— Ms. Morel’s holding company loaned €480,000 to the company during the relocation, with a properly registered security interest. The debt still exists.
— It was a family affair.
“It was contractual,” replied the lawyer.
Antoine looked at Elodie.
— Do you really want to ask me for that?
– Why not ?
He did not reply.
“Because I was your wife?” she continued. “So everything I brought into the world had to become invisible?”
A silence fell.
— You liked to say that you built everything yourself. I let you say that because I was afraid that a simple disagreement would turn into a war at home.
She pushed a document towards him.
It was a proposal to stagger the debt, in order to avoid a rushed sale of the offices.
Antoine looked up.
— Could you demand it faster?
– Yes.
— And you don’t do it?
— There are 28 employees in this company. They don’t have to pay for you.
For the first time, he was speechless.
The internal investigation concluded two weeks later. The partners initiated the procedure outlined in the bylaws to remove him from his management role. The value of his shares was calculated according to existing agreements, taking into account the debts and liabilities attributed to him.
Antoine does not end up on the street.
But he lost control of the company.
For him, it was almost harder to bear.
Maud delivered her messages and admitted to having prepared some misleading invoices in exchange for professional promises. Her brother had to reimburse part of the sums paid for services not justified. The main client demanded reimbursement of the improper invoices before proceeding, on a limited basis, with the new management.
The civil and criminal proceedings continued their course.
There was no scene with sirens outside the offices.
There were summonses, registered letters, lawyers’ fees, and nights when Antoine reread messages that he finally regretted having written.
It was less spectacular.
And much more real.
6 months after Colette’s birthday, Élodie and Lucas moved into a small townhouse 8 minutes from the school.
It had neither a swimming pool nor a large gate. The kitchen was cramped. The parquet floor creaked near the living room.
Lucas chose his room because it overlooked an old cherry tree.
The first evening, they ate pasta sitting on cardboard boxes. Elodie had bought glasses but forgotten the plates. They used two bowls.
Lucas burst out laughing.
She stopped, holding her fork in the air.
– What ?
“Nothing,” he said.
But Elodie already had tears in her eyes.
— Are you crying because you miss the other house?
She looked at the boxes, the lamp on the floor, the curtains still wrapped.
— Non.
She smiled.
— Because I think we’ve just arrived somewhere.
In the spring, Élodie took up a part-time position in a firm specializing in financial investigations and accepted a seat on the supervisory board of the transport company inherited from her father.
She no longer hid what she was capable of doing to protect someone else’s ego.
One evening, Lucas saw her leaving a meeting surrounded by executives who were still asking for her opinion.
In the car, he murmured:
— Dad used to say you didn’t understand anything about business.
Élodie did not respond immediately.
“I now know that was false,” he added.
She placed a hand on his knee.
— You don’t need to choose between him and me to understand what is true.
A few weeks later, Lucas agreed to see his father again in an organized setting, and then during short outings.
At their first real lunch, Antoine tried to make up an excuse.
— I made a lot of mistakes.
Lucas stirred his glass of water.
— You hit Mom.
Antoine turned pale.
– Yes.
— And then you said it was his fault.
– Yes.
Lucas looked up.
— That’s what I can’t forget.
In the past, Antoine would have argued.
This time, he murmured:
– I understand.
Lucas shook his head.
— No. But maybe you’ll understand one day.
When Elodie came to get him, she didn’t ask any questions.
After a few minutes, Lucas said:
— He looked smaller.
— Smaller?
— Before, when he entered a room, it was like everyone had to look at him. Now, he just looked like a man sitting at a table.
Élodie will grip the steering wheel.
It wasn’t victory she felt.
It was a relief to see his son emerge from the myth.
The divorce was finalized later. The family home was sold. Élodie’s personal contribution was included in the liquidation according to the original agreement. The debt to her holding company was rescheduled to avoid jeopardizing the business.
Antoine rented a more modest apartment and later found a salaried position in a small company. He was not transformed into a monster from a fairy tale, punished for the rest of his life.
He became, above all, a man forced to live with limitations that he had long believed were reserved for others.
Elodie, for her part, had better things to do than celebrate her fall.
She was rebuilding.
Almost a year after the slap, one Sunday morning, Lucas found her on the small balcony.
– Mom ?
– Yes ?
— Are we all right now?
Élodie put down her cup.
— There are still difficult days ahead. There will still be paperwork, appointments, and moments when you will be angry.
– I know.
She looked at him.
— Yes, of course. We’re fine.
— Even after all that?
Élodie thought of the reception room, her wedding ring near the computer, the 17 bills, the sleepless nights and the silences she had mistaken for peace.
Then she looked at her son.
— Especially because we stopped pretending.
Lucas went back inside to prepare breakfast.
Elodie’s phone vibrated. Mr. Delmas had just confirmed the signing of a final agreement concerning the commercial case.
Élodie read the message.
