Claire turned her head towards him.
– What ?
— He knew that I always forgave him.
She did not answer immediately.
Michel continues:
— When he wrecked the car at 19, I paid for it. When his first business failed, I settled some of his debts. When he quit his job without any plans, we helped him for eight months. Each time, I told him that’s what family is for.
His voice broke.
— Perhaps he simply ended up believing that we had no limits.
Claire placed a hand on the back of his neck.
— Helping him was not an invitation to steal from you.
Michel nodded, but the words needed several days to really sink in.
Three weeks later, a large portion of the funds reappeared in a new account opened under much stricter rules. A sum remained frozen during the investigation, but their lawyer explained that the restitution mechanisms and criminal procedure would allow them to claim what was missing.
Thomas, Élodie and Julien were implicated in the investigation into the transfers, the maneuvers used and the attempt to conceal the funds.
Michel felt no satisfaction when he learned of it.
Just immense fatigue.
The most painful confrontation took place several weeks later, in front of the court.
Michel and Claire were coming from an appointment with their lawyer when Thomas appeared at the end of the corridor.
He had lost weight.
Her clothes seemed too big.
For a second, Michel did not see the man who had emptied their savings.
He saw the 11-year-old boy who had made a wobbly toolbox for Father’s Day.
— Dad!
Thomas made a move towards him, but his lawyer held his arm.
Élodie was standing a few meters behind. She wasn’t looking at anyone.
— Dad, wait.
Michel stopped.
Claire too.
Thomas had red eyes.
– I’m sorry.
Michel believed her tears.
He even believed in his own shame.
But he no longer knew if his son regretted having hurt his parents or simply having failed.
And, for the first time, he accepted that he didn’t need to know the answer.
“I’m sorry too,” said Michel.
Thomas raised his head with an almost childlike hope.
– SO…
— I’m sorry you did that to your own family.
Thomas’s face fell.
Michel felt Claire move closer to him.
He could have added some criticisms.
He could have talked about the nights of work, the sacrifices, the word “balls and chain” published by Élodie.
He did nothing about it.
The party.
In the parking lot, once the door was closed, he rested his forehead against the steering wheel and cried until he had no more breath.
Claire did not ask him to pull himself together.
She simply stayed next to him.
Eight months later, she and Michel sold their large house.
Not because Thomas had suggested it.
Not because they had become too old to live there.
They sold it because they no longer wanted every room to remind them of the meals where their son had smiled while already plotting his betrayal.
They bought a smaller house near La Rochelle, a few minutes from the ocean.
The kitchen had large windows.
Claire set up her aromatic plants on a south-facing terrace.
Michel transformed a small room into a workshop and started repairing furniture again, simply because he wanted to.
They finally set off on their trip.
Not in a luxury hotel.
Not to prove anything.
They took a train to Italy, ate too much ice cream, missed a connection in Milan and laughed for 20 minutes because Michel had booked a room for the wrong date.
This clumsiness almost did them good.
Their lives were no longer a series of precautions taken to leave more to someone after their death.
It belonged to them again.
Claire also began volunteering with an association that supported elderly people facing financial abuse within their families.
Michel sometimes accompanied him.
He heard stories that resembled his own.
Children asking for bank codes “to help”.
Relatives hastily getting documents signed.
Parents who didn’t dare file a complaint because they were ashamed.
One afternoon, a 74-year-old man asked him:
— How did you manage to denounce your own son?
Michel is silent for a moment.
— There’s nothing to be gained from that.
The man seemed surprised.
Michel added:
— We do it with broken hearts. That’s all.
Later, the proceedings against Thomas, Élodie, and Julien resulted in their being found responsible for the fraudulent activities. The rulings included criminal penalties and restitution orders. Julien lost his job. The financial consequences followed them long after they had thought they were starting a “new life.”
Michel avoided reading the details.
He never asked Claire if she was still receiving indirect news from Thomas.
Then, one November morning, an envelope arrived.
The writing on the front was immediately familiar to him.
Claire placed the letter next to her plate.
— Do you want me to open it?
Michel shook his head.
He stood in front of the envelope for almost 10 minutes.
Finally, he opened it.
Thomas wrote without asking for money.
He also wasn’t asking his parents to take anything away.
He said he had spent months telling himself that Elodie, Julien, the fear of debt and frustration had driven him to act.
Then he realized that these explanations changed nothing.
He had made his choice.
In the end, he simply wrote:
“I know that saying sorry doesn’t fix anything. I just wanted you to know that I finally understand what I took from you.”
Michel reread the last sentence.
Her eyes filled with tears.
Claire asked him:
— Are you going to answer?
— Not today.
She nodded.
In the past, Michel would have rushed.
He reportedly called.
He would have been looking for a way to rebuild something immediately.
This time, he folded the letter and put it in a drawer.
Not responding that day did not mean he would never respond.
