Jean-Pierre nodded his head, now openly crying.
— A machine gun had us pinned down. I was paralyzed. Your father threw himself towards me, grabbed me by the vest and pushed me down the hill.
He remained silent for a few seconds.
— And then… the explosion happened.
My ears began to ring.
— When the smoke cleared… — continued Jean-Pierre — your father was on the ground.
The room was completely silent.
"He died there," he murmured. "But thanks to him... I stayed alive."
Tears were streaming down my face and I couldn't stop them.
Jean-Pierre looked at me with a mixture of shame and pain.
"I lived with this debt for 55 years ," he said. "Every day, I thought about finding your family. But after the war… everything fell apart for me. Alcohol, the streets… the mistakes."
He looked at his wrists, still marked by the handcuffs.
— I've become the kind of man your father would never have wanted to save.
I shook my head.
— Don't say that.
Jean-Pierre looked up at me.
"Your father died a hero, Marc," he said. "And the man he saved... ended up stealing medicine from a pharmacy."
His voice broke.
- I'm sorry.
I felt something strange in my chest.
No anger.
No resentment.
Pride.
For the first time in my life, someone had just told me the truth about my father.
I took a deep breath.
— What were you stealing? — I asked.
The prosecutor responded from his table.
— Blood pressure medication, Your Honor. And antibiotics.
I looked at Jean-Pierre.
- For you ?
Jean-Pierre shook his head.
— For my wife.
The judge raised his eyebrows.
— Your wife?
Jean-Pierre nodded his head slowly.
— She has cancer. We don't have insurance. The medication costs more than I earn cleaning parking lots.
I felt something break inside me.
I looked at Judge Morel .
— Your Honor… — I said in a firm voice for the first time since it all began — I ask permission to speak.
The judge observed me for a few seconds.
— Granted, Agent Delorme.
I took a deep breath.
— This man… — I said, pointing to Jean-Pierre — saved my life before I was even born .
The whole room was looking at me.
