Between shadows and hopes: The quest for truth

ndows of Elise's house, tracing furrows that blurred the shy light in the morning. Sitting at her office, her gaze lost in

rsts of laughter in her eyes. Behind him, the boat he cherished so much was held proudly, the white veils swollen by the sea wind. Éli

he horizon," he said, his hands on the rudder. "W

oped that this day would come. Today, he only had this photo left,

so clear that it seemed possible to touch the stars. Élise, freshly arrived in this small coastal town to start a job as a restaurateur of works of art,

re, right?" he

ight?" had she rep

bad observer, but that, I d

first moments. Thomas, with his passion for the sea and his maritime travel accounts, had opened a new world

covered from Antoine, an object that seemed to whisper for forgotten truthsShe couldn't help but wonder how man

playing a role in all of this, but her ambiguous behavior left more questions t

nd the memories of their getaways, a card drew its attention. An old sea map, annotated from the neat writing of Thomas. She deployed her on her table, discover

sentence written in red: "Silence

eemed to resonate with what Antoine had told him. She released he

pushed her to return to Antoine's works

shed, but the door was again ajar. With care, Élise entered. The room was immersed in darkness, but a weak ray o

and notes in abbreviation. But it was a photo inserted between two pages which made her stop suddenly: a photo

and faster. An annotation on the back of the photo

sounded behind. She turned suddenly, her breath cut. Antoine wa

" he said calmly, but with a hardness

her. "It is you who hides things, Antoine. This symbol, this com

lowly, but did not r

ise. You don't understand what

stration in her voice. "Tell me what happened to Tho

her indecipherable expression. Th

his noteboo

ll, refusing

you tell me

diance in his gaze betra

inally. "If you want to

andoned for years, was filled with rusty tools and old cases marked by the wear of tim

want to know is i

ng for a key. But something in her attitude bore

ath. Inside, documents, personal objects from Thomas,

?" she asked, th

s was trying to prote

hat if all this was only another manipulation? Antoine was perhaps directing her towards a false track, leading her further from the

e had hoped to find clear answers, but everything she saw only won more questions. The documents seeme

what it means," she said,

the box, looked at her for

im. He did not know what he was committed to

eem to know everything I don't know?"

, as if he was look

boat ... Something he shouldn't

ng a document that she had just extracted from the cash register: an expedition r

ortant? Who are these people who seem to control every

a nervous han

questions, you risk ... attract

ated in the night. Antoine, suddenly tense, turned off the to

whispered, his almo

ilhouettes, and although she could not hear their words, she felt palpable tension in the air. Antoine se

gar, and the engines moved away in the night. Antoine got

llowed you," he

although her mind began to ass

questions," he replied, his

ests. Throughout the way, she could not help but go back to the events of the evening: the box, the c

the house, Antoine turned

e me to drop it

ook he

ine. Thomas dese

" he whispered, before turning the h

o take discreetly of the hangar and tried to analyze them. Some seemed linked to maritime routes, others con

key. Valmont is the

hat constantly returned to this investigation. If it was the beginning, as this note

workshop, where he stood in front of his office, his hands trembling. He open

spered, his eyes staring at Tho

end up discovering what he had done. But he hoped to be able to delay this moment as lo