The abbé places temptation directly before Caderousse.

From his pocket he draws a small black box—and inside, a glittering diamond, worth fifty thousand francs. Caderousse can scarcely breathe, his eyes locked on the stone as if it could already be his.

The priest explains: the diamond was left in trust. Dantès had once counted four loyal friends, and wished the stone to be shared among them—or given whole to whichever among them proved most worthy. He names the first: Caderousse. He names another: Danglars. And then, even his rival, Fernand. Each name strikes Caderousse with visible unease, as if ghosts have returned to judge him.

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The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years.