Chapter 3 The Shape of Permission

Amélie learns something unsettling about power. It does not announce itself.

It slips quietly into your life, changing how people view you before you even realize you've changed.

The first sign is an urgent email. It does not demand or apologize; it simply expects her response. The second sign comes from how her name is spoken in meetings now, with pauses and consideration, as if it carries weight. The third sign is the lack of struggle. Tasks that once required begging now just need confirmation.

She tells herself it's coincidence, momentum, or recognition long overdue.

But deep down, she knows better.

She has crossed into a space where goodness is no longer valuable. Effectiveness is.

One morning, Amélie stands in the bathroom, staring at her reflection while she fastens her hair into a low knot. Her face looks the same-sharp eyes, steady mouth-but something has settled behind her gaze. A calculation. A quiet readiness.

She touches the small silver cross at her throat, hesitates, and then removes it, tucking it into her bag. It feels symbolic, though she can't explain why.

At the office near La Défense, the air smells like glass and ambition. She moves carefully, aware that every step is observed. A senior analyst smiles at her as he passes. Someone holds the elevator for her.

Inside the conference room, Monsieur Lefèvre sits at the head of the table, immaculate as always. He acknowledges her with a nod that is neither warm nor dismissive, just expectant.

"Miss Rousseau," he says when the discussion turns to strategy. "Your assessment?"

The room falls silent.

Amélie feels the moment stretch-this delicate space where she could either falter or become exactly what they want. She opens her mouth and speaks clearly and efficiently, without apology.

She does not soften her conclusions.

She does not mention ethics.

She does not hesitate.

When she finishes, silence fills the room. Then Lefèvre smiles.

"Good," he says. "Very good."

Something loosens in her chest-and something else tightens.

Clara calls that evening.

"You're everywhere lately," she says lightly. "People are talking."

Amélie holds the phone between her shoulder and ear as she washes dishes. "About what?"

"About you." Clara laughs. "You've always been smart, but now-well. You look...different."

Different. "Is that a bad thing?" Amélie asks.

"No," Clara replies. "It's impressive. You finally stopped waiting to be chosen."

Amélie's hand stills in the sink.

"I didn't know I was waiting," she says.

Clara hums. "We all wait. Some of us just get tired sooner."

They make plans to meet-coffee near the Champs-Élysées, a place Amélie once avoided because she felt she didn't belong. Now, the thought barely registers.

After the call ends, Amélie dries her hands slowly. Clara's voice lingers, filled with satisfaction and victory.

She wonders when envy turned into something colder.

Julien notices the cross is missing.

"You stopped wearing it," he says when they meet for dinner days later.

Amélie looks down instinctively. "Did I?"

He studies her, not accusing, just searching. "It mattered to you."

"It still does," she says too quickly.

Julien doesn't argue. He just nods and changes the subject. But the space between them feels wider, filled with words neither is brave enough to say.

Halfway through the meal, Amélie's phone buzzes. A message from an unknown number.

Come by tonight. There's something you should see.

Her appetite disappears.

Monsieur Lefèvre's office at night feels different-less polished, more honest. The city glows behind the glass walls, Paris spreads beneath them like a promise and a threat.

He pours her a drink she does not touch.

"You're adapting quickly," he says.

"I'm learning," Amélie replies.

He watches her closely. "Learning what?"

She meets his gaze. "What matters?"

Lefèvre smiles approvingly. "Exactly."

He slides a folder across the desk. Inside are documents-financial projections, acquisition strategies, names highlighted in careful ink.

"You noticed the inconsistencies," he says. "I want to know what you would do with them."

Amélie flips through the pages, pulse steady, mind sharp. She understands immediately what he's asking. Not to expose the problem, but to manage it.

"You want me to rewrite the narrative," she says.

"I want you to protect the outcome," Lefèvre corrects. "Truth is flexible; results are not."

She closes the folder. "And if I refuse?"

He shrugs. "Then someone else will do it. Less carefully.

"

The permission hangs in the air-unspoken and undeniable.

Amélie thinks of her mother's tired hands, Julien's concerned eyes, and Clara's laughter.

She thinks of the doors that finally opened.

"I'll review it," she says.

Lefèvre nods, satisfied. "Good. Power favors those who don't hesitate."

As she leaves, he adds softly, "You're not becoming corrupt, Amélie. You're becoming effective."

At home, sleep refuses her.

She sits at the edge of her bed, folder open, documents spread like confession. Each decision is small, technical, and easily justified.

She tells herself she is preventing harm, containing damage, and keeping chaos at bay.

She does not tell herself that she enjoys the clarity.

Her phone buzzes again.

Julien.

Are you okay?

She stares at the screen for a long time before replying.

Yes.

Another lie, slightly heavier than the last.

The next morning, Amélie submits her revisions.

The response is immediate.

Approval, praise, and inclusion.

Her name is added to emails she never imagined receiving. Her opinion is requested, then followed. The system does not resist her anymore.

It embraces her.

At lunch, Clara sends a photo-two glasses raised in celebration, her smile sharp with triumph.

We're winning, the caption reads.

Amélie looks at the image and then at her reflection in the dark screen of her phone. She does not smile back.

That evening, Julien confronts her.

"You're pulling away," he says quietly.

"I'm busy," she answers.

"You're hiding."

The word lands harder than an accusation.

"I'm surviving," she snaps.

Julien exhales slowly. "Those aren't the same thing."

She looks at him-really looks-and for a moment, the old Amélie surfaces, frightened and earnest.

"I can't afford to be who I was," she whispers.

Julien's voice breaks slightly. "And who are you now?"

She has no answer.

Later, alone again, Amélie opens her laptop and stares at the saved files. At the version of events she helped create and at the efficiency of it all.

She reaches into her bag and pulls out the silver cross. She holds it between her fingers.

For the first time, she does not feel comfortable.

She closes her fist around it, not in prayer, but in farewell.

The system has given her permission.

And Amélie Rousseau is beginning to understand that permission is the most dangerous gift of all.