"You've been awfully quiet today. What's on your mind?"

"I'm just tired," Victoria answered while following the couch's pattern with her finger.

"Is the new medication not working well?"

She simply shrugged. They were doing their job: putting her to sleep. Unfortunately, they just couldn't keep her asleep and it was taking its toll on her. Focusing was becoming harder and harder every single day. She didn't know what to do anymore. She just wanted it all to stop.

"Alright," Doctor Duchaine said while removing her glasses, "I know you, Victoria. What's really bothering you? Is it the voice or the nightmares?"

Victoria stayed silent for a moment before mumbling under her breath, almost hoping that her doctor didn't hear her. "Nightmares."

She was twenty-six years old, for Christ's sake! Nightmares shouldn't be her main preoccupation anymore, right? And yet, they controlled her whole damn life.

Unfortunately, Dr. Duchaine heard her perfectly fine, as usual. She had become quite good over the years at understanding whatever Victoria would mutter under her breath.

"The nightmares?" she repeated. "Same one as always?"

"I guess. I'm not sure."

I'm not sure since I never remember them, Victoria completed in her head.

"Why are they more of a disturbance than usual?"

"It's not really that they're worst, it's just …," she stopped herself, trying to find the right words, in vain.

She didn't know how to explain this feeling. It was like the nightmares and the memories attached to them were so close, but just slightly out of her reach. And if she could just grab them, everything would suddenly make sense. She would remember who she was, or rather who she used to be. She would have memories of her brother and her parents, of her first years with Dylan. Instead, she always woke up with a brain fog, making it impossible for her to remember whatever her subconscious was desperately trying to tell her.

"Do you remember something?"

"Nothing more than usual."

"In the past, you've said that you could feel someone besides you."

Victoria hummed and nodded. "Yeah, briefly. I think I'm reaching out to them, but they're gone the next second. And then, there might be someone else, but I'm not so sure …," she signed, passing a hand through her hair. "It's frustrating. The only thing I clearly remember is this excruciating pain, because I still kinda feel it when I wake up. It's not really there anymore, of course, but… It's kind of like a phantom pain, I guess? Can you say that even if you haven't lost a limb? Anyway, I don't know, it's weird. My body remembers what happened, but I don't. I hate it."

"It was a traumatic event, Victoria, and your mind is protecting you from it. You have witnessed the tragic death of people who clearly meant a lot to you. In this dream, you may see some kind of modified version of the accident. The first person might have been your little brother, who was sitting in the backseat with you. Him disappearing might represent the moment he died."

It made sense, but it didn't make Victoria feel better in the slightest.

"It's sad, isn't it? I mean, I must have loved them a lot. My parents, my brother… And yet, I don't feel anything except guilt. Because I should be grieving them. I should be devastated by their death, but I'm not." She paused before adding. "I'm probably the worst daughter in the world. They must be so disappointed."

"I don't agree. You've achieved great things, Victoria. When we met, you were still this young girl trying to figure everything out. Who she was, what she liked, who she could trust. But now?" Dr. Duchaine smiled. "You've grown up to be quite an amazing woman. You might not remember your parents, but I know without a doubt that somewhere deep inside of you, you still love and miss them. Trust me, you're one of the most courageous women I've ever met. No one should have to live through what you did. But you pulled through, and you still continue to do so no matter the circumstances. I am certain that your parents would be incredibly proud of you, because I am."

Victoria stared at her in silence, her mouth slightly open. She could feel the tears running down her cheeks, but she didn't bother to wipe them. What could she say to that? Thank you didn't seem like enough. Nothing would ever be enough. This woman had saved her in more ways than she could count. She had always been there, even at her lowest point. Victoria would never be able to repay everything she owed her.

"So," Doctor Duchaine added just when Victoria finally seemed able to say something. "How's it going with your boyfriend?"

"Oh! Uh, it's going well," she affirmed, unknowingly cringing. "He's probably here right now, waiting for me. Nothing to say about him, though. Same old thing."

Doctor Ducahine raised an eyebrow. "That wasn't really convincing. But," she said as she glanced at the clock, "we're running out of time. Let's finish this conversation next time, alright?"

"Of course," Victoria agreed as she stood up.

She walked to the door but, right before leaving, she turned and added: "Thank you. For everything."

"Don't thank me. It's the least I can do, trust me."

And as Victoria left, Doctor Duchaine turned to look through the window. From there, she could see a young man, Dylan Turner, casually leaning onto his car. He suddenly lifted his head and their eyes met. They both stayed frozen for a second before he nodded at her in an almost imperceptible movement. An eerie reminder of their agreement.

Doctor Duchaine felt like puking. She should've left years ago when she had the chance, but now it was too late to pull back. She had to see this whole thing to the end and make sure that Victoria never remembered anything about her past.

—

"I want you back in Paris now!"

Adrien grabbed the back of his neck, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips. Talking with Gabriel Agreste was, as always, overwhelming and frustrating. It left him on edge and struggling to maintain his composure.

Inhale, exhale… Inhale, exhale…

"Father, I already told you," he began, his voice tinged with exasperation.

"This is not up for discussion, Adrien," Gabriel interrupted, his tone icy and authoritative.

Before Adrien could say another world, the call abruptly ended. The dial tone resonated in the silence as he stared blankly at the screen.

Fine. You wanna act like an insufferable jerk? I can play that game, too.

Swiftly, Adrien navigated through his contacts and without a second thought, blocked his dad's number, along with Evangeline's. Would it come back to haunt him? Probably. Did he care? Not in the slightest.

Adrien could hear the hushed conversation between Nino and Alya as he walked back to the living room, but it came to a halt as they caught sight of his expression.

"What's going on?" Nino asked, frowning.

Slumping onto the couch, Adrien sighed. "Oh, nothing much. I'm just gonna kill my dad."

"Ah, sorry dude, but I called dibs back in lycée."

"I'm the only one who can make him completely disappear," Plagg reminded them, his eyes gleaming mischievously. "Gabriel Agreste will be nothing more than ashes when I'm done with him." A pause, and then, "What did he do this time?"

"He forgot I was out of Paris and was expecting me on set today. So, of course, he blew up and fired everyone there. Evangeline has already sent me plane tickets for tonight since they expect me on set in just two days."

"You're not actually going back home, right?" Alya wondered, anxious. "Who am I going to hang out with while Nino is in the studio?"

"Don't worry, I've blocked their calls. I'll deal with the consequences once I'm back home. It's not my fault if he didn't look at his emails. I clearly stated that I'd be away for the next two weeks; that's on him."

"Great!" Nino exclaimed, excitement twinkling in his eyes. "So, you're still up for that car exposition I told you about?"

Adrien nodded, his spirits lifting slightly, and turned towards Alya. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Alya waved him off. "Definitely. I'll probably go read a book by the pool. Much more interesting."

She exchanged a knowing glance with Nino, the both of them knowing perfectly well she wasn't gonna open any book today. No, she had a plan ready to be set in motion and step one was happening as soon as Adrien was out of her line of sight.

I hope you'll forgive me for all of this, sunshine. Even if I'm wrong.

—

"He might be right, babe. Vee could simply be a girl who's looking a bit too much like Mari. It might just be a coincidence."

"Do you really believe that?"

"No."

Two days had passed since Nino's admission. The one that rocked her whole world. Two days, but they weren't more advanced. Nino still needed to go to work, she was stuck in the same place, and Adrien was still as closed off about the whole thing.

"You need to find out more about her, babe," Nino had told her before going to work the day before.

"But I don't know how! I can't find anything else online."

"Go directly to the source. Befriend her. I'll ask Reid for Lila's address, and tell him that you want to surprise her with some breakfast. I'm not working tomorrow, I'll go out with Adrien, he won't suspect a thing."

"It's risky. If it's truly Marinette… We need to be careful."

"You can do it, babe. I believe in you. This is what you do best."

So, here she was, knocking on Lila and Victoria's door, her heart pounding in her chest. A few minutes prior, she had seen Dylan drop off Victoria in front of the building, so she knew she was home. With a little luck, she would be alone.

"Alya?" Lila gawked as she opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

Well, gotta work around Lila, I guess.

Alya didn't miss the way Lila nervously glanced behind her.

"I thought I could surprise you with some lunch!" she said, showing her the bags in her hands. "Of course, there's enough for Victoria, too." She pushed her way inside, not letting Lila come up with some excuse to get herself out of this situation. "I mean, I really want to talk with you, it's been so long! And our meeting with your friend was so weird, I really want her to forgive us."

"She's not mad," Lila mumbled. "But I—"

"Oh, hey!" Victoria exclaimed, surprised, as she walked into the room. "Alya, right?"

Alya's face lit up with a smile. "Yeah! It's so nice to see you again. I'm so sorry about the last time, Victoria. It was just … shocking."

"Oh, trust me, I'm sorry too," she said, putting her hand on her heart. "But please, call me Vee!"

"Vee it is, then! Hungry, girls?"

Victoria smiled warmly at her. "Sure!"

As Alya took the food out of the bags, she noticed how mad Lila looked. She clearly tried to hide it, but there was no denying the anger in her eyes.

What is going on here?

"Oh, by the way, could you girls tell me where the bathroom is?"

"It's at the end of the hallway, last door on your left."

"Thanks!"

With Lila and Victoria busy in the kitchen, Alya quietly made her way toward the bathroom. But that wasn't her true destination. She needed to find Victoria's room.

The first one she found was, without a doubt, Lila's bedroom. It was a pristine, minimalist space with a touch of elegance. There was a picture of Lila and Reid kissing on one of the night tables. A notebook with what seemed to be Reid's handwriting was on the desk. Alya skimmed through the notebook, which seemed to contain lyrics. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, yet an unsettling feeling lingered. Alya pushed the thought aside. If Victoria truly was Marinette, Lila couldn't possibly be aware of it. She would've told them, otherwise, right? She didn't have any reason to hide this huge information. And yet, when Alya opened the next door, she found it hard to believe that Lila didn't have any doubts about Victoria's potential real identity.

The room was white with accents of pink and gold. It was messy, with half-finished drawings on the dresser and a bunch of masculine clothes lying on the ground in a corner. Even the books were everywhere instead of in the library. She immediately noticed the hairbrush on the dresser and grabbed it before hiding it in her purse, smiling to herself.

Bingo.

She was about to leave the room when she noticed the pictures. They were on the wall in front of the bed, so that it was pretty much the first thing Victoria would see every morning. Alya could say that Victoria had travelled a few times these past few years. Mostly with either Dylan or Lila, but also at least once with both of them plus Reid. There were so many pictures of them having fun, either on trips or on random occasions. She could see them all smiling and laughing, looking so happy that for a split second, Alya felt sick. Because what if she was wrong? What if Victoria was just a girl living her life with her best friends? She didn't want to take this away from her, not after everything she had been through.

There were also a few baby pictures. Alya reluctantly admitted the resemblance between the young child and Victoria—the same hair colour, the same eyes, and freckles sprinkled across their noses. However, Alya never would have guessed that the child in the pictures was Victoria. Perhaps it was because she had seen Marinette's baby pictures, and those made a lot more sense…

In the middle, there was a picture of a middle-aged couple and their teenage son. Probably Victoria's parents and her brother. The man was Asian and had dark brown hair and brown eyes, while the lady was white and had straight red hair. Her eyes were closed, but the teenager had brown hair and blue eyes, so it was pretty safe to say that she probably had blue eyes, too.

The picture had been taken in a sunlit backyard and the three of them were smiling. The dad had one arm passed around his son's shoulders and the other around his wife's waist. She had her head thrown back in laughter, her hair flying free around her. The man was looking at her with so much love and admiration… It was heartbreaking, knowing their fate. The boy, who was holding a soccer ball, was waving at the person behind the camera.

She had never met these people, but Alya felt suddenly sad about their death. No matter who they were, they had died in a horrible way. They had loved and cried, had friends and families, memories and hopes for the future. And everything had been ripped away from them. Alya wondered if Victoria felt anything when she looked at this picture. Were they just a reminder of everything she had lost and forgotten?

"Alya, you okay?" Lila called from the kitchen, making her jump.

"Shit," Alya whispered, her heart racing, as she exited the room. "Coming!"

—

"So, how are things with your boyfriends, ladies?" Alya asked, taking a bite of her food.

"Oh, they're going so great!" Lila exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Reid is the most amazing lover a girl could ask for."

"The loudest, too," Victoria added with a smirk.

"Hush, you! You're just jealous," Lila retorted playfully.

Victoria blushed. "Maybe a little," she muttered.

"Don't worry," Lila reassured her, leaning in closer. "You just need to let go. And someday, Dylan will be able to make you—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Victoria interrupted, cutting her off.

Alya felt a pang of curiosity. "Wait, I'm lost. He will be able to make you what? Have an orgasm?"

Victoria's face turned even redder. "Yes," she admitted shyly. "I mean, the sex is fine, but… Well, we've been together for a long time. I guess you get used to it, right? Lila told me you've been with your boyfriend for a while too."

Alya nodded. "Eleven years now. But honestly, I can't relate. Nino really listens to me and my needs. And he's always willing to try new things!"

"You're a lucky girl," Victoria sighed with a hint of longing in her voice. "He seems like a great guy. Which one was it?"

Alya's heart sank a little. "The brown-haired one."

Lila couldn't contain her laughter and leaned over the table, whispering conspiratorially. "Babe, the other one was Adrien Agreste."

"Who?" Victoria asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Gosh, Vee, the supermodel! You know …," Lila stopped herself, glancing at Alya in a pointed way.

"Oh, right! Sorry, I, uh … don't really follow supermodels, fashions, or anything like that."

Alya hesitated for a moment. If she were Marinette, wouldn't she still love the same things, even if she had amnesia?

"Really? Why not?" Alya probed.

Victoria tensed, her eyes darting between Lila and Alya. "Oh, uh… I don't know. I just don't see the point, I guess," she replied, her voice lacking conviction.

"I get it," Alya said, forcing a laugh. "I mean, it could be good for Adrien to know that not everyone in the world knows his face or his name."

"Big ego?" Victoria asked, intrigued.

"No, quite the opposite. He wishes he wasn't famous," Alya explained.

"Really? That's interesting…" Victoria mused.

Alya frowned. Lila and Victoria kept exchanging glances, and Victoria's hand instinctively went to her ear. Just then, Lila abruptly jumped up from her seat.

"Vee, your pills!" she suddenly exclaimed, standing up. "Stay there, I'll get them."

"It's already time?" Victoria asked, perplexed, but Lila had already disappeared into the bathroom.

"You're okay?" Alya asked.

"Oh, yeah. I had a bad accident a couple of years ago, so I'm on medication for the pain, among other things," Victoria explained, clearly uncomfortable, nervously playing with her earlobe.

"I see."

Lila reentered the room, interrupting their conversation, and handed Victoria a pill. "Thank you so much for stopping by, Alya," Lila said, her smile clearly forced. "But Vee and I have this thing in an hour, so…"

Alya nodded, recognizing the dismissal. "Oh, alright. Let's catch up another time!"

"Of course!" Victoria chimed in, her grin appearing genuine, while Lila remained oddly silent.

A couple of minutes later, Rena Rouge found herself hiding in an alley, clutching her miraculous phone tightly. After a few seconds, a friendly voice answered on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Pegasus," she greeted, her eyes focused on the hairbrush she held in her other hand. "I need your help with something. Can you meet me for a few minutes?"

"What's going on?" Pegasus asked, his voice now beside her as he stepped out of a portal.

Rena closed her phone and turned to face him, her hands trembling as she handed him the hairbrush. Pegasus raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled by the situation and his guardian's attitude.

"I need you to analyze this hairbrush and determine whose DNA it belongs to," she explained urgently. "Can you do it?"

Pegasus examined the hairbrush, his confidence undeterred. "Of course, this is fairly easy. Just give me a couple of days."

"Thank you," Alya replied gratefully. "But Pegasus, no matter what you discover, you cannot discuss this with anyone except me or Carapace. Understood?"

Pegasus paused for a second before asking, "What about Chat Noir?"

"Not even him, especially not him. I need your word. No one can know."

"I promise," Pegasus swore, his eyes glowing with curiosity. "So, who do you believe this brush belongs to?"

Taking a deep breath, Alya braced herself for the revelation. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Pegasus's eyes widened in astonishment. "How? That's impossible. She's dead."

"Not a word, Pegasus," Alya repeated firmly.

He nodded, his eyes fixated on the brush between his hands as though it held the most enigmatic mystery in the world. And maybe it did. He then straighten his back, and without uttering another word, he opened a portal and stepped into it.

Alright, there's no turning back now, Alya thought, releasing her transformation. Step 2 of the plan is now a go.