The Ledger and the Stranger (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 29 – Part 4)

Julie retreats down the stairs, pale with dread, as the Englishman and Cocles climb higher. At the top, Cocles unlocks a door leading to M. Morrel’s private room and silently ushers the visitor inside.

There sits the once-proud merchant, hunched over his ledger — a monument of debts. His hair, once black and full, is now white; his steady eyes, dulled by sleepless years. The man who once commanded ships and fortune now trembles at the sound of a knock.

Morrel rises politely, closing the ledger as though it could hide his ruin. The stranger accepts a seat with the quiet gravity of one who already knows all.

 

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