pte

oring table, surrounded by these businessmen who lived there and ignored him at the same time. Nathan. The adopted brother, the one she used to tell herself was

hid a palpable tension. He did not approach her, did not greet her with a polite smile like the other guests. Nothing. Just a

. A scene without respite where looks were weapons, where sentences were played on tight threads, where it was not enough to smile. We

im, the more the echo of his absence became present in her head. His eyes, the way he moved, his indifferent attitude, it all kept going on a lo

hat do yo

presented. He had this air of knowing everything, all the secrets she hid under her mask. She felt a rush of heat invade her. A palpable embarrassment. Vernay was not there by chance. He knew she had a role to play and that she was just one piece in a bigge

gaze. "There are factors that are difficult to quantify in the long term. Investments are

e than he wanted to let on. She wasn't stupid, she knew she didn't belong in these discussions.

too professional to be honest. "You're right, Elisa. Confidence... That's a word th

nse. No, he was waiting for her to have something to prove. Let her give him the opportunity to test her. She had noth

wine. But the effort of control she had to exert not to get

, but it wasn't from the food. It was the sensation of this invisible trap that she felt closing around he

the head of the table, as if he were a man passing through, a stranger among his people. Then he launched into a conversation with one of Alexan

n was there, physically, but his gaze constantly avoided Elisa's. He was slipping away. She was almost certain

aw clenched. He said nothing, but his whole body betrayed a need to flee. He hurried away, without saying goodby

stood up, without thinking. The murmurs around her seemed to become more distant. She had to find him. Let her know why he was runnin

the floor, as if nothing made sense. When he saw her, his eyes raised, and a strange flash passed through his eyes. H

ning away like that? » she asked, h

ok his head. "You don't know anything,

m was broken, that a secret he had been keeping was manifesting itself in this stran

d there, in this corridor, alone with the truth that she h