill him, to silence him, to keep him from telling the truth, to keep him from saying that Viviane is alive, to keep him from saying that I am not Sabrina's daughter, to keep him from saying everything he hid for twenty-four years, everything he carried alone, everything that destroyed him, everything that is killing him, everything that will kill him, perhaps, if we do nothing, if we don't stop him, if we don't put her out of harm's way, if we don't put him out of harm's way, if we don't ma

The door opens, she comes in, she is there, Élianor, my daughter, her daughter, the daughter I stole, that I took, that I kept, that I raised, that I destroyed, that I broke, that I loved in my own way, a way that was not love, that was never love, that was something else, something I can't name, something that resembles fear, hatred, jealousy, possession, everything except what a mother should feel for her daughter, even a daughter who is not hers, even a daughter she raised out of obligation, out of duty, out of interest, out of fear. She sits down across from me, she looks at me, she looks at me with her eyes that are hers, that are Viviane's, that are Gérard's, that are those of this family I broke, tore apart, destroyed, with my lies, my secrets, my crimes, and she waits, she waits for me to speak, to say what I have to say, what I have never said, what I have always wanted to say, what I have always feared saying, what I have always hoped to say, one day, perhaps, if time allows

Élianor looks at me, she looks at me for a long time, a very long time, with her eyes that are hers, that are Viviane's, that are Gérard's, that are those of this family I broke, tore apart, destroyed, and I see, I see in her eyes something I have never seen, something that resembles pity, compassion, humanity, something that says she understands, that she knows, that she has lived the same thing, the same fear, the same pain, the same anger, the same flight, and that she forgives me perhaps, one day, if she wants, if she can, if she still can, after all these years, after all these lies, after all these fears, after all these flights, if she wants to be my daughter, if I want to be her mother, if we want to be a family, if we want to find each other, to talk to each other, to love each other, to live, at last, after all these years, after all these lies, after all these fears, after all these flights, together, for good, forever, no matter what happens, no matter what we do, no matte