After Clara and Marc's arrest, Julien and Thomas hope to finally return to a normal life. But as they try to rebuild their love, an unexpected threat emerges from within Julien's own company.
[INT. JULIEN'S APARTMENT – EARLY MORNING]
Daylight filters timidly through the curtains. Julien sits on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his gaze lost in the distance.
Beside him, Thomas is still asleep. His face bears the marks of exhaustion, and a slight bruise near his temple serves as a reminder of the events of the past few days.
Julien turns toward him and gently brushes his cheek.
JULIEN (in a low voice): I promise you that no one will ever hurt you again because of me.
Thomas slowly opens his eyes.
THOMAS: You're doing it again.
Julien withdraws his hand, surprised.
JULIEN: I thought you were asleep.
THOMAS: I was trying to be. But my boyfriend decided to hold a strategic meeting with the ceiling at six in the morning.
Despite himself, Julien manages a faint smile.
JULIEN: I was thinking.
THOMAS: About what? Your next way of disappearing without telling me?
Julien's smile fades.
Thomas sits up and takes his hand.
THOMAS: Julien, look at me.
Julien obeys.
THOMAS: I know you're afraid. I am too. But I don't want our relationship to become a series of promises made after every disaster.
JULIEN: I don't want to lose you.
THOMAS: Then the next time something goes wrong, talk to me about it. Don't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders alone.
Julien lowers his head, then moves closer to him.
JULIEN: All right.
Thomas kisses his forehead.
For a few seconds, they remain wrapped in each other's arms, convinced that the worst is finally behind them.
Then Julien's phone rings.
A work call.
He answers.
JULIEN: Hello?
Sophie's voice comes through, urgent and unusually grave.
SOPHIE: Julien, you need to come to the office immediately.
JULIEN: What's going on?
Silence.
SOPHIE: The board of directors has called an emergency meeting. And your name is at the center of it.
Julien straightens up.
JULIEN: What matter?
SOPHIE: I'd rather not discuss it over the phone. Come quickly.
She hangs up.
Thomas watches his boyfriend's face.
THOMAS: What's wrong?
Julien grabs his clothes.
JULIEN: I think my problems at the office aren't over yet.
[INT. ARTECH COMPANY – CONFERENCE ROOM – MORNING]
The atmosphere is icy.
Around the large table, several board members examine documents. Mr. Bernard, the director, stands in front of the projection screen.
Julien enters, followed by Sophie.
Every eye turns toward him.
MR. BERNARD: Julien. Take a seat.
Julien sits down.
JULIEN: Sophie told me this was an urgent meeting. I'd like to know what's going on.
Mr. Bernard places a folder in front of him.
MR. BERNARD: Last night, our main business partner suspended negotiations concerning the Artech project.
Julien frowns.
JULIEN: Why?
MR. BERNARD: They received documents suggesting that certain financial records were deliberately falsified by a member of our management team.
Julien opens the folder.
His name appears on several pages.
Signatures. Financial statements. Transfer authorizations.
Everything seems to indicate that he approved irregular transactions.
JULIEN: That's impossible. I never signed these documents.
One of the board members speaks up.
BOARD MEMBER: And yet, your signature appears on every authorization.
JULIEN: It was copied.
BOARD MEMBER: You understand that we can't simply take your word for it, don't you?
Julien clenches his jaw.
After everything he has been through, he once again finds himself forced to defend his integrity.
JULIEN: I want the original files examined. The modification histories, server access logs, everything. You'll discover that someone used my credentials.
Mr. Bernard exchanges a glance with Sophie.
MR. BERNARD: That's precisely what we're going to do. In the meantime, you're temporarily being removed from the management of the project.
The words hit Julien like a blow.
JULIEN: You're suspending me?
MR. BERNARD: As a precautionary measure. This isn't a final decision.
Julien slowly closes the folder.
JULIEN: I understand.
But his voice betrays his anger.
As he leaves the room, he notices Marc in a photograph attached to the documents. The picture shows a work meeting that took place several weeks earlier.
On the back, someone has written a sentence:
"The first culprit isn't always the one who gets arrested."
Julien freezes.
The sentence bears a striking resemblance to the threats he received before Marc's arrest.
Sophie notices his expression.
SOPHIE: What's wrong?
Julien shows her the photograph.
She turns slightly pale.
SOPHIE: I didn't see that before.
JULIEN: Then someone has hidden part of the evidence from us.
[INT. JULIEN'S APARTMENT – AFTERNOON]
Thomas is in the kitchen when he hears the front door slam.
Julien walks in, throws his keys onto the table, and takes off his jacket irritably.
THOMAS: I take it the meeting went well.
JULIEN: Wonderfully. Now I'm being accused of financial fraud.
Thomas immediately puts down his dish towel.
THOMAS: What?
Julien explains the documents, his suspension, and the photograph with the handwritten message.
Thomas listens without interrupting.
When Julien finishes, Thomas approaches him.
THOMAS: Did they find the documents on the company's servers?
JULIEN: They received copies. No one knows where they came from yet.
THOMAS: And do you still have access to your work account?
Julien takes out his phone.
JULIEN: I haven't checked.
He opens his email.
A new notification appears.
An email has just been sent from his work account to several members of the board of directors.
Subject: CONFIDENTIAL CONFESSION
Julien opens the message.
His face falls.
The text claims that he admits to altering the financial records to accelerate his promotion. It even contains an apology to the company.
JULIEN: I didn't send this.
Thomas leans closer to the screen.
THOMAS: Someone is still using your account.
Julien tries to access the security settings. A red alert appears.
ACCESS DENIED. ACCOUNT TEMPORARILY LOCKED.
He steps back, stunned.
JULIEN: They want to make me look guilty before the investigation even begins.
Thomas places a hand on his shoulder.
THOMAS: Then we'll prove you didn't do it.
Julien looks at him.
JULIEN: I don't want you getting involved in this.
Thomas slowly removes his hand.
THOMAS: Do you know what hurts me the most?
Julien says nothing.
THOMAS: It's not the danger. It's when you decide on my behalf what I can handle.
Julien closes his eyes, aware of his mistake.
JULIEN: I'm sorry.
Thomas eventually takes his hand again.
THOMAS: We'll face this together. But this time, we're going to do things properly. We'll inform Sophie and the police if necessary. No secret meetings, no lone heroes.
Julien nods.
For the first time in several days, he accepts that he doesn't have to control everything.
[INT. ARTECH COMPANY – IT DEPARTMENT – LATE AFTERNOON]
Sophie stands in front of a technician with her arms crossed, while Julien waits behind her.
Several connections are displayed on the screen.
TECHNICIAN: The email was indeed sent from Julien's account. But that doesn't mean he sent it himself.
JULIEN: Can you identify the device that was used?
The technician types a few commands, then stops.
TECHNICIAN: That's strange.
SOPHIE: What is it now?
TECHNICIAN: The message was prepared on an external computer, but it was authenticated using an old company access token.
JULIEN: An old token?
TECHNICIAN: An access credential that should have been deactivated a long time ago.
He opens another window.
A name appears.
MARC DELMAS.
Sophie freezes.
SOPHIE: But Marc has been arrested. The police seized his equipment.
TECHNICIAN: Exactly. This token is linked to an administrative account created before he left the IT department. It shouldn't be working anymore.
Julien stares at the screen.
JULIEN: Someone kept his access credentials.
The technician nods.
TECHNICIAN: Or someone reactivated them.
A heavy silence falls over the room.
Marc may have acted with an accomplice. But there is still no proof that this person works at Artech.
Sophie closes the folder.
SOPHIE: I'll forward this information to management and the investigators.
Julien nods, then notices one final entry in the connection log.
An access attempt was recorded at 8:42 a.m.
At that time, all the employees were already at the office.
And the device used has been identified as a terminal located inside the building.
Someone here has access to the account.
[INT. JULIEN'S APARTMENT – EVENING]
Julien sits at the table across from Thomas. Dinner has gone cold, but neither of them has touched it.
THOMAS: Is there anyone in particular you're thinking of?
JULIEN: No. And that's exactly what worries me.
He looks at his phone.
No new messages. No calls.
The silence feels more threatening than all the threats he received before.
Then a notification appears.
An unknown number has sent him a photograph.
Julien opens it.
It's a picture taken in the conference room a few hours earlier. He can be seen sitting in front of the folder containing the falsified documents.
The photo was taken from the other end of the table.
Someone had been in the room, close enough to photograph his face without him noticing.
Beneath the image is a sentence:
"You're looking for Marc's accomplice. But ask yourself a different question: who helped you uncover his crimes?"
Julien feels his stomach tighten.
Sophie.
She was the one who had brought him the first pieces of evidence against Marc. She had helped him understand the manipulation, accompanied him to the IT department, and risked her own safety to defend him.
But if someone wanted to make him doubt his allies, this message was perfectly calculated.
THOMAS: What's wrong?
Julien hands him the phone.
Thomas reads the message twice.
THOMAS: This proves nothing against Sophie.
JULIEN: I know.
But deep inside him, a seed of doubt has just been planted.
His phone vibrates again.
This time, he receives an audio file.
He hesitates, then presses play.
A woman's voice emerges, muffled by static.
FEMALE VOICE: Marc did what he was told. Clara did too. But Julien should never have discovered the original documents.
A door can be heard opening.
Then a second voice, a man's, whispers:
MALE VOICE: Then we'll have to deal with him before he traces this back to us.
The audio ends.
Julien remains motionless.
Thomas squeezes his hand.
THOMAS: We'll give this to the police.
Julien nods, unable to take his eyes off the screen.
One final message appears.
"Ask Sophie what happened on the day of your promotion. She never told you the whole story."
Julien slowly raises his head.
He thinks back to that disputed promotion, the rumors, Marc, and the falsified documents.
And Sophie, who had always been there at just the right moment.
JULIEN (in a whisper): What are you hiding from me, Sophie?
Thomas doesn't answer.
Outside, a car has just stopped in front of the building.
Someone gets out, crosses the street, and looks up at the apartment windows.
Then the person takes out a phone and dials a number.
UNKNOWN VOICE: He received the message.
A pause.
UNKNOWN VOICE: Yes. He's starting to doubt her.
The figure gives a faint smile before disappearing into the night.