The abbé presses for the truth, and Caderousse gives it with a grim pause: Edmond’s father did not die of illness, but of starvation. The words strike like a thunderbolt—too cruel to believe, and yet undeniable. A man left to waste away in grief and hunger, while others lived steps away. The abbé recoils in outrage, unable to contain his horror at such neglect. At this moment, another voice interrupts: La Carconte, pale and haggard, descends the stairs. From her post on the steps, she has heard everything, and cuts in bitterly—Caderousse should never have spoken at all. What use is it, she implies, to dig up the past? But the abbé’s questioning has only just begun.

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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.