— Captain Roux, lock the prison. No one is leaving.
The following minutes were a contained commotion. An officer was stopped in the administrative corridor. In his locker, they found a pair of black gloves… and a knife still bearing old traces, never properly analyzed.
The execution was suspended.
Three months later, in a light-filled courtroom, the verdict was delivered.
Julien Morel was innocent.
The real culprit, a former security guard present at the scene the night of the crime, had acted to cover up a robbery gone wrong. Julien's conviction was nothing more than a tragic mistake, fueled by fear and haste.
When Julien left the courthouse, Salomé ran towards him.
This time, there were no more handcuffs.
He knelt down and held her close, unable to speak.
Colonel Bernard observed the scene from a distance. For the first time in a long time, his gaze was not filled with fatigue… but with peace.
"You saved your father," he said to the little girl.
Salome shook her head gently.
— No… I only told the truth.
That evening, in a small apartment still empty but filled with light, Julien and his daughter dined together.
No walls, no bars. Only the gentle silence of a life beginning anew.
And for the first time in five years, the clock was no longer a countdown.
It simply marked the return of time.
