The Prison Registers (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 28 – Part 6)

The Englishman’s tone remains mild, but his purpose sharpens. He asks to see the prison records — those of the Abbé Faria, and of the other prisoner whose story has so interested him. M. de Boville obliges, leading him into a study of immaculate order: numbered ledgers, catalogued files, the bureaucracy of forgotten lives.

While the inspector buries himself in his newspaper, the Englishman leafs through the records with deliberate care. He finds Faria’s entry first — then, as if drawn by fate, turns to the name Edmond Dantès. There it is: the accusation, the examination, the petition by M. Morrel. He reads every line, and in those lines, he sees the trap — Villefort’s betrayal, the deliberate silence that condemned an innocent man.

Calmly, he folds the accusation and slips it into his pocket. Nothing in his expression betrays the storm behind his composure. But when his eyes reach the marginal note beside Dantès’ name, he understands everything — how his own life was taken from him, and how it might now be reclaimed.

 

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