Chapter 39 The Chef's Rebirth

• The kitchen had never felt this bright.
• Camera lights bathed the counters in gold, reflecting off polished steel and bowls of color; raspberries, pistachios, streaks of caramel like sunlight trapped in sugar. Élise stood in the center, in her crisp white jacket, microphone clipped to her collar. Her heart thudded, but her hands didn’t tremble.
• It had been three weeks since Louis’s visit — two weeks of silence from Antoine, of long nights mixing flavors that tasted like freedom. And now, she was here.