Chapter 5 The First Sacrifice

The day starts quietly, but Amélie knows better than to trust the calm. Paris never waits for anyone. The streets shine with early morning rain, lamplight reflecting like fractured gold. She walks toward La Défense, her heels clicking on the wet pavement, a notebook tucked under her arm. She feels the pressure of the system already weighing on her, expectant and relentless.

Inside the office, the air is warmer than outside, buzzing with the low chatter of people who feel they belong. Amélie's name is on the agenda. Her choices, once overlooked, now shape meetings. Her suggestions get put into action. Her mistakes are quietly corrected behind closed doors. She is becoming invisible only in the ways she wants.

Monsieur Lefèvre stands at the end of the table, as composed and authoritative as ever. His eyes flick toward her, and she senses the subtle tension in his gaze-the silent calculation of potential he keeps for himself.

"You reviewed the proposal?" he asks, his voice smooth.

"Yes," Amélie replies. "I've adjusted the allocations to maximize impact and reduce risk." She speaks clearly, without hesitation.

Lefèvre's lips curl into a faint smile. "Good. Efficiency is often more valuable than honesty. You understand this now."

Amélie nods, though her throat is tight. She understands better than anyone.

Later, in her office, she opens the files Lefèvre gave her the night before. Among the data is a name she knows immediately: Julien. He is part of a start-up project Lefèvre is considering for acquisition. The numbers look promising, the strategy is solid-but one choice could change everything: redirect funding, adjust timelines, delay approvals.

Amélie leans back in her chair, her heart racing. This is the moment she has been anticipating. The first real test. Should she protect Julien, or follow the system to ensure her own survival?

Her fingers hover over the keyboard. A thousand "what-ifs" flash through her mind:

If I protect him, I risk my position.

If I don't, I betray someone I care about-and the last part of me that believes in goodness.

The cursor blinks. She presses it.

By evening, the decision has been made. Julien's project is quietly set aside, lost among more profitable opportunities. He will not fail completely-he has talent-but the system has shifted, and he will notice.

When Julien calls, his voice is steady but hurt. "They've delayed our approval again. I don't understand. It was perfect. Nothing changed."

Amélie swallows. She wants to tell him the truth, but she can't. The cost is too high.

"Things... happen," she says softly. "Don't give up."

He hesitates. "Amélie... you're different. I can feel it."

"I'm just..." she starts, then catches herself. "Focused."

He doesn't press further. For now.

That night, the city feels colder. Amélie sits in her apartment, wine untouched, documents spread around her. Each file is a thread, each decision a stitch in the web she is weaving. She feels the first real weight of what she has done. Julien will notice the change soon, and when he does, he will question her.

Clara calls just then.

"You're finally playing the game," Clara says, her voice smooth and teasing. "I knew you had it in you."

Amélie grips the phone. "Playing the game isn't always winning."

Clara laughs. "Maybe. But right now, it feels like winning. Don't lie to yourself-power is seductive.

"

Amélie closes her eyes. Clara is right. The excitement is undeniable. The system bends to her now, opening doors she once knocked on endlessly. She could have anything, anyone, if she is willing to keep sacrificing.

And yet, the sacrifice feels bitter.

The next morning, Julien shows up unexpectedly at her apartment. Rain has soaked his coat, curls sticking to his forehead. He looks tired, worried, unprepared for the calculated world she inhabits.

"Why did they delay us?" he asks immediately, not waiting for pleasantries.

Amélie meets his eyes. She cannot lie outright, not completely. She needs a thread of truth to hold herself together.

"Some decisions... aren't about merit," she says carefully. "They're about influence, timing... strategy."

Julien frowns. "Strategy? Amélie... you've changed."

She swallows. "I'm surviving, Julien. That's all."

He steps closer, his voice softer. "And at what cost?"

She cannot answer. The truth is too heavy, too dangerous. Julien has always been the anchor to her conscience, the reminder that goodness still exists. But now he is the cost of her rise

And Amélie knows the system does not forgive weakness.

Later, Lefèvre calls. His praise is measured and approved. "You handled the Julien project with precision. Good work. Results first, emotions later. That is power."

Amélie leans back, her heart racing. Precision. Results. Power. Words she once feared, now her creed.

She opens a drawer, takes out the silver cross, and stares at it. Her fingers linger on its cool surface, the weight of tradition and faith, the girl she used to be.

Then she sets it down.

Tomorrow, she will see Clara again. Tomorrow, she will negotiate deals that could ruin someone's life or build her empire.

And she knows-without doubt-that the first sacrifice has changed everything.

Amélie Rousseau is no longer the girl who waits for life to reward her.

She is the one who decides who survives and who falls.