To Lyger 0: Audrey doesn't exactly have a great bedside manner, does she? Admittedly, her husband's lovechild had just approached her out of nowhere in public.

"So, 'big sis,' how does it feel?"

Chloe groaned, leaning her head back, and closed her eyes for a moment before giving Bri a halfhearted glare across the Graham de Vanily Manor's sitting room. Sitting beside Bri, Anne quirked an eyebrow at the two of them in amusement before taking another sip of her coffee. Bri grinned impishly, raising an eyebrow at her in a challenge. Chloe gave her a deadpan look. "If I'd known this was how you would treat me, I would have stayed home," she retorted drily. "At least at the hotel I could go to my penthouse and–" She froze, blinking, her mouth hanging open.

No, she couldn't just go to the penthouse to be alone with her dog and her Kwami. Not anymore.

Amelie leaned forward and took Chloe's hand. "It's alright," she assured her calmly. "Bri isn't trying to make light of the situation, or to make you feel bad. We watched a recap of your father's rally – and the aftermath – and we are all genuinely curious about it. And perhaps a bit… concerned," she added hesitantly.

"My Mama sent me a message this afternoon," Bri explained, her expression shifting to one of sympathy. "She was wondering why a picture of my boyfriend was popping up alongside this news of a new 'mayoral scandal' – apparently, one of those news sites was showing a picture of you and Felix from the wedding."

"I hope my family drama isn't spilling over into your family," Chloe told her sourly.

Bri rolled her eyes. "Mama knows he was your escort for the wedding; Amelie sent her at least a thousand pictures of us."

"Please, it wasn't that many," protested Amelie, coughing on her tea.

"Papa had me pick up another three terabytes-worth in external drives afterward," Bri retorted. She shook her head ruefully. "But still. Why they couldn't have shown that picture with you and your date…

Anne arched an eyebrow at Chloe in surprise. "Oh, a date, you say? And who was the lucky fella? Maybe we need to meet him, just to make sure he's good enough for you!"

Chloe shrugged noncommittally, leaned her hand down to reach for Bee-atrice, curled up on the floor under the coffee table. "Maybe it was just a one-time thing," she deflected, quirking an eyebrow at Anne. "Maybe I picked up some homeless man off the street, just to get under my father's skin!"

Bri blinked. "Did you?"

Chloe gave her an enigmatic smile.

Amelie shook her head. "No, you didn't. Though I do think you've enjoyed keeping the press guessing!"

Chloe smirked. "It's a hobby."

Bri rolled her eyes. "I suppose you aren't the one in your family who's going to be giving the press fits now, at least for a while…"

Anne hummed. "Your oul fella sure made a haymes of things, hasn't he?"

Suppressing a grimace, Chloe nodded her agreement. "The way he and Jean-Claude were talking today, I think the last time he faced this kind of scandal was…" she blinked "… goddamn it. Fourteen years ago."

Amelie nodded sympathetically. "Are you concerned?"

"That he'll lose the election?" Chloe quirked an eyebrow at her. "Honestly, I've tried to care as little as possible about this stupid election. If it weren't one of the Lynchpin's people running against him, I don't think I'd care at all." She let out a breath. "But this does mean a lot more stress and drama for the next couple weeks than I was expecting. I might actually have to go to a couple campaign rallies this week…" She made a disgusted face.

"How tragic," Anne deadpanned.

Chloe frowned.

Amelie cleared her throat. "I'm… so sorry for all the trouble this is causing for you," she told Chloe. Anne and Bri both nodded in agreement. Amelie gave Chloe a sympathetic smile. "Your sister seemed sweet enough, though we only got to see what was available on YouTube."

Chloe sighed heavily. "She is," she allowed, her mouth twisting around in a frown. "But the girl still seems pretty scared and confused by everything that's happening today."

"I mean, who wouldn't be?" asked Bri rhetorically. "She literally threw herself into the firing line when she approached your parents. I've only interacted with your mom twice, and both times I wanted to throw her into orbit – um, no offense," she added quickly, grimacing, her cheeks coloring.

"Trust me," Chloe told her curtly. "I know the feeling."

"So who is this girl?" asked Anne, picking out another cookie and staring at Chloe intently.

"Zoe Lee," Chloe answered, frowning. "She's… a few years younger than I am. Lived in Paris all her life."

"But where did she come from?" Bri wondered.

"You can probably fill in the blanks…" Chloe let out a breath. "Back when I was… four, I think? I think it was around when I first met Tante Emilie, though it could have been a little after that…" Amelie cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow at her pointedly, and Chloe flushed. "Right, well, anyways, I remember that mother was gone for a few months – that was the first time she disappeared like that, or at least the first I remember. Though not the last…"

"Your oul dear is a right piece of work," Anne muttered under her breath, shaking her head.

"No arguments there." Chloe coughed. "Anyways, according to the note her mother had written, it was around that time that Daddy…" She let out a breath. "Zoe's mother was an Angela Lee – I guess she was an intern at City Hall while Daddy was on the Council, the term before he became mayor. When she found out she was pregnant, Mme Lee quit the internship and had the baby. Daddy gave her money to support Zoe but he never said anything or acknowledged it publicly. Zoe and her mother knew, but that was it. Until Zoe showed up out of the blue at the press conference today."

Bri shook her head, sighing. "And you had no idea?"

Chloe shook her head. "None. I haven't ever seen him with a mistress. That was the one thing I could always say about my father: he was devoted to Mother, even when Mother would be gone for years at a time, he was always waiting for her return. Or at least that's what I thought."

Amelie leaned forward, reaching out to take Chloe's hand. "I wouldn't allow this one thing to completely change the way you view him," she advised. "He made a mistake. It wasn't the first; it certainly wasn't the last. He at least took care of the girl, even if he didn't meet her before now."

"I know." Chloe let out a breath, giving Amelie a wan smile. "I've always kind of known that he wasn't as perfect as I thought he was."

Bri arched an eyebrow. "It could be worse: he could be working for a supervillain!"

Chloe snorted. "No; that's just his opponent!"

"So why come forward now?" wondered Anne, furrowing her brows. "Why would she show up randomly like this now, weeks before a close election, instead of appearing years ago? Your father being famous and Mayor of Paris isn't exactly a new development."

Chloe looked down at the table, where Pollen was nibbling on a honey cracker. The Kwami looked back up at her, wide eyes brimming with sympathy. Chloe worked her jaw for a long minute before letting out a breath, blinking away the wetness in her eyes. Why did this affect her so much? Her hand found Bee-atrice, who let out a light whine, leaning into Chloe's touch. She pursed her lips. "Her mother… she was killed," she explained quietly, swallowing. "In the Tarasque attack. Before we started the evacuation. The Tarasque collapsed their apartment building. Zoe wasn't home, so she survived – she wasn't even hurt when it happened. But she was stuck in Versailles for six weeks before we stopped the Tarasque and she was able to return. But her mother was home when the building collapsed."

"My God." Amelie stared at Chloe with wide eyes, covering her mouth with both hands. "How awful! Oh, that poor girl. So she was orphaned by the Tarasque? But that was months ago! Where has she been staying since then?"

Chloe shrugged. "Friends. Shelters. She found places to sleep and people who would give her some food. She even said she stayed a night in one of the Agreste Rehab Center's homeless apartments – I'll have to have a word with Marinette on that, I think…" she muttered under her breath. "The last time she had a homecooked meal was with a collège friend's family; the last time she had new clothes was right after returning from Versailles; her last shower before today was in the Agreste apartment."

"That's no way to live," Amelie interjected, pursing her lips.

"Zoe had been trying to get up the courage to say something for months," Chloe continued, "but she couldn't get close enough, or when she did, she lost her nerve." She paused, her eyes widening slightly. "I think that's what she was trying to do this morning, when I saw her at the hotel's front desk." Anne's head cocked to one side. "I saw her as I was leaving the hotel," Chloe told her. "She spotted me and was starting to say something when the paparazzi started taking pictures."

Anne shook her head. "That's all so terrible. And to think – we were there. What if we had known? Could we have saved her mother?"

"I don't know."

"I feel so sorry for the girl." Bri shook her head, giving Chloe a sad look. "I wish we'd known about her sooner."

Amelie nodded her agreement. "We have more than enough rooms here, even with these two living at the Manor – if she had needed a place to stay, I would have been happy to help your sister out."

Chloe quirked an eyebrow. "Remember: we literally have a building full of rooms, any one of which she could have stayed in." Even if that would have meant putting her in close proximity to Audrey Bourgeois – a fate Chloe wouldn't wish on her worse enemy.

Although maybe on Lila…

"And where is the girl?" asked Amelie. "I assume with your parents?"

Chloe nodded. "Doctor, courthouse, press conference…"

"They're making the girl do a press conference." Anne blinked, nonplussed. "You people really are something else."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Jean-Claude insisted. Just a single statement of Zoe's name and that more information will be coming. Nothing more than that. Supposedly. He wants to wait and have a big press conference with the whole family in a few days."

"I'll try to contain my enthusiasm," Anne deadpanned.

Bri raised an eyebrow at Chloe. "So, how does it feel, having a little sister? You know, growing up, I always wanted a little sibling."

Anne snorted. "If you want one, you can have one of mine!"

Bri grimaced. "No thanks; I've met your siblings!"

"To be honest, I'm not sure what I should think about all of this," Chloe admitted, shaking her head. "I never knew about her before – before today, she was just another face in the crowd. Today… well, it feels like she's still a face in the crowd, but now she's also supposed to be my sister."

"I imaging there's a lot of turmoil and confusion going through your mind," Amelie observed.

"What else should I feel?" asked Chloe.

Anne sighed. "Take it from someone who has siblings: I fight and argue with my brothers all the time. I can't pretend otherwise. But I know that at the end of the day, we are all stuck together. I can't give up on Liam and Ewan and Sean, any more than I could give up on myself or Bri. And I know that if anything happens, they would do anything they could for me, too. I love them."

Chloe quirked an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, but you grew up with your siblings; I didn't know this girl two days ago."

Amelie put a hand on Chloe's and squeezed it. "No one can tell you what to do or how to feel about this," she told her. "That's something you have to determine for yourself. But if you will accept my advice…" Chloe nodded expectantly. "Pass on to her what you have received," Amelie instructed her, giving her an encouraging smile. "Regardless of whether you view her as a sister or something else. Show her the same love and support that you have already received. This Zoe has suffered a major loss, and she needs people who love her. She won't get much of that – or any – from Audrey. She needs you."