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The first note arrived two weeks later. I know who you are, Madame Sophie Meunier. I know what you really are. If you don’t want anyone else to know I suggest you leave 2000 Euros beneath the loose step in front of the gate.
Shortly after Ben moves into the building, Sophie begins to receive blackmail letters, which are delivered directly to her door, implying that their sender is familiar and not an outsider. The first letter, which refers to her as “Madame” and assumes a mockingly polite tone, claims to know who she “really” is and threatens to disclose her true identity to others. The letter refers to the fact that “Sophie” was originally “Sofiya,” a Russian immigrant who worked in a club as a dancer and sex worker. After marrying Jacques, Sophie attempted to bury her past, assuming the role of a typical wealthy Parisian housewife.
For many years, Sophie has carefully conformed to her new persona, never allowing a hair to fall out of place or indulging in any food or drink that would compromise the trim figure that drew Jacques to her. Working hard to adopt a natural-sounding French accent, she helps to raise Jacque’s two sons, despite their apparent resentment of her, and even adopts a daughter of her own. Though she feels that she has left behind her past, which she regards as shameful, the first letter that she receives from her blackmailer shows that the past is not so easily escaped. Sophie is one of many characters in the novel who are haunted by their past and who struggle to get a second start in life.
"So it’ll be even worse for them than it is now, I say. I think of Irina [...] I think of how she spoke about wanting a new life. I promised that if I found Ben, I would find a way to help her [...] If we get this wrong, only the most vulnerable will get screwed, I know this.
Eager to make his name as a journalist, Ben is excited to publish his story about La Petite Mort, which he knows is likely to receive a good deal of attention because it involves powerful figures such as businessman Jacques Munier and the corrupt police commissioner Blanchot. Despite having earlier promised to help Irina, a dancer at the club, start a new life for herself, Ben gives relatively little thought to the fate of the club’s young female employees, most of whom are illegal immigrants. Ben’s relatively callous attitude calls into question his motivations in publishing the article and underscores the relatively self-centered nature of his personality.
Jess, however, is sensitive to the plight of the exploited young women. Her compassion partially stems from her mother’s experiences as a victim of domestic violence. In fact, Jess believes that it was her own father’s abuse that pushed her mother down a suicidal path that culminated in her death by drug overdose. Further, she has her own personal experience with sexual harassment. She recalls that Irina told her that many of the girls working at La Petite Mort, including herself, have escaped from rough circumstances, preferring to be exploited at the club than returning to their past lives. Recognizing that these young women are more likely to face punishment than any of the club’s wealthy male clients, she resolves to figure out a way to help them get a second chance in life.
I glimpse a figure moving through the crowd. Small, with a familiar, crouching, shuffling gait. [...] And then I glance away, and I don’t look again until the train is pulling out of the platform. Because we’re all entitled to that, aren't we? The chance of a new life.
Various characters in The Paris Apartment struggle to leave the past behind them and get a fresh start at life. At the end of the novel, Jess finds that she has been given the opportunity to begin again, renting a studio apartment in Rome and leaving her past, and her predatory boss, behind her. Further, she has come up with a way to help the young women working at La Petite Mort, ensuring that they have the funds to leave the club behind them and start a new life elsewhere. With the closure of the club, even Sophie is finally able to be done with the place once and for all.
At a train station in Paris, Jess prepares to board a train to Rome to begin her new life. She is surprised, however, to see a familiar face in the crowd: an older woman carrying some personal belongings and a small dog, heading towards a train to Nice, France. Though the novel does not state this directly, it is heavily implied that the woman is the Concierge, who is heading to the South of France to keep an eye on Mimi, her granddaughter, who has been coalescing there since Jess’ discovery of Ben in the maid’s quarter of the building. Rather than talking to her, however, Jess decides to turn away, granting her some privacy. Jess believes that everyone should be given the chance to turn over a new leaf and leave the past in the past, and Jess recognizes that she is part of the past that the Concierge is leaving behind.
