Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 50

Brenda’s office felt smaller than it was.I sat across from her desk with my fingers locked tight while Adrian stood by the window on a call. On the screen, the clip was still moving through people who did not know me and still felt free to judge me. My voice begging and Damien deciding Bella could move in.“They’re saying they didn’t authorise the release,” Brenda said. “That only helps if we push. If Damien kept that audio and it left his hands, he doesn’t get to wash them clean in public.”“And Bella?” I asked.“She posted it like she’d won something. That was stupid for real.”Adrian ended his call and came back.“Two bigger pages that were offered the long version backed off,” he said. “They saw Brenda’s notice and didn’t want the trouble. One small page is still acting brave.”“So the full file isn’t everywhere,” I said.“Not yet but we’re still moving like it could be.”Brenda turned her laptop a little.“There’s more. The café note and the burner pattern tie back to a contract

I didn’t sleep much after Brenda’s message.Bella left the Blackwood house. She took a bag. She said if they settled around her, she would make her own arrangements.That line stayed in my head all night.Morning came with a dull headache and Mama’s voice in the kitchen. I washed my face, dressed, and ate because she would not let me leave the house on an empty stomach.“You’re thinking too much,” Mama said.“Bella left Damien’s house.”Papa looked up from his cup.“Good. Let trouble leave with its own luggage.”“I’m not sure it’s good news,” I said. “She was dangerous in that house. Outside it she might get worse.”“Then keep your lawyer close and don’t answer her when she starts performing,” Mama said.Adrian texted while I was still at the table.Brenda wants us at ten. Draft updates came in.I replied and finished getting ready.Brenda’s office was already open when we arrived. Papers on the desk. Coffee untouched.“They improved the audio clauses,” she said. “Non-dissemination is

Sunday morning felt different from the ones before it.No lawyer messages. No signing. No heavy countdown. Just eleven o’clock and Adrian picking me up.Mama watched me from the kitchen doorway while I put on my shoes.“You’re going out??”“Yes.”“With him.”“Yes.”She wiped her hands on a cloth.“I don’t mind a man who shows up. I mind a man who takes over but keep your eyes open.”“I will.”Papa only said, “Come back before night forgets you.”Adrian arrived on time. Not a black convoy. Just him and one car. He opened the door without making a show of it.“Morning.”“Morning.”We drove through quieter roads as the city thinned out. I didn’t ask where we were going at first. I let the silence sit. It was the first silence in weeks that didn’t feel like it was waiting to break.After a while he said, “There’s a stretch by the water I go to when my head gets too full. No offices. No people from work.”“You need that?”“More than I admit.”I looked out the window.“I used to think rich

I read the buyer’s message again in the dark.One of the guests recognised the style and linked it to the Blackwood story. Please confirm this will not become a topic at the lunch.My work. My bags. Still brushed by their mess.I typed carefully.The order is confidential. My work is separate from any private history. I will not discuss personal matters, and nothing about that will be attached to the delivery on my side.I read it twice, sent it, and put the phone down.I went to bed afterwards but sleep came late.In the morning the buyer replied.Thank you. That’s all we needed.Relief came in a short breath. Not full but enough to open the shop.The girl arrived while I was already at the back table.“You look like you didn’t sleep.”“Well, i didn’t . The buyer got nervous because someone recognised my work and connected it to old gossip.”“And?”“I handled it well though. We still have the order.”She nodded and went to unlock the front.I stitched until my fingers warmed. The bag

I didn’t reply to the message.I screenshot it, sent it to Brenda and Adrian, and put the phone face down. If someone from Damien’s old purchase circle wanted to frighten me with congratulations, they could wait in silence.Morning came with ordinary work waiting. Forty bags did not make themselves.At the shop I told the girl only what she needed to know.“If any new supplier calls with pressure tactics, you take a message and give it to me. No friendly chats with them.”“Understood.”Adrian arrived before noon, jaw tight.“I saw the text.”“I didn’t answer.”“Good. Brenda is checking the number. Don’t let them drag you into a conversation.”“I won’t.”He looked around the work table.“You’re still starting production today right?”“Yes. The order is real. Their noise is not going to sit in my chair.”A small nod.“I’m here if anything goes wrong. I won’t take the seat for you.”That was the right sentence.By afternoon Brenda called.“The number links to a middleman who used to sour