15. Box

Marly wakes from a disturbing dream of Alain breaking her neck, a memory-laced vision that leaves her shaken. Over breakfast, Andrea questions Paco’s legitimacy and Virek’s humanity, sketching how singular wealth distorts power and warning Marly to be careful. Marly spends the morning studying holograms of the seven boxes, trusting intuition over provenance reports.

She meets Paco at the Roberts gallery, where an artwork of photo-booth portraits echoes her unease. Paco introduces Picard, who explains that their New York branch sold one anonymous box but cannot trace its origin: Roberts, the dealer who obtained it, died a year earlier leaving no records. The piece was nearly lost among “folk-art” curios, and Roberts had lately shown interest in art brut institutions, but exhaustive searches yield no trail.

As they leave, Paco notes Virek’s many “means of manifestation,” implying recent appearances despite seclusion. In a nearby bar, Paco sets up a spoofed video call so Alain believes Marly is at Andrea’s. Alain confirms the payoff but abruptly doubles his price, blaming his informants, and ends the call, postponing details until five.

Marly, drained by the exchange, reflects on the gallery’s faces and her past selves, sensing both the deepening mystery of the boxes’ origins and her growing entanglement with Alain and Virek.