The port disappeared behind them like a beast closing its eyes without sleeping. Selene stayed turned toward the rear window until the orange lights became smears, then points, then nothing. The container marked with the lily was still inside her head. Huge. Slow. Loaded with a war that had waited fifteen years under black water. On her knees lay Dante Orsini's envelope. Inside it, the photograph of Doctor Marius Lenoir. The driver of the gray vehicle. The doctor who had signed Claire's report. The impact and the silence. The two hands of Lily. Selene had been staring at his face for ten minutes. Light suit. Gray hair. Soft eyes, almost paternal. The kind of man families thank in hospital corridors because he speaks quietly when everyone else is collapsing. The kind of man to whom people entrust bodies, diagnoses, certificates, words that will become official. The kind of man who can kill a truth without ever touching a weapon. Eden sat beside her, soaked, silent, his mask removed but his face closed. Noe was in the car behind them, escorted by two men. Maelys and Livia were following at a distance from Ashfall on a secure channel, after threatening three times to "come break kneecaps as emotional support." Selene had barely answered. She was cold. Not because of the rain. Because of the name. Marius Lenoir.
— Is he still a doctor? she asked. Eden checked the tablet one of his men had just handed him.
— Officially retired. Unofficially a consultant for a private clinic outside the city. Lenoir Foundation. Rehabilitation, luxury psychiatry, post-traumatic care. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13Selene gave an empty laugh.
— Of course.
— He signed several judicial assessments, psychiatric reports, incapacity certificates, danger evaluations.
— So he did not just drive.
— No.
— He erased afterward. Eden placed the tablet on his knees.
— He may have erased Irina too. The name crossed the car like an older blade. Selene looked at Eden.
— You do not know?
— The fire reports vanished two years after her death. I thought my mother had destroyed them.
— And now? He looked at Lenoir's photograph.
— Now I think she paid someone to make them clean.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `Selene closed her eyes. Claire Moreau: unstable mother. Irina Veyr: hysterical heiress. How many others? How many women, men, witnesses, children, victims turned into fragile files, incoherent files, dangerous files, suicidal files, drugged files, consenting files, guilty files? Lily was not only a smell. It was an official language.
— We are going to see him, she said. Eden did not answer fast enough. She opened her eyes.
— No.
— I have not said anything yet.
— You thought no.
— Because it is no.
— Eden.
— You watched your mother die less than two hours ago. You were just used by Orsini to reopen a port route. Valere is still out there. My mother has left Ashfall. And you want to walk into a White Hand clinic before dawn.
— Yes.
— That is exactly why it is no. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13Selene slowly turned the photograph toward him.
— He signed my mother's silence.
— I know.
— He may have signed Irina's.
— I know.
— Then you also know we cannot give him time to disappear. Eden's jaw tightened. He hated that she was right. She was beginning to recognize that silence.
— You have two options, she said. You come with me, or I find a stupid way to go without you.
— Is that blackmail?
— No. A realistic projection of my bad decisions. A breath moved over his mouth. Almost a laugh. Not enough to lighten the night.
— Lenoir Foundation, he told the driver. The car changed direction.
The Lenoir Foundation stood on a hill, behind a white gate, twenty minutes from the city center. Not a hospital. Not exactly. An old estate converted into a private clinic for people rich enough for their pain to come with designer furniture. A main building of pale stone. Large glass walls. Impeccable gardens despite the night. Soft lights behind the windows. A place where someone could break you with words like rest, safety, stabilization. The car stopped two streets away. Eden deployed his men before allowing Selene to get out. She did not argue. Not because she liked the idea of being protected. Because she was starting to tell protection from control when the man in front of her made the effort to ask the difference. Noe joined them, pale under a streetlamp.
— Why am I here? he asked.
— Because you may have something Lenoir will recognize, Selene said.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— Very reassuring. Maelys burst into the earpiece. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13— I would like to remind everyone that I proposed a simple strategy: we send Livia in to scare the doctor with a binder. Livia answered from farther away:
— I can do both. Eden cut the public channel.
— We go in clean. Selene lifted an eyebrow.
— You know how?
— Rarely. But a private clinic has cameras, patients, staff. No shots unless absolutely necessary.
— And if the doctor refuses to talk? Eden looked at her.
— Do you want my answer, or the one that will stop you from judging me?
— Both.
— My answer: I make him talk.
— And the other?
— We show him he has more to lose by staying silent than by answering.
— That is the same answer wearing a clean jacket.
— Yes. Selene stared at the Foundation's windows.
— I do not want him tortured.
— I know.
— I am not saying that for him.
— I know that too.
— I am saying it because if he talks under pain, he gives us dirty information. We need him to choose to save something. His reputation, his freedom, his skin, whatever. But he has to choose. Eden watched her.
— You are becoming dangerous in a different room than mine.
— Good. Noe looked from one to the other.
— It is weird when you flirt with interrogation strategies. Selene turned to him.
— No one is flirting. Maelys, back on the channel:
— Collective lie. Eden sighed.
— Channel three.
— I am channel three. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13— Exactly.
They passed the gate through a technical entrance that Eden's men opened without a sound. No scent badge, no code hidden in a song. Just an electronic lock bypassed with almost disappointing efficiency. Selene should have been reassured by the banality. She was not. The most dangerous monsters do not always need secret doors. Sometimes they have secretaries.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `The lobby of the Lenoir Foundation smelled of disinfectant, synthetic lavender, and calm lies. Everything was off-white. Not hospital white. Rich white. White chosen to make it seem as if suffering had been decorated by someone competent. Low armchairs. Plants. Abstract paintings. An empty reception desk. An indoor fountain trickling water far too peacefully for a night like this. Selene hated the place immediately. Behind the desk, a woman looked up. Too late to hide her fear. Eden took a document from his pocket.
— Eden Veyr. We have an appointment with Doctor Lenoir.
— Mister Veyr, I... I do not believe... He placed the document in front of her. Not a weapon. Not an explicit threat. A paper. Clean violence loves papers. The receptionist read it. Her face went pale.
— I will inform...
— No, Selene said. The woman looked at her. Selene approached the desk.
— You are going to call the doctor's office and say Claire Moreau has come back for her report. The silence was immediate. Even Eden turned his head toward her. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13The receptionist did not understand everything. But she understood enough. Certain names, inside certain institutions, live longer than the dead. Her hand shook when she picked up the phone.
— Doctor Lenoir? I am sorry to disturb you. Someone is here for... for Claire Moreau's report. The voice on the other end was inaudible. But the receptionist's face answered for it. Fear. Then obedience. She hung up.
— He will see you.
— Of course, Eden murmured. Selene turned toward him.
— What?
— An innocent man would have asked which one. She felt her stomach tighten. The doctor knew. Again. Always. The receptionist led them to a private elevator. She said nothing. Her heels made tiny sounds too regular against the floor.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `Noe leaned toward Selene.
— Do you think he will tell us the truth?
— No.
— Then why are we going up?
— Because he will lie first. And people who lie well always show you where to dig. Eden looked at her.
— Truly dangerous.
— You already said that.
— I am observing it with growing concern. The elevator opened onto a white corridor. At the end, a pale wooden door. Gold plaque: Dr. Marius Lenoir - Medical Director. Beside the door, almost imperceptible, Selene caught a smell. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13Lily. Not from a candle. Not from room fragrance. On the wood. Like a signature rubbed there by clean fingers.
Marius Lenoir was waiting for them, standing before his window. He was older than in the photograph, of course. But not diminished. Hair fully gray, shoulders straight, the smooth skin of men who have always slept in clean beds after dirtying other people. He wore a white shirt, a gray waistcoat, no coat. Doctors who no longer need a coat are often the ones who want you to forget they still practice. His office was immense. Library. Closed files. Abstract sculpture. A large window overlooking dark gardens. On the desk, a cup of tea still steamed. Marius Lenoir turned. His eyes went first to Eden. Then to Noe. Finally to Selene. There, his expression changed. Not much. Enough.
— Claire, he murmured. Selene stood still.
— Wrong dead woman. The doctor blinked. Eden closed the door behind them.
— Selene Moreau, Lenoir said.
— So you know who I am.
— Of course. You look very much like your mother.
— I have been told. Usually by people who took part in her death. I am starting to find it less flattering. A silence. Marius Lenoir folded his hands behind his back.
— I assume you have come looking for answers.
— No, Selene said. I have come to see whether your lies have aged as well as you have. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13Noe coughed behind her. Maybe to hide a nervous laugh. Eden did not move. The doctor sighed, with carefully measured sadness.
— Your mother was a very disturbed woman at the end. The sentence entered Selene like a match dropped into gasoline. She took one step. So did Eden. Not to stop her. To be there if she chose not to stop herself. She lifted one hand without looking at him. He stopped.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— Repeat that, she told the doctor.
— Selene...
— Repeat it. Lenoir looked at her gently. A gentleness so perfectly medical it became obscene.
— Claire suffered from paranoia. She believed she was being followed. She refused care. She endangered her children. Selene took out the photograph Dante had given her. The gray vehicle. The man at the wheel, enlarged from the video. Marius Lenoir. She placed it on the desk.
— She was being followed. The doctor's gaze dropped to the image. His mouth did not tremble. But his hand did. Once.
— Poor-quality image, he said.
— Better than your report. Eden finally spoke.
— You signed that she was unstable after driving the car that forced her off the road. Lenoir looked at Eden with a kind of regret.
— Your mother said you would end up coming here with a dead woman in your eyes. The sentence was made for him. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13Selene knew it. So did Eden. He stayed still. Good.
— My mother says many things, he answered. That is her problem. She keeps talking when the evidence begins. Selene placed the memory card on the desk.
— We have the video. The doctor looked at the card. Then at Selene.
— Then you already have your truth.
— No, she said. I have what you did. Not why you did it. Marius Lenoir smiled sadly.
— You are young. You still believe the why makes the what easier to bear.
— No. I believe the why shows who needs to fall next. This time, even Eden looked at her.
Marius Lenoir sat down. Not because he was tired. Because he was taking control of his setting again. A man behind a desk exists differently. He becomes institutional. He becomes habit. He becomes the person who listens to patients, signs prescriptions, knows better than you what you lived through. Selene remained standing. She would not give him the stage of a consultation.
— Your mother was not my first report, he said.
— I assumed as much.
— Nor the last.
— That too.
— Then why her? Why this obsession? Noe stepped forward.
— She was our mother. Lenoir looked at him at last.
— Noe. You were a very quiet child. Noe went white.
— You knew me? Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13— I saw you once. After the accident. You refused to speak. Your father did too. Your sister cried until she fell asleep, then began again. The room contracted. Selene did not remember him. Her body, maybe, did. Something at the back of her neck went cold.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— You were at the hospital, she said.
— I was a consultant.
— You were there to erase us too?
— I was there to evaluate.
— Same thing, in your mouth. Lenoir opened a drawer. Eden raised his weapon immediately. The doctor stopped.
— A file, Mister Veyr. You may check. Eden came around the desk, removed the folder himself, and placed it in front of Selene. On the cover: MOREAU, Selene - minor - post-traumatic shock state. Selene did not move. The folder seemed more obscene than a weapon. It probably contained words about her, written by adults who had not let her speak long enough to know what to hear. She opened it.
Medical notes. Signatures. Observations. Child confused. Inconsistent memories. Repeats "the white lady." Possible imaginary contamination. Selene felt the room tilt slightly. The white lady. She had said it. She had tried. Someone had written imaginary. Lenoir watched her.
— Children say many things after a shock. Selene lifted her eyes.
— And doctors choose which ones should die. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13He did not answer. She turned the page. A handwritten note, signed M. Lenoir: Recommendation: avoid repeated questioning of the child. Risk of false-memory creation around a white female figure. False memories. That is how you bury a child alive inside her own head. Noe placed a hand on the table.
— You knew she was telling the truth. Lenoir sighed.
— I knew she was saying what she had seen.
— What is the difference? Selene asked. The doctor looked at her with sadness that was almost sincere.
— What a child sees and what a court can carry are two different things.
— No. What you allow a court to carry. A silence. Marius Lenoir smiled less.
— Your mother was right. You are harder to erase than she was.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `The sentence should have felt like a victory. It did not. Selene did not want to be hard to erase. She wanted never to have been erased. She wanted eight years without rain in her throat, fifteen years without polite lies, a mother dead in a way not authored by the signatures of clean men. She closed the folder.
— Why? Marius Lenoir took his teacup. His fingers no longer trembled.
— Because the White Hand does not protect people. It protects structures.
— Criminal brochure answer.
— Exact answer. One person speaks, a structure falls. One woman dies, another takes her place in line. A well- written report can prevent a war, preserve positions, stop a scandal, maintain a network of hospitals, judges, placements, foundations. Selene wanted to vomit.
— You are talking about humans. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13— I am talking about systems.
— You killed my mother.
— No. I drove. Noe made a strangled sound. Eden moved one step forward. Selene raised her hand. Stop. She did not take her eyes off Lenoir.
— Repeat that.
— I drove, said the doctor. I did not order. I did not hit your car. I positioned a vehicle to close a trajectory. That is not the same thing. The silence became so cold it seemed to whiten the walls. Selene understood then the doctor's true nature. Not a man who believed himself innocent. Worse. A man who had cut his guilt into pieces small enough to swallow without choking.
— And the report? she asked.
— The report stopped the investigation from spilling over.
— Spilling over onto whom? Lenoir looked at Eden.
— Onto the Veyrs. Onto the Orsinis. Onto magistrates. Onto police. Onto doctors. Onto your father too, Selene.
— Do not pretend you protected him.
— I am not pretending. I protected him. Him too. Adrien Moreau would have ended up in prison or at the bottom of the Rhine if the official version had not held. Noe murmured:
— Dad knew? Lenoir gave a tiny smile.
— Your father always knew a little too late. Selene felt Noe's anger before he moved. He lunged toward Lenoir. Eden caught him by the shoulder, firm, without useless violence.
— No.
— He is talking about Dad like a file! Noe shouted.
— Because that is what they made of us, Selene answered. So do not become one more note. Noe was shaking. Eden only let him go when he stepped back. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13Lenoir watched the scene with interest. Not fear. Interest. That made Selene more furious than anything.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— You enjoy this, she said.
— Enjoy what?
— Watching to see whether people become what you wrote about them. The doctor set his cup down.
— That is the basis of every assessment.
Eden's phone vibrated. Message from Livia. He read it. His face changed.
— What? Selene asked. He showed her the screen. Althea untraceable. Valere too. Lily container moved out of the port. Destination unknown. Marius Lenoir watched their reaction. And smiled. Not much. Enough.
— You knew, Selene said.
— I knew they would not let the port become your field of victory.
— Where is the container?
— I do not know. Eden approached the desk.
— Wrong answer. The doctor looked up at him.
— You can break my hands, Mister Veyr. You can make me disappear in a basement. You can satisfy what your mother built in you. But that will not make information I do not have appear. The sentence was a perfect trap. It said to Eden: become what I describe. Selene felt it. She shifted slightly between them. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13— He wants you to touch him. Eden did not answer. His eyes were on Lenoir. Marius continued:
— She really does keep you on a short leash. Selene smiled. Coldly.
— You are looking for the wrong weakness. The doctor turned his eyes to her.
— Am I?
— You think Eden is dangerous because he can hurt you. I think you are afraid he might learn not to. Lenoir's smile disappeared. Hit. Finally. Selene leaned on the desk.
— You built your world on predictable reactions: fear, shame, violence, silence. A woman screams, you write hysteria. A man strikes, you write natural danger. A child speaks, you write confusion. But if we do not react as expected, your report becomes useless. Lenoir stayed silent. So did Eden. Selene took the medical file bearing her name.
— I want every Moreau and Veyr file linked to Claire and Irina. Complete copies. Now.
— You have no right.
— No. But I have your face on the road, your signature on a false report, your admission that you drove, and enough names in the Tuberose register to turn your foundation into a judicial mass grave.
— You will not do that.
— Why?
— Because it would destroy innocents along with the guilty. Selene tilted her head.
— There. The system is speaking. Noe murmured:
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— He is using the patients as a shield.
— Yes, Selene answered. Like they always use the ones who suffer. Marius Lenoir inhaled. For the first time, his calm seemed to cost him.
— If I give you the files, I am dead.
— No, Eden said. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13The doctor looked at him.
— Pardon? Eden had recovered a perfectly low voice.
— If you give them, you are useful. If you do not, you are merely living proof that my patience has limits. Selene shot him a look.
— Eden. He did not take his eyes off Lenoir.
— I did not say I would cross the limits. I said they existed. Maelys, in the earpiece:
— I hate admitting that was almost elegant.
Marius Lenoir gave in. Not out of remorse. Not out of simple fear. Out of calculation. Selene saw it in the way he stood, came around the desk, and pressed his palm to a hidden panel behind the bookcase. He was not giving them the truth. He was moving his losses. A wall safe opened. Inside: several drives, paper files, consultation notebooks, sealed envelopes. Selene felt Eden tense.
— Irina, he said. Lenoir took out a white folder. VEYR, Irina - private incident - post-fire stabilization. Eden went livid.
— Post-fire? Selene understood one second after him. Post. After. Maybe Irina had not died immediately. The world seemed to miss a step. Eden took the file. His fingers were too calm. Too precise. He opened it. Medical photographs. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13Reports. Signatures. A note: Patient conscious upon arrival. Severe burns. Repeated request: "Do not let Eden sign." Eden stopped breathing. Selene felt the horror move from her own chest into his.
— What does that mean? she asked. Marius Lenoir stayed silent. Eden turned the page. An authorization document. Signed: Eden Veyr. Age: eighteen. Subject: transfer of Irina Veyr to private unit under family control. At the bottom, a note: Signature obtained in state of shock. Validated by Dr. M. Lenoir. Eden stepped back as if he had been shot.
— No. The word was barely audible. Lenoir spoke softly.
— Your mother needed your signature. You were of age. Your father absent. Irina still conscious, but not legally stable according to my assessment.
— You told me she was dead. His voice was too low. Lenoir inclined his head.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— We told you she would not suffer anymore.
Selene felt nausea rise. Irina had survived the fire. Long enough to ask that Eden not sign. And Eden, eighteen, shattered, manipulated, had signed without knowing. Althea had not only killed Irina. She had used Eden as a legal exit door. The doctor added:
— She died two days later. Eden lifted his eyes. He was not pale anymore. He was empty. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13— Where?
— Private unit.
— Where? Marius Lenoir hesitated. Selene understood that this question mattered more than the others.
— Where, Doctor? she asked. He looked at Eden.
— In the north wing of the Foundation. The silence became impossible. Irina had died here. Not at Ashfall. Not in the fire. Here. In this white, calm, clean place. Eden turned toward the door. Selene followed at once.
— Eden. He did not answer.
— Eden. Nothing. She quickened her pace and stepped in front of him. He stopped a few centimeters away. His eyes were black. Not explosive anger. Something worse. Absence.
— Let me pass.
— No.
— Selene.
— No. He closed his eyes.
— I have to see.
— I know.
— Then let me pass.
— Not alone. He opened his eyes again. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13The sentence reached him slowly. She was not stopping him. She was refusing to let him descend alone into his worst room.
— Not alone, she repeated. He did not answer. But he stopped moving against her.
The north wing had been closed for years. That was what Marius Lenoir claimed. No one believed him. He walked ahead of them, flanked by two of Eden's men. Noe followed behind Selene, silent for the first time without seeming to hide inside that silence. Eden moved beside her, but far inside himself. She wanted to take his hand. She did not. Not because she did not want to. Because sometimes wanting to touch someone in their pain can be a subtle way of giving yourself a role. She stayed there. Within reach. Not laid upon him. The elevator went down one floor.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `When the doors opened, the air changed. Colder. Drier. Older. The north wing did not have the designer armchairs of the lobby. Here, white was no longer decorative. It was clinical. Hard. Bare walls, numbered doors, tired fluorescent lights. A corridor where pain had been rendered administratively clean. Marius stopped before room 213.
— She was here. Eden did not move. Selene looked at the door.
— Open it. The doctor passed his badge. Beep. The door opened. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13[AUDIO - badge, medical door opening, cold silence] The room was empty. Of course. Medical bed. Closed curtains. Armchair. Sink. An old monitor switched off. Everything had been cleaned, repainted, probably used since for other patients. And yet the place still seemed occupied by a precise absence. Eden entered. One step. Then another. He stopped near the bed. His hand lifted slightly, as if he might touch the sheet. Then fell.
— She was conscious, he said. Marius answered from the doorway:
— At times.
— She asked to see me? A silence.
— Yes. Eden closed his eyes. The blow made no sound. Selene felt it anyway.
— And you did not call me.
— Your mother refused.
— And you?
— I was her doctor.
— You were her jailer. This time Eden's voice was not furious. It was dead. Selene almost preferred fury. Noe entered too, gently. On the bedside table, something glinted. A tiny object caught in a crack in the wood. Selene moved closer.
— Wait. She pulled it free carefully. A small pin. Shaped like a fig tree. On the back, almost illegible engraving, two letters: Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13I.V. Irina. Eden saw it. The room seemed to close around him. He placed one hand against the wall. Not to attack. To stand.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `Selene held the pin out to him. He did not take it right away.
— I left her here.
— No, Selene said. He looked up at her.
— I signed.
— You were in shock.
— I signed.
— A paper they built so your hand would do their crime for them.
— It does not change the result.
— No. She took one step toward him.
— But it changes the debt. Eden finally took the pin. His fingers closed around it. Marius Lenoir watched them from the door. Selene turned her head toward him.
— You have something else.
— No.
— Lie. She did not know how she knew. Maybe it was her work: smells, traces, things hidden beneath surfaces. Maybe simply that Marius Lenoir did not look relieved enough.
— What did she leave? she asked. The doctor fell silent. Eden lifted his head.
— What did she leave? Marius Lenoir closed his eyes. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13— A recording.
Irina's recording fit on a gray dictaphone preserved in Lenoir's personal safe. Why had he kept it? Selene asked the question. The doctor answered:
— Insurance. Not remorse. Not humanity. Insurance. They returned to room 213 to listen to it. Eden refused the armchair. He stayed standing. So did Selene. Noe sat on the edge of the bed, then immediately stood again, uneasy, as if the mattress could accuse. Marius started the device. A breath. Then Irina's voice. Weak. Rasping. Alive. Eden froze.
— Eden, Irina said. A long silence in the recording. She breathed with difficulty.
— If you are hearing this, it means they made you sign something. I am sorry. Not because it is your fault. Because you are going to believe it is. Selene felt her eyes burn. Irina knew her brother. Even while dying. Especially there.
— Listen to me. Mother does not win because she kills. She wins when she manages to make someone else carry the scene. Do not carry mine. I forbid you to turn me into a reason to become her. Eden lowered his head. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13His shoulders did not shake. It was almost worse. Irina inhaled.
— Claire got out. If she reaches the fig tree, she will be able to speak. If she does not, the little one will have to carry the song. I know. It is monstrous. But we lived in a house that turns children into locks. I wanted to be better than that. I failed. Selene closed her eyes. All the dead in this story apologized too late.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— Eden, Irina continued. If one day you meet Selene Moreau, do not save her the way you tried to save me. She will not need an owner with good intentions. She will need a witness who is not afraid to watch her choose against him. The room became too small. Eden finally lifted his eyes to Selene. She was already looking at him. Irina's voice weakened.
— And if you love her... The recording crackled.
— Do not make your love a room without a lock. Silence. Then one last breath.
— The doctor is afraid of originals. He always keeps copies. Click. End.
Marius Lenoir had become very pale. Eden turned toward him.
— Copies of what? The doctor did not answer. Selene understood at the same time as Eden.
— The original reports. Marius closed his eyes.
— And the unedited videos, Eden added. Noe murmured:
— He still has them. Lenoir opened his eyes. And for the first time since their arrival, he was truly afraid. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13[AUDIO - safe opened violently, papers pulled out, hard drive set down] The second safe was not in the office. It was behind the wall of room 213. Behind the bed where Irina had asked to see her brother. Behind the place where Marius Lenoir had kept his insurance policy for fifteen years. Eden forced the panel with cold brutality. No wasted rage. Every motion useful. It was maybe even more frightening. Inside: three hard drives, two sealed envelopes, a medical register, and a small white notebook marked with a lily. Marius Lenoir said:
— You do not understand what you are opening. Selene answered:
— You are right. But I understand what you closed. Livia confirmed receipt of the copies from a distance as soon as Eden's technicians connected the drives to a secure terminal.
— I have the files, she said in the earpiece. Claire Moreau. Irina Veyr. Several dozen other files. Some names match the Tuberose register. Maelys added, lower:
— My name is here too. Selene froze.
— What?
— Not a complete medical file. A preventive sheet. "Primary emotional contact of Selene Moreau. Profile: verbal opponent, high loyalty, low compliance." A silence. Then Maelys said:
— Low compliance? I am framing that. Selene gave a trembling laugh. Even Livia breathed something that sounded like a smile. But the fear remained. They had profiled Maelys. Before the attack. Maybe even before Selene arrived at Ashfall. Marius Lenoir looked at the floor.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— Preventive sheets are generated by the network, not by me.
— Another piece of guilt too small to choke you? Selene asked. He did not answer. Eden took the white notebook. He opened it. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13Inside, not names. Dates. Places. Notes: transfer, stabilization, narrative, final report, family informed, family controlled. And a page marked with a red tab. Date: the following week. Location: Karol House - private Ashfall launch. Selene felt everything stop. Karol House. The name of the immersive edition. The launch of her book. Her project. Her audience. Her world. Under the date: Subject: S. Moreau. Option A: integration. Option B: reputational erasure. Option C: controlled disappearance if song activated publicly. Noe swore. Eden went livid with rage. Selene read the line a second time. Controlled disappearance. If song activated publicly. They had planned her launch. Not only Ashfall. Not only the mafia. They had planned to turn her own book, her experience, her community, her candles into a scene of capture or destruction. The manuscript she thought she was selling was going to become a door.
— No, she said. One word. Not loud. Not shaking. Absolute. Eden looked at her.
— Selene.
— No. She took the white notebook. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13— They will not touch my book. No one answered. The silence proved her right.
A discreet alarm triggered inside the Foundation. Not fire. Not public panic. An internal alarm, elegant, almost polite. Marius Lenoir closed his eyes.
— They know. Eden grabbed the white notebook, the drives, the envelopes.
— Exit.
— Too late, Lenoir said.
— For you, maybe. The sentence snapped. Selene looked at the doctor.
— You are coming with us. He gave a joyless laugh.
— I am more useful here.
— No. Here, you are a witness they will erase to clean their own tracks.
— And with you?
— You are a witness we will use to dirty the right people. He watched her.
— You really do speak like them now. Selene stepped closer.
— No. They dirty victims to protect the system. I am going to dirty the system to make the victims visible. Marius Lenoir did not answer. But he stood. There. The choice. Not moral. Not beautiful. Enough. They left room 213.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13At the end of the corridor, two security agents appeared. Not guards. Clean men. Earpieces. Dark jackets. White Hand. Eden positioned himself to Selene's left. Not in front. To the left. Noe clenched his teeth. Marius Lenoir murmured:
— They will not shoot in a clinic. A bullet struck the wall near his head.
Maelys yelled in the earpiece:
— I officially withdraw my trust in the Hippocratic oath! Eden fired twice. The agents fell back. Livia guided them by radio:
— Service stairs to the right. Not the elevator. Ground-floor cameras are cut. I am opening the north exit. They ran. Marius Lenoir, for a man his age, ran too well. Selene noticed. Even while fleeing, she noticed. In the stairwell, Eden caught her by the sleeve when she slipped on a wet step. He let go immediately.
— Retroactive permission?
— Granted, she panted. But do not make it a habit.
— Never.
— Lie.
— Probably. They burst outside into the rain.
Eden's cars were already there. Noe pushed Lenoir into the first one. Not violently. Enough for symbolic revenge. Selene got into the second with Eden. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13Before the door closed, she looked at the Lenoir Foundation one last time. White. Calm. Intact. For now. Her phone vibrated. Unknown number. A single sentence: Karol House will open with or without you. Then an image. The provisional cover of her book. ASHFALL. But the title had been changed. In its place: LYSFALL. Selene felt a cold rage, pure, almost beautiful. They could touch Ashfall. They could touch the Veyrs, the Orsinis, the routes, the reports, the dead. But her book. Her name. Her story. No. She handed the screen to Eden. He read it. His voice went low.
— They are moving the war toward your launch. Selene watched the Foundation disappear behind the rain.
— Then we do not cancel it. Eden stared at her.
— You want to keep Karol House?
— No. She put the phone away.
— I want to make it their trap. The car started. Behind them, the doctor of the dead had just been extracted from his white tomb. Ahead of them, the book Selene thought she had written was preparing to become a battlefield. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 13And this time, she fully intended to choose the lights.
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