CHAPTER 22 – FOOL ME TWICE, SHAME ON ME

Adrien had been dozing when he heard footsteps next to his bed. He opened his eyes to see his father standing next to him.

"Ah, you're awake," said Gabriel. "Can you speak yet?"

Adrien tried. "Frrvvrr."

"What was that?"

Adrien lay back on his pillow and rolled his eyes. Though he was feeling much better, his tongue still felt like a thick slug in his mouth.

"Never mind. I've been thinking, Félix. You have had an extraordinary run of bad luck." Adrien looked at his father out the side of his eyes.

"The gas leak. Your mother's continued unconsciousness. The loss of your house. Your illness. It's almost like there was some sort of … curse?"

Gabriel studied his nephew carefully. Adrien turned his head to his father, his face the very paradigm of innocence.

"It has struck me Félix that this recent run of bad luck started at around the time that my ring went missing," Gabriel said, rubbing his finger where the ring used to sit.

"Now, I'm not a superstitious man, but I do like to keep an open mind.

Félix, hypothetically speaking, if you or your mother took the ring, it might explain this run of bad luck. And it occurs to me that of all the people who have had the opportunity to steal the ring, that you and your mother have the greatest motive for wanting to steal the ring."

Adrien could not believe his ears. His father was accusing his cousin of stealing the ring whilst his cousin lay sick and helpless. Even if it was true there was a time and a place and this was neither.

"Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not angry." Gabriel's eyes flashed as he spoke his lie. "But if you or your mother did take it I implore you to own up and return it … for your own sakes. I fear the curse may be real. I cannot stand to see you like this and it's the only explanation that makes any sense."

Adrien lay back and thought. In a weird way it did kind of make sense. What if Félix had taken the ring? It could explain why Adrien had fallen ill too … after all, Félix did look on him as a brother. Didn't the curse hurt everyone close to the thief? His clouded mind tried to make sense of it all.

Then it struck Adrien that there was something very wrong. Why was he in Félix's room instead of his own? Where was Félix? Was Félix still sick? Bad luck could not have put him in his cousin's room. Adrien broke out into a cold sweat. Was Félix all right? He had to know.

Adrien took in a deep breath and forced his uncooperative tongue to move.

"Fffaaavvvvvrrrr," he managed.

"Father? No Félix, it's Gabriel, your uncle. Your father left us three months ago."

"Ffaaatherr," he tried again. His tongue felt a little looser.

"Now, now Félix, enough of your little games. We are having a serious discussion here."

"Fffather, itssss meee. Aaaid. Riiien."

Gabriel paused and looked at his son.

"Aaidrien." The more he used his tongue the easier it was to speak.

"Itsss meee, not Fffélix. Isss Félix ok?"

Gabriel's mind whirled.

"No. It can't be! You're Félix!" Félix had fooled him once before when he and Adrien were children by pretending to be each other, could he have done it again?

Gabriel's eyes darted around the room until his eyes lit on an antique writing table in the corner of the room. An old quill pen lay alongside the inkwell. An idea formed in his head. Adrien was allergic to feathers.

Gabriel got up and fetched the quill, holding it under Adrien's nose. He was rewarded with a loud sneeze. There could be no doubt.

"My son … what has he done to you?" Gabriel scooped up Adrien's torso and clutched him to his chest. "I can't believe it, how could he have done this?"

Gabriel put Adrien down and stood up. "Rest. I'm afraid your cousin has played me for a fool. I need to attend to this immediately."

Gabriel stormed out the room.

-000-

Gabriel sat in his study and pulled up the security footage from a few nights before. He had stopped reviewing it the day Félix … Adrien had fallen into his coma. After all, a comatose boy was unlikely to be hiding a ring. Shortly after 1am the cameras had picked up the image of Félix sneaking down the corridor. Later on he was seen again, moving the lifeless body of his cousin.

Gabriel pounded his desk. "He knew Nathalie. He knew." He stood up and strode towards the picture of his dear Emilie, thrusting his hands into the hidden recesses.

Once more Gabriel descended into his subterranean lair, a cloud of butterflies surrounding him. For days he had resisted the alure of akumatising someone in case Félix suspected anything. But Félix had somehow worked out that Gabriel had been poisoning him. He knew Gabriel's plan. The time for stealth was gone.

"Nooroo, dark wings rise!"

Once again Gabriel felt the familiar feel of dark energy coursing through his veins. His muscles swelled, his senses heightened. Hawk Moth breathed deeply, savouring the emotional stew that coursed through the streets of Paris.

Something was happening outside. He could smell the raw emotion of several people close by. BETRAYAL. DESPAIR. LOATHING. DISGUST. One broken heart in particular called out to him. A heart utterly pure, yet utterly destroyed. A heart ripe for the plucking.

He reached for a butterfly.

"Fly my little akuma, and evilise her."

The dark insect rose towards the oculus and disappeared into the streets of Paris.