LA CANDIDATE

LA HAINE

"Alors?"

"Madame, I'm not sure you want to hear or see this."

"Don't worry, Faryil. It won't be the first affair I discover. Please give me the envelope."

Faryil looked down at the craft envelope. He was sure the woman would break even if her husband's infidelities were routine.

Although his employment was pretty new, the man had had enough time to observe the sister's relationship to know its impact on Severine-at least, he thought he knew.

Faryil handed the envelope. Severine opened it and began shuffling the photos before her sight.

Faryil watched as her stare widened before darkening.

The kiss at the door wasn't enough; Faryil went to the extreme to capture more compromising clichés. Posted on the roof of a neighboring building, Faryil discovered that Cara loved the doggy style, among other positions.

Severine's eyes didn't shimmer with a tears glint. No, they were sorely dry.

Cold-hearted, some would say, but Faryil knew better. No, Severine was all cried out at this stage.

Something about Serverine didn't reassure Faryil as she tilted her head from side to side. The woman seemed somewhat unhinged.

Severine put down the photos, arranged them neatly, slipped them back into the envelope, and popped them into her Antigona Givenchy bag.

"Do they meet often?" She asked.

"I've only seen them together twice since you asked me to follow your sister."

Severine pursed her lips, "Is someone else on the campaign aware of this?"

"No."

"Good, let's make sure it stays that way. I will take care of things, and I trust you to keep your mouth shut. Cara must not know that I'm aware of this. Do you understand, Faryil?'

"Yes, madame."

"Vous pouvez disposer."

Faryil was to step from the door when he heard, "Thank you, Faryil."

Severine was silent. Though the window was closed, she felt cold. Her hands were freezing. Her ability to think seemed to stop, like all her vitals.

Was this how it felt to die?

Was she dead or alive?

Severine had to verify.

She who thought Alexis couldn't do more harm than he already did found herself gobsmacked by the revelation. It was the type of moment where one desired to hear any sentence except:

"Are you okay? Severine, are you okay?"

Severine looked at Keri, who knelt beside her. She then looked up to find Cara, who looked terrified.

"What's the matter?" Severine asked.

"Cara, call Paul, hurry," Keri said. He removed his jacket and put his hand on Severine's before pulling out the letter opener without success. Keri was scared to hurt her more. Instead, he blocked the blood with his hand. Severine didn't budge; her lips didn't even twitch with pain.

"Putain, il se passe quoi ici"? Paul asked three minutes later as he discovered the bloody scene.

"I think she stabbed her hand with a letter opener," Keri replied.

The scene was surreal, the type that made headlines.

"She needs to go to the hospital," Cara said.

"Are you of y our mind? She'll go nowhere. We need to figure out how to explain this first. Do you imagine what people would say if they knew? Fucking hell, what was security doing?"