- A lady who says she's a friend of your son wants to see you.
A friend of her son.
It was all very strange.
Francès Goren had no idea who this lady was.
Let alone what kind of friend of her son she could be.
She couldn't remember her son having many friends, let alone girls.
And more importantly, who would have made the trip to see her here.
This friend had to be the rare pearl her son had found.
But who could she be.
It intrigued her.
And her curiosity was aroused.
And she couldn't wait to see who she was, and to meet her.
- Show her in.
The nurse nodded, leaving the room to make way for a petite blonde lady who, from what Francès could see, was no older than thirty.
The little blonde really did have a pleasant face and delicate features.
But strangely enough...
This pleasant face, and her fine features, reminded him of her.
But a few years younger.
She reminded him of a girl no older than fifteen, but instead of having medium-length hair, she had long hair.
Good God...
But where had she seen him before.
Francès couldn't have forgotten a face like that.
And suddenly, the face of the little blond woman interposed itself with the drawing of the fifteen-year-old girl his son had drawn.
Name of God…
But yes...
It was her.
There could be no doubt.
Her son had drawn her so carefully, it would have been hard not to know it was her.
The fifteen-year-old girl his son had loved so dearly.
Francès never thought he'd find himself standing in front of her.
And even less so now.
It must have been more than fourteen years since his son had heard from her, much to his dismay.
And here she was, right in front of her, sitting in the chair right next to her.
How could this be?
Moreover, why had she come to see her.
And how did she know she was here.
Good God...
She often forgot that her son didn't tend to hide where she was, and why.
Instead of being ashamed, on the contrary, she had no problem admitting that her mother was in a psychiatric hospital, and for what reason.
- I'm Alexandra Eames... your son's friend and partner.
At her introduction, Francès snapped out of his thoughts and set his big brown eyes on the little blonde sitting next to him.
Alexandra Eames, she said...
And her son's friend and partner.
Partner…
How was this possible after so many years.
Could it be that fate had put them back on the same path.
She understood better why her son had seemed so tortured lately.
Because she'd come back into his life.
And to make matters worse, she'd become his partner.
Which couldn't have helped matters.
Constantly reminding him of the past.
And what he'd lost.
But why had she come to see her.
What was she doing here.
And above all, what was she trying to find out.
Francès Goren was sure that if she was here, it was for something that kept her son alive.
- I'd like to ask you some questions about Bobby... Questions about the past.
And lo and behold, she'd been right.
Alexandra Eames, as she'd called herself, was right about her son.
Especially when it came to the past.
In addition, had she heard what she'd called her son.
Eames had just called her son Bobby.
Not as a partner, or a friend, but as an intimate.
Could it be that she still felt something for him.
If she'd come all this way, it was quite possible.
But why question her about the past.
Wouldn't her son be the best person to ask for answers.
Only he could really tell her what had happened.
And why he'd left.
She wasn't in a very good position.
True, she knew what had happened.
But was it up to her to say it, or to talk about it.
She could see that Eames had come to her for answers, but could she provide them, without betraying her son.
But the fact that she'd made this trip made her want to help him.
So maybe she could...
- All right, Eames... you can ask me your questions.
She could ask him questions...
Was it true.
Had she finally found someone who could tell her about the past, without avoiding certain questions.
Good God...
If she'd known, she'd have come to talk to Goren's mother a long time ago.
Because at last, Goren's mother was going to answer her questions, and maybe that would dispel her doubts, and maybe she'd finally know if what she'd been told back then was true.
So Eames didn't hesitate for a second.
- First of all... Call me Alex... Eames nodded. There's a question I need to ask you. Francès nodded, encouraging him to continue. Do you know why your son cowardly abandoned me when I was fifteen.
What.
Francès misheard.
Her son had cowardly abandoned her.
But it wasn't true.
It was a terrible lie.
And Francès knew who had told it.
If she held the person between her fingers, she'd have gladly strangled him for all the evil he'd done to her son.
- My little one... You've been lied to...
Pardon.
We lied to him, and why.
- Bobby... Never abandoned you... She put her hand on Alex's, squeezed it affectionately. And how could he... When he was madly in love with you.
Goren had never abandoned him...
And he was madly in love with her.
No, Francès Goren was lying.
She was doing it to defend her son, and above all, so he wouldn't look like a bastard.
There was no other reason.
And for good reason...
Knowing that her son had seduced a fifteen-year-old girl, just to get her into bed, and when he'd had his fun at her expense, left her, without any scruples.
- I see you doubt me... Eames would have liked to shake her head in denial, but she couldn't. So tell me... Why did he keep so preciously that drawing he made of you all those years. Eames looked at Francès, surprised that she knew about the drawing. When I saw you come in... I thought it was a hint. Francès nodded. But it was you. That fifteen-year-old girl in the drawing.
That fifteen-year-old girl...
My God...
So Francès Goren had seen the drawing of Bobby that he'd drawn of her without her knowledge.
And she'd recognized him, just by that drawing.
Which meant Goren had shown it to her, but why.
Surely not to show it to her as a trophy.
He couldn't have done such a thing, especially not in front of his mother.
But then, could it be that everything Francès had told him about Bobby was true.
That Goren hadn't cowardly abandoned him, and that he was madly in love with her.
And that for fourteen years, she'd been lying.
But she hadn't.
She couldn't have.
Her father would never have done such a thing.
He wouldn't lie to her.
- If it was true... Then why didn't he ever come back...
Why didn't her son ever come back to her.
There weren't many reasons.
And one of them was destroying her son's life.
- Bobby had no other choice...
Francès huffed in despair.
She had a good feeling that no matter what she might say, Alex wouldn't believe a word she could tell him about his son.
But she had to try anyway, and make him realize his blindness.
- You were fifteen... And he was twenty... She squeezed Eames's hand tighter, but not too tightly either. Do you understand what that means?
Yes and no.
That she was a minor and he was an adult.
- Think about it for a moment. Francès let go of Eames' hand to place it on his thighs, and shook his other hand. You're a detective...
Eames began to think seriously about the situation at the time, and suddenly understood what Goren's mother was getting at.
An adult who slept with a minor had a very good chance of ending up on the sex offenders' register, even if the girl consented.
Especially if the parents didn't agree to the relationship.
But then, could he have left for this reason.
Eames wasn't sure.
She was sure there was something missing, but what.
In addition, her father would never have done such a thing.
She knew he didn't like Goren, but from there...
- I'd advise you to ask your father why... He knows the real reason.
Her father...
My God...
Why should she ask her father the reason...
What did that mean.
- All I can say in my son's defense... is that the day he lost you... Francès reached for a picture frame on his bedside table, where there was a photo of his son in soldier's uniform, and stroked it affectionately, but sadly. He left to join the army to try and forget his grief.
Pardon.
Goren had joined the army.
No, it wasn't possible.
He wouldn't have left the police academy.
And yet...
The build of his body, much more muscular, and virile, than when he was twenty, was definitely that of a soldier.
But how could she not have noticed.
And why hadn't Goren told her the truth.
But Eames knew they'd never really talked about it.
That since it was a painful subject, and brought back bad memories, she'd avoided talking about it.
But who knows, maybe Francès was lying, to make her believe that her son wasn't a bastard.
But Eames, who wanted answers and, above all, no more doubts, was even more confused.
She didn't know who to believe.
Could she really trust what Goren's mother was telling her.
And could she really believe that Goren hadn't cowardly abandoned her.
Eames felt small, slender fingers resting on her arm, bringing her out of her thoughts, and meeting two large brown eyes that looked at him intensely, and so similar to Goren's...
- My child... Listen to your heart. And he wouldn't lie to you.
Listen to your heart...
If she listened to him, she already knew what would happen.
She would fall back into Goren's arms.
But the problem was, if her heart was wrong, she'd be unhappy again.
And so she couldn't.
As long as she wasn't sure about Goren, it was best to keep her distance, and above all, keep her heart shut.