I called for Margery, but she never came. Hours passed, and I must have slept, because I was awakened sometime before nightfall by the sound of heavy footsteps. I heard the bolt sliding back, and then the door opened, and in came the doctor, Goriot, and all his black-robed consorts. They lifted me from the bed and dragged me into the hallway.
They were shouting at me, denouncing me, accusing me.
Of what, I didn’t understand. I started to cry.
Goriot shook his gnarled finger in my face. His face was purple with rage. “The countess would make him richer than the king! You have ensorcelled him, there is no other explanation!” Then he slapped me hard across the cheek, and a burst of light flashed inside my head.
I screamed—and then I was gone.
Everything was gone.
I had spiraled out of darkness into light.