Chapter 4 The Cost of Influence

Paris at night has a way of amplifying everything. The glow of streetlights on slick cobblestones. The sound of footsteps echoing like they belong to someone else. The quiet thrum of ambition in every window. Amélie stands on her small balcony, the city spread beneath her, thinking about how far she has come.

She isn't the girl who cried over rejection emails anymore. She isn't the one who waited, polite and patient, for the world to recognize her. Now, she commands attention with a single word, a single signature. Doors open. People listen. Invitations arrive in envelopes that smell faintly of leather and power.

And still, nothing feels lighter.

The office at La Défense smells of paper, expensive coffee, and something sharper-control. Monsieur Lefèvre waits for her with his usual calm precision. He doesn't need to ask how she has used the documents she was given; he can see it in her posture, the way her fingers linger over the edges of the folders.

"You've made progress," he says. "But progress always comes with choices."

Amélie's lips tighten. "I understand."

Lefèvre leans back, studying her with those unflinching eyes. "Do you? Most people never understand until it's too late."

She remembers Julien's face in the café last week. His quiet disapproval, and the unease she felt under his gaze. He has always been the measure of her morality, the one who could see the old Amélie beneath the mask. Now, she wonders if he would even recognize her.

Later, in a conference room glowing with the soft light of monitors, Amélie reviews proposals from emerging companies for a lucrative acquisition. One company stands out-not for its potential, but for the founder: a young man she tutored years ago, now polished, ambitious, but naive about the city.

"He's talented," she says quietly.

Lefèvre looks over the rim of his glasses. "And expendable. Talent is rarely enough."

Amélie swallows. She knows what he is implying. The system rewards cunning, not skill. Connections, not conscience.

Her hands hover over the keyboard. She could praise him, guide him, protect him-help him rise like she once helped Clara. Or she could bend the numbers just enough to redirect the acquisition elsewhere. The decision is subtle, almost invisible, but it carries consequences.

She thinks of Clara's victories. Of the shortcuts that brought her wealth and influence. Of the faint, dangerous thrill that came the first time she bent a rule herself.

Her fingers land on the keys. The choice is made.

Dinner with Julien is tense. He notices immediately. "Something's different," he says. "You're quieter. Sharper. Not in a good way."

"I'm focused," she replies. Her voice is calm, almost measured. Too measured.

Julien searches her face, not with anger, but with concern. "I can see the lines in your hands. You're working harder, but this isn't just work, is it?"

She hesitates. Part of her wants to confess everything-the meetings with Lefèvre, the spreadsheets she manipulates, the decisions she makes that feel like betrayals. But another part knows she cannot. Not yet. The system rewards results, not confession.

Instead, she smiles faintly. "Just learning how the world works."

Julien leans back, his expression unreadable. "And does it feel like survival?"

She does not answer.

That night, Amélie returns to her apartment. The streets are slick from a soft drizzle. She slides open the door, takes off her coat, and pours a glass of water. Her apartment is small, cramped, familiar-but now it feels like a different kind of confinement. She has reached power, and yet it comes with walls she cannot see.

Her phone buzzes.

Clara.

Let's celebrate tonight. You've earned it.

Amélie stares at the message. Celebrate. Earned. Words that once would have felt hollow now carry weight, but not happiness. She types a brief reply: I'll think about it.

She knows Clara is testing her. Showing how far she has come-but also reminding her how far she still is.

Later, in a dimly lit lounge overlooking the Seine, Amélie and Clara meet. Clara is radiant, confident, and unstoppable. Every gesture, every word carries the ease of someone who knows they can take what they want and keep it.

"You've changed," Clara says, sipping her wine. "I can see it. You don't wait for the world to notice you anymore. You command it."

Amélie studies her friend-turned-rival. There is admiration there, yes, but also a flicker of bitterness she refuses to acknowledge. "It's necessary," she says softly.

Clara leans forward. "Necessary, or chosen?"

The question hangs between them, sharp and dangerous. Amélie swallows. She does not answer.

Outside, the city hums with lights and voices. Inside, Amélie feels the weight of every choice she has made-and every one she is about to make. She knows now that power is not given. It is taken. And every victory has a price.

Her hand brushes against the silver cross in her bag, and she does not remove it. Not tonight.

Because tonight, she will celebrate.

And tomorrow, she will decide exactly how much of herself she is willing to sacrifice.