Chapter 11: Three Families
Ladybug met with André Bourgeois privately in his office.
"M. Bourgeois, I'll get right to the point. I have evidence that you tampered with the drinks at a party on the Liberty about sixteen years ago. A woman was blinded as a result. Why did you poison her?"
"That's an outrageous accusation!" said André. "Who told you that? The man mixing the drinks in the galley? He probably did it himself."
"So you admit you were in the galley?"
"No! I was nowhere near it. I was on the deck mingling with the others the whole time."
"Then how do you know who mixed the drinks?"
"W-why, that all came out when the police questioned him."
"But they didn't. He was spirited off the ship and his name was kept out of it."
The Mayor looked down at his desk and gave a big sigh.
"It wasn't my fault what happened to Tomoe," said André. "I wasn't trying to harm her at all."
"Then why did you poison her drink?" asked Ladybug.
"I didn't. I put it in the drink for Gabriel Agreste," said André.
"Whaat? Why would you do that?" asked Ladybug.
"I was afraid of him and his influence on Audrey. He was pulling her into his schemes with his talk of a magic artifact his agent found in Tibet. He fascinated all three women: Emilie, Tomoe, and Audrey. Jealousy makes a man do foolish things."
"Then how did Tomoe end up being poisoned?"
"I was watching him after he got his drink. He took a small sip, or pretended to, then flirted with Tomoe to exchange drinks with him. In her culture, drinking from a glass another has sipped is considered an 'indirect kiss'. There was nothing I could do without exposing my own actions."
"Do you think he suspected his drink was poisoned?"
"I don't know, but it seems like an odd coincidence if he didn't."
"Why didn't the police find out more?"
"We didn't want a scandal. Only Tomoe, Gabriel and I knew about the drink exchange, and it got covered up."
"Did you ever go after Gabriel again?"
"I was afraid of exposure after that. I've been very careful with him since then."
"Has he said anything to you about it?"
"He never directly blackmailed me, but there have been certain hints that I should go along with what he says."
"This magic artifact, did it have the power to give others super-powers and put them under his control?"
"Nothing like that. A more subtle and interesting power, to create a living being out of emotions. The creature would obey whoever held a certain object."
"Could the magic be used to create a human being, like a perfect son?"
"Something like that. There was more to it. There were also the rings, from Emile's family, If used by a loving couple, the rings could enhance other magic for a shared purpose. It took some experimenting, but they eventually had an extremely good and obedient son."
"Adrien!" thought Ladybug. She would have to sort through her feelings about that later. Right now there was more she had to learn.
"Did you hear anything about another powerful artifact from China, called the Prodigious?"
"Yes. That was the point in having a perfect son. They said only someone of great virtue could use the Prodigious. They knew where it was, but it would take years before it was available."
"What about a plan to have a perfect daughter to marry the perfect son?"
"There was a bigger scheme, to create a world-ruling dynasty. The plan was for the son and his wife to each get a ring and use the Prodigious to gain power."
"Tomoe wrote of her plan to have a daughter like that, and she has one now."
"Audrey also wanted a child, and she did everything she could to make sure we had a daughter."
"So there was a competition?"
"Yes. For a while we had the inside track. Chloé was the boy's childhood friend, the only friend he was allowed to have. Audrey even had a second daughter by an affair right after Chloé was born. She told me she didn't love the man. It was just to have a second chance."
"Chloé is hardly perfect, from what I've seen of her."
"Audrey found that mothering was a lot of work, more than she was willing to do. She went off to New York for her fashion career, and left the raising of her daughter to me. Her half-sister Zoé was left to be raised by her father. Chloé is precious to me and I'm afraid I spoiled her a little."
"A little," said Ladybug with a sarcastic tone.
"Now it seems like the girl from Japan will be Gabriel's choice," said André sadly. "She will be brought to this country soon, and it's likely a marriage contract will be signed. Even if Zoé comes to Paris and she's a better match, it will be too late."
Ladybug found herself jealous and unhappy that Adrien would be made to marry someone else. But if Emile or Gabriel was Hawk Moth and they could be arrested...
"Gabriel has a Miraculous from Tibet and he seeks power through another artifact... Hawk Moth has a different Miraculous and he seeks two more. Could they be working together? Or even be the same person?"
"That seems unlikely," said the Mayor. "Unless something went wrong with his first plan. It's a much simpler path to power than terrorizing Paris with random villains."
"I'll have to keep this quiet for a bit longer to avoid alerting Hawk Moth," said Ladybug.
"Please keep it quiet indefinitely," said André. "It would ruin me politically if this ever comes out."
"We'll see. There's one thing you could do for me that would help," said Ladybug. "Reinstate Officer Raincomprix. He was fired unjustly."
"But.. he was insubordinate."
"He refused to arrest Marinette for a crime there was no evidence she committed. Adrien Agreste confessed to it later."
"I'll do it," said André. "But you have to keep my part in all this out of the press."
"I'll think about it," said Ladybug. "I'm heading out now. Thanks for your cooperation."
As Ladybug was heading out the window, she had an uneasy feeling. She spun around and saw a purple butterfly heading for the Mayor's sash.
"No evilizing for you!" said Ladybug.
She caught the akuma butterfly and purified it. "Bye bye, little butterfly."
André looked at her nervously.
"Don't go there, M. Bourgeois," Ladybug said. "Try to stay calm. I feel like we're close to catching Hawk Moth."