A/N: Well, 3 reviews? I have to say a huge thank you to the ones who reviewed my story and another one to these who read it. Maybe you didn't review because you didn't like last chapter? If so, please tell me! So, here is a new chapter. This one is one of my favorite because I had to write about Chuck and we got to learn a dark truth about Cornelia's adoption... Well, enjoy!

Upper East Side

"Mister Bass? Doctor Stein is waiting for you. You can meet him in his office." the secretary told Chuck. He stood up from his chair and walked to the office. He was shaking. Nate had forced him into going to the doctor. He had picked one randomly – actually, he had picked the best one in Manhattan. Chuck hated doctors as much as he loved alcohol and women. He had been having stomachache and he had lost pounds. He wasn't feeling well but he knew alcohol could do that, he was used to being nauseous. After all, he had been drinking since the age of fifteen.

"Good afternoon, mister Bass," Dr Stein greeted him with a handshake. " please, take a seat. We need to talk."

Both of the men sat down on each side of the desk. Chuck wasn't used to sit on that side of a desk, he was the boss, the one who had the comfortable chair and the power. Now, he was the patient, under the doctor's mercy. He hated that.

"I don't like what your results say, I have a few theories about what kind of disease might affect you but we have to do further examinations, do you understand? Last month, you didn't answer when we talked about your alcoholism, that's why I called your friend, Mr Archibald, who brought you here. He told me you have the habit of drinking a lot." Dr Stein paused. Chuck didn't know what to expect. He had always been drinking, he never had a problem with alcohol.

"So what?" Chuck asked, annoyed by the silence between the two men.

"I'd like to perform a liver biopsy on you, if you agree. Your alcoholism might have injured your liver, I just want to check on it so we can focus on the sick part of your body. I need you to sign up some papers so we can do it. The sooner, the better, mister Bass." Dr Stein told him. Chuck breathed in and let the info sink in. The doctor tried to be as reassuring as possible but Chuck knew how to see beneath the surface, he was sick and his disease must not be the kind that could easily be healed.

"Show me your papers." He said. Dr Stein smiled. Chuck remained cold, bad news never came up alone. What should he be expecting? Blair's pregnancy which would lead her to death if she carried on becoming thiner? One of his relatives' death? Losing the few friends he had left? Chuck suddenly started to fear the future, what if he ended up alone with all his money in his golden jail? He remembered the time when his penthouse was a place full of their laughter, crawling under her clothes and her stuff, when he was overwhelmed by her scent whenever he stepped in. That time ended a long time ago but still, he was reluctant to forget. He was sinking down without her, enjoying each dream, each hallucination that faked a world where they were reunited.

"Which disease do you suspect? " Chuck asked once he had signed up all the papers the doctor had given him.

"Liver disease."

"What kind of liver disease?"

"Cancer or cirrhosis. But I could be wrong and it could have nothing to do with your liver. You never know when it comes to the human body, it is such a complicate engine. You shouldn't worry, mister Bass." Dr Stein told him.

"Yeah. The cure?"

"Transplantation. But you'd have to be sober for at least six months and yet, we'd have to find a donor which would be hard if you haven't any blood related family who would volunteer because of your past of drinker. Transplantation centers prefer to give organs to people who used to lead a healthy life because they wouldn't be tempted to give in alcoholism and waste their second chance." Chuck's face became a mask of coldness. He nodded and stood up from his chair. He coldly shook Dr Stein's hand and almost ran from his office. He yelled at the poor secretary to call his own secretary to schedule an appointment for the biopsy.

When he entered his limo, he had to unwrap his tie and his shirt, he could barely breath. There was still a possibility he didn't have a liver cancer or cirrhosis, but his instinct wouldn't trust that one. He was about to pour himself a glass of scotch but the bottle fell out of his hands and the liquid spread on the floor. Don't drink, he told himself. Don't drink or it could get worse, you could die, you could... Who cares now? You're Chuck Bass, and no one is left to care.

Chuck doesn't do "crying". He cried when he lost his father. He cried when he lost Blair. But now, he cried because he is losing the fight for life. What did he live for? Why was he still alive after all those years, all the pain he had caused? He deserved to die. Charles Bartholomew Joseph "Chuck" Bass deserved to die.

Paris

"Should I call the girl to schedule a meeting?" Chris asked her boss.

"Nope. Forget everything you saw or heard today, okay? Because if you tell anyone what happened, I swear you'll get fired and you will never be able to find a job in fashion, did I make myself understood?" Her boss said, staring at her in the eyes.

"I don't what events you're talking about, Miss Humphrey. Do you want me to get you a coffee?" Chris muttered, scared to death by her boss' threat.

"Get yourself one and make sure no one disturbs me. I need to talk to Eleanor." Jenny said. Chris nodded and went away, sick worried about her job but still curious about Cornelia.

Jenny sighed. She had been working for Eleanor Waldorf for the last fifteen years, since Blair officially told her mother she had forgiven Little J for everything that had happened between her and Chuck. She had become Eleanor's right arm thanks to her amazing skills for fashion and leadership – she didn't become Blair's heir at Constance for her kindness and her mercy. Yet, she still feared Eleanor and what she was about to tell her would put her in a lot of danger.

"Eleanor? Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked her while she was drawing next season's new scarves. "In private." she added when Eleanor made a sign that showed that Jenny could talk.

Eleanor put down her pencil and they went silently to her office. They sat down on the chairs on each side of Eleanor's desk and she started staring expectantly at Jenny. "So, what did you want to tell me?"

"Yesterday I was at the jewelry, as you asked me to. I ran into a girl who was asking around about her parents. She was adopted eighteen years ago by a French couple and the only clue she's got is a Harry Winston ring on which there is written "Three words, eight letters... I'm yours & you're mine. C." Does it remind you of something?" Eleanor froze. Of course, she remembered. She swallowed and the silence fell between the two women. Jenny had become too powerful for Eleanor to shoo her away like a gnat or smash her against the floor with her heels. She was still a blond-haired round-faced girl with infinite legs, but she was a master in manipulation. She knew secrets about everyone and from times to times, she dropped one of them to serve her own interests. Without any conscious of it, she had become Blair while the true Blair was fading away.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Jenny. Is this some kind of a joke?" Eleanor could hardly fake surprise and belief because what Little J had just dropped was a nuclear bomb in Eleanor's brain.

"So it's only a pure coincidence if that girl, Cornelia by the way, Blair's middle name if I remember correctly, looks exactly like Blair – and Chuck." Jenny peered at Eleanor who didn't want to meet J's gaze.

"Pure coincidence. Now leave my office, I have work to do." And Eleanor had gotten back her mask and her calm. Yet, Jenny could feel the tension in her voice after all the years she had spent by her side. Eleanor started to read some paper on her desk and faked to ignore Jenny.

"Two decades ago, when I was too much into Nate, I used to sneak into Chuck's penthouse to see him and I liked to pry. One day, I found Chuck's locker and the code was easy to find : Blair's birthday. There were many things in there, including Chuck and Blair's engagement ring. I opened the box and examined it. He loved her so much, I was craving for somebody to love me that much. That may have been one of the reasons why I slept with him that night. Now, Eleanor, tell me the truth. Face it." Jenny said. Eleanor took her face in her hands and for the first time, she showed a sign of weakness. She never meant to do what she did, all she wanted was the best for everyone but that baby's face had been haunting her for eighteen years. Everything was coming back to her.

"Nineteen years ago, Blair slept one last time with Chuck. She got pregnant because she had forgotten her pills. She was against abortion, that baby was half her, half Chuck, she loved him too much. I talked to the Queen, Louis' mother. She was ready to force Blair to undergo abortion, I had to do something." Eleanor paused. She went to the bar and took a glass of white whine. Her throat was too dry to talk. Blair used to hate Jenny, so why was she telling her all that? Maybe because, as an outsider, she could figure out what to do. "We hid the pregnancy from Louis – which wasn't hard, poor foolish boy. Blair spent the last three months and a half with Serena, Eliza, Roman's niece, and I in a center in Switzerland. When the time came, a little girl was born. She looked like Blair when she was born. Harold and I knew Blair would have never given the baby up and the Queen would have never accepted it. We payed the doctor to tell her the baby died a few minutes after her birth. Then, Eliza and I flew to Paris where we had found a family willing to adopt that little girl. No one knows the truth except you, Harold, Roman, Eliza and I."

The silence fell between them. Jenny couldn't believe her ears. "Oh. My. Gosh." she whispered, looking in shock at Eleanor who seemed to have become ten years older in a minute.

So? Was it what you expected? What did you think? I don't know when I am able to post a new chapter, some issues I have to deal with first and my mind is not quite into writing this fic, sorry. Anyway, reviews are my sunshine! :) (It's raining in France...)

Nyah-Cullen