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A MILLIONAIRE SAVED A LITTLE BEGGAR AND WAS PARALYZED WHEN SHE DID... The rain fell relentlessly on the cobblestone streets of Lyon, transforming the sidewalks into shimmering rivers under the flickering streetlights. The sky, heavy with clouds, poured its wrath on the city, and the traffic moved at a snail's pace, the horns forming an irritating background noise. Étienne Morel, at the wheel of his luxurious black sedan, remained impassive in the face of the chaos outside. His life was a succession of rigid schedules and calculated decisions, and this evening was just another in a long series of dull days. Yet he did not yet know that this night would turn his life upside down. As he approached a side street towards Montmartre, where his imposing home stood, a detail caught his eye. Beneath a dimly lit bus shelter, a small figure huddled. He slowed, intrigued, and peered through the rain pounding on his windshield. A little girl, soaked from head to toe, held a piece of cardboard over her head in a futile attempt to shield herself from the rain. Etienne frowned, hesitating for a moment. Normally, he would have continued on without a backward glance. But there was something about the scene—perhaps the child’s terrified gaze, or her desperate posture—that stirred an emotion he couldn’t remember feeling in years: compassion.