Élisa's silence in the red room had been her answer, her tacit acceptance. Adrien, his eyes fixed on her, seemed to understand. He didn't force her, didn't touch her further, but the intensity of his presence was enough to envelop her, to bind her. The tension was palpable, the room itself seeming to hold its breath, heavy with what was about to be revealed.
He stepped back slightly, but maintained eye contact, his dark eyes probing her to the depths of her soul. "You want the truth, Élisa? The one no one knows?" His voice was a raw whisper, barely audible above the haunting oriental music. He paused, the dramatic effect intentional, letting the tension build. "I was there, the night Clara died."
Élisa's breath hitched. The world stopped turning. Her worst nightmare, her deepest fear, was taking shape. Adrien was there. In the shadows. At the moment of the tragedy.
"I saw what no one else saw, Élisa," he continued, his voice dropping further, imbued with a gravity that chilled her blood. His eyes never left hers, holding her captive. "I know what she did."
Élisa's heart hammered in her chest, a frantic drum. That "she." Who was "she"? Clara? Herself? Both their lives, so intertwined, so haunted by the same drama. The red room, the music, Clara's photos... it all took on a macabre meaning, a ritual designed to break her before rebuilding her.
Adrien approached again, his shadow enveloping her. He reached out a hand and gently caressed her cheek, his thumb brushing her trembling lips. "I'm offering you a deal, Élisa. Silence for truth. My discretion about what I saw, for the answers you seek." His gaze intensified, a dark flame igniting within his eyes. "But on one condition." He leaned in, his lips brushing her ear. "That you belong to me. Body and soul."
It was the same proposition he had made on the rooftop terrace, but this time, the threat was real, tangible. The truth about Clara's death, the secret Adrien held, was the key to her freedom, but it demanded an absolute sacrifice. That night, Élisa did not try to flee. The ground beneath her feet seemed to give way, but she did not move. Her eyes fixed on his, she uttered the word, the one that sealed her fate, the one she knew she had to say since the beginning of this dangerous game. She said yes.