In this episode of The Countdown of Monte Cristo, Dantès’ fate is sealed. Villefort, weighed down by the flicker of conscience, chooses ambition once and for all. As he rushes to Saint-Méran’s estate to consolidate power, Renée weeps for love—not justice—and Mercédès disappears into grief so complete she no longer sees the sun rise.

It’s a brutal convergence of heartbreak, ambition, and betrayal. One man’s silence becomes another man’s sentence, and no one will leave this night unchanged.

Villefort empties his gold into his pockets and races to meet the marquis

Renée’s sorrow is not for Dantès, but for Villefort’s departure

Villefort sees no resistance—only opportunity

Mercédès falls into a grief so consuming that Fernand’s presence becomes invisible

Dumas declares it plainly: “The hapless Dantès was doomed.”

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