Gabriel was surprised to see his son return in the way he did. He acted as if nothing had happened. He felt disrespected, and incredibly suspicious. While Adrien was at school that day, he planned on installing cameras around. Sure it was creepy and uncalled for, but he knew what he had to do. Adrien could be plotting against him. But maybe, just maybe he took his time away to think. He just needed some time to process. Maybe he could convince his son to join forces with him.

He sat down in his office and rested his head in his hands. Nathalie walked over to him.

"Well, you must be glad that Adrien is back."

"I am, but I think we need to install security cameras in his room."

"What?! That's such a violation of his privacy… what were you even arguing about in the first place?"

"Simple. He found out."

"What?! And you didn't tell me? It wasn't a risk?! How did he take it."

"Poorly. I knew he wouldn't tell anybody. He'd be too afraid. And if it wasn't fear, it was shame."

Nathalie didn't respond, she was thinking about how much it must've impacted Adrien to hear. To know his father's plans and identity. No wonder he wanted to leave, she was surprised when Gabriel told her as well. Look at them now. With Adrien on their side they would be able to do anything, but she knew that he wouldn't be able to be a villain. He's always been too pure.

"I would like to convince him to work with me."

"Uh, alright."

"That is all, let him know when he returns from school."

Adrien walked out of his father's limousine, worried about possible questioning. But nobody really noticed, nobody except Marinette.

"Hi Adrien!"

"Oh, hi Marinette!"

"How was your first night back at home?"

"It felt weird being in my own room… all alone again."

I miss you, she wanted to say. Instead she said,

"Well at least you'll be able to… make up with your father?" She had to be careful not to expose that she knows who his father truly is.

"I'm not sure that I can."

"Oh… I'm sor-" The bell rang. They went to class.

Marinette wanted to talk to Adrien, she didn't even know what about, she just wanted him to help her figure out what to do. She'd always dreamed of knowing the identity of Hawkmoth, but now that she knows, there's so much pressure, if the sneak attack doesn't work, their chances of getting him decrease significantly, he might even run. She just really hoped he wouldn't do anything horrible to Adrien.

Adrien,on the other hand, couldn't think about anything school related either. If he wasn't spending his time debating how he would scout his house out, he was thinking about what his father would say to him next. But sometimes, out of the corner of his eye he would look over and see Marinette. It's like all of his thoughts about his plans and the supervillains were paused, and she and him were the only two people in the world. Nothing to worry about, nowhere to be, at peace. It was silly, but it seemed like that's what life might be like after Hawkmoth had been defeated. Of course it wouldn't be, but it was nice to imagine.

The school day ended and no akuma attacks were to be found. Hawkmoth was waiting for his son, and he knew it would be harder to convince him if there was a vicious villain destroying the city. Adrien didn't have as much as a second to think before he was being put into the car. It was a silent ride, and when he got to the house he was told to go straight to his father's office. He walked through the cold and empty house, all the way to the office. The door was shut, but not completely. Adrien shook his head, took a deep breath, and lightly pushed the door open. Gabriel was facing the painting with his arms behind his back. Adrien's heart beat in his throat as he walked into the room.

"F-father? You wanted to see me?" The last time he had felt this scared to talk to his father was when he learned the truth.

"Yes." He said, and turned around slowly. "I have a proposition." He walked towards Adrien, without any expression in his face. "I'd like for you to join me."

"Join you in…" Adrien was in shock.

"My duties as Hawkmoth, of course." He paused. "You will go out and cause negative emotions for me to akumatize people with. Crush fans' dreams, instigate fights, whatever I need. Whatever you want."

"I-I can't do that! I don't w-"

"Really? It doesn't sound fun to you?" He paused again. "Fine. Then you will spend your time trying to find Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities. Nathalie will help you research. You can go." He turned around again, back to where he was before. Adrien was speechless, and motionless.

"I said you can go." After his father said this, Adrien quickly started to back out of the room. He didn't want to work with his father but he knew he didn't have a choice. He had made that very clear. Before he completely exited he froze,

"Wait, father…"

"Yes?" He said, annoyed.

"Nathalie knows? She… helps you?"

"Oh, dear Adrien, she does more than help…" He paused dramatically, "She even held the peacock miraculous for a period of time."

"W-" Adrien was shocked, "What?!"

"And before her…"

Adrien felt his insides sink. Time felt like it stopped, his feet were glued to the floor and his eyes were unable to move away from his father. He took a shaky breath.

"...Who?"

Gabriel Agresete's face curled into a devious smile, he knew exactly what he was doing. He turned his head to face his son, eyes revealing his delight.

"Your mother."

Adrien's face fell, he was speechless.

"She had a mysterious illness." Gabriel said, condescending. "What do you think the cause was?"

"The miraculouses can do that?"

"The peacock one was cursed. It was only a matter of time."

"And that's why you want to bring her back?" He started to get angrier, rather than purely shocked. "To help you terrorize Paris?" He took a step towards his father. "Do you even love her?!"

"Of course I love her!" Gabriel yelled as he walked closer to his son. "Do you think I would've gone through all this effort just because I wanted her to hold the miraculous again? I could've gotten anyone to do that. She's mine and I want her back!"

"You're talking about her like you're a toddler. Sometimes… Well, sometimes you really, really want something, but you just can't have it. Even though it's not fair, and even though it's something really important. Some things just… can't be done."

"You're going to talk about your mother like that? You're going to look me in the face and tell me that you don't want her back just as much as I do?"

"I want her back more than anything I've ever wanted! But I'm not willing to face the consequences of the miraculouses' wish. There's a price that has to be paid! It's tempting, of course. I want to see her again, to feel what it's like to have a parent that actually loves me, because God knows you don't! Even though I want her back more than anything else in the world," Including Ladybug "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew she came at the price of somebody else's life."

"Oh please, people die all the time. Right now somebody is dying. What's the difference? Your conscience? You're going to prioritize your own conscience over your mother?!"

"I-"

"I thought I raised you with more respect than that. There's nobody else in the world that matters to me enough for me to care if or if they live or die. Nothing that you say could change my mind."

Adrien looked directly into his eyes with a mixture of confidence and anger. He was still afraid, but the fear had been pushed so deep down and overshadowed by his rage that he didn't even remember how powerful and violent the man he was dealing with was.

"Even me?"

Silence.

Gabriel was taken aback. He made a small grunting noise. With no other response he turned around. Adrien ran out of the room. Nathalie stood outside of the office and reached towards him as he ran. Adrien went straight to his room without even noticing her. He breathed heavily as he tried to process everything that had just happened. What his father said, what he said. He put his hands on his head and paced around the room. He didn't want to, and tried to hold it in. He tried to distract himself, to think of something, anything but what he was thinking about. But he couldn't, and he began to cry.

Gabriel, on the other hand, walked straight over to his computer. He had installed hidden cameras in Adrien's room when he was at school. Gabriel had to hold off his desires to akumatize his son, if he still even had the slightest chance of turning Adrien to his side, he would wreck it with the akuma. He watched his son wander around the room like a little rat in a cage and he smiled. A maniacal smile, as he watched his son panic about him. He was surprised that he hadn't left yet, unlike usual the doors weren't locked, or guarded heavily. It reminded him of those elephants that were chained up as babies, and even though they grew large enough to break the chains, they stopped trying because they believed it would be futile. Adrien wasn't going to break his chains, Gabriel was sure of that. At that moment, his son felt more of a psychological experiment to him than an actual member of his family. And instead of bringing him distress, it brought him immense joy. And the scariest part? He felt no guilt for inflicting these emotions, and even less for enjoying every minute of it.