"Yes Mr. Agreste, the transfor for 3 million euros will be seen in your account in 24 hours." A woman told Philip over the phone. He was talking to the Bank of America, the bank where he created Adrien's fake account.
Philip smirked in victory. "In 24 hours, perfect thank you Miss." Philip hangs up satisfied. "You won't escape from this one Adrien."
That evening Emilie invited Adrien, Marinette and Hugo to watch her do a scene of her upcoming movie. They went to the studio where the film is being made and once she was done with her scene they clapped for her.
Emilie smiled as she walked over to them. "What do you guys think?"
"Amazing!" Hugo exclaimed, extending his arms in the air.
"I'm glad that you liked it." Emilie said as she picked Hugo up in her arms.
"Yes you were great Emilie." Marinette stated with a smile.
"Yea mom you were amazing as ever." Adrien said smiling as he kissed Emilie's cheek.
Emilie smiled. "Thank you, you two. I'm glad that you were all able to make it."
"It was our pleasure and Hugo was so excited to come." Marinette stated.
"Yea!" Hugo said happily.
"How about we go out for dinner tonight to celebrate mom's great work?" Adrien suggested with a smile and everyone nodded, smiling back.
The next day Luka walked in the company with Kagami and they went over to Alya. "Good morning Alya, do I have any phone calls or messages?"
"Good morning Luka and yes here are the names of everyone that called and underneath the names are the messages they left for you if they did but most just say to call them back as soon as you can." Alya said as she handed Luka a file.
Luka took it. "Thank you."
"Hey Alya." Kagami said with a smile. "How are you?"
"Hey Kagami." Alya replied. "And I'm doing good. What about you two?"
"We're doing good." Kagami stated. "Right Luka?"
"Yes, are Adrien, Marinette, Philip and Juleka here yet?" Luka asked.
"No you two are the first to arrive." Alya replied.
"Alright when they arrive tell them that I want to meet them at the conference room at 11." Luka stated.
"Yes Luka." Alya replied as Luka and Kagami went to the elevator.
In a few minutes Philip and Juleka walked in. "Hey Alya." Juleka said as she walked over to her while Philip walked straight over to the elevator.
"Hey Juleka oh Philip wait before you go Luka wants me to tell both of you that he wants you to meet up with him at the conference room at 11." Alya stated.
Philip nodded. "Thanks for letting me know, Alya, I'll just leave my things at my office."
"Yea I'll do the same thing." Juleka stated as she walked over to Philip as he pressed the bottom for the elevator doors to open.
"Did he ask for me too?" Lila asked. She walked in as Alya was giving Juleka and Philip the message.
"No, he only asked for Philip, Juleka, Adrien and Marinette." Alya replied.
"Oh I see okay I have a lot of work anyway." Lila said while flipping her hair as she walked in the elevator with Philip and Juleka.
Adrien and Marinette walked in a few minutes later. "Hey Alya, how are you doing today?" Marinette asked her with a smile.
"I'm doing good, how about you two?" Alya asked.
"We're doing good too." Marinette replied. "Right Adrien?"
Adrien nodded with a smile. "Yes do I have any messages, Alya?"
"Yes, here's the name of everyone that called you this morning and their message underneath if they left any." Alya said as she handed Adrien a file. "Oh and Luka wants you two to meet him at the conference room at 11."
Adrien nodded as he took the file. "Okay thanks." He walked to the elevator and pressed the button to the second floor.
"See you later Alya." Marinette stated as she walked in the elevator with Adrien.
"See ya girl." Alya said with a smile.
"This is for all of your services Jake." Philip told Jake as he handed a check to him.
"That wasn't necessary sir but I appreciate it." Jake replied as he took the check from Philip.
"My plan is coming up perfectly. Especially now that you put everything against Adrien in his computer before he arrived." Philip said while laughing softly. "I am even amazed with how much of a genius that I am."
Jake nodded. "Congratulations sir."
"Now I can show my dear brother in law all the evidence that accuses his saint best friend Adrien Agreste." Philip said with a smirk. "What else could I ask for?"
Lila suddenly walked in. "Excuse me." Jake said before leaving the office.
Lila walked in front of the desk across from Philip with a smile. "Why are you so happy Philip?"
"Because today Adrien Agreste will be destroyed." Philip replied with a victorious smile as he stood up. "Adrien will fall down from his throne."
"You'll need to explain more babe because I don't understand what you mean by that." Lila stated.
"Just wait for later today to witness the scandalous downfall of Adrien Agreste." Philip replied while kissing the back of Lila's hand.
Lila smirked. "You just love to be mysterious and I like that about you. Oh and before I forget I came here to ask you for a favor."
"Adrien, it's almost 11. We should probably start heading to the conference room." Marinette told Adrien as she stood up from her seat at the table. She was holding a notebook and a pen in case she had to write down any notes.
Adrien nodded as he was finishing typing something on his computer. "Yes you're right." Adrien turned off his computer before standing up. "Let's go."
Marinette and Adrien walked to the conference room and when they arrived they saw that Luka Kagami Juleka and Philip were already there so they took their usual spot on the right side of Luka and next to Kagami.
"I called you guys here for several reasons but they all have to do with Marinette's project." Luka stated.
"If we're going to talk about Marinette's project, the biggest project of Couffaine Group shouldn't Lila be here too?" Philip asked, remembering the favor Lila asked him for. Lila asked him to get her in the meeting because Lila just has to feel special.
"We're going to talk about the development of the project, especially the first steps we plan to take with it. Lila's department involves marketing which includes promoting our projects and social activities alongside that like the press or social media or especially during the big events. We aren't in that stage yet so Lila isn't needed yet that's why I didn't call her to this meeting because I thought it would be best if she just continued with the projects that are in that stage." Luka replied.
Philip nodded. "Yea you have a point with that." Well he tried but Lila can't get everything she wants.
"Okay first order of business. We can't keep calling this the big project or Marinette's project. We need a specific name for it. It doesn't have to be special or elegant, just interesting and easy to remember. Marinette as the creator and the person in charge of the project, do you have any ideas?" Luka asked.
Marinette nodded. "Actually yes I was thinking the same way as you, Luka. I have several names but the name Miraculous Ladybug is the one I like the most. I picked miraculous because this project is hopefully going to give us miraculous results and miraculous opportunities for everyone involved in the project. I picked ladybug because ladybugs represents luck and that's what we should have with this project and it also represents creation which is what we will be doing creating cermercials, music videos and similar things like that."
"Wow Marinette, I like that." Juleka stated.
"Yes you are creative in everything you do." Kagami added.
"Okay well it seems like that's going to be the name but we need to vote on it still for the records. Kagami you'll be in charge of that." Luka stated and Kagami nodded, taking out everything she needed to do so. "Everyone in favor of naming the project the Miraculous Ladybug project or just Miraculous Ladybug for short say aye."
"Aye." Everyone said at the same time.
Philip only said aye because he knew everyone else would say it and he didn't want to explain himself why he didn't like it. For one thing he thought the project itself was ridiculous and the name was ridiculous too but what did he expect when it came from Adrien's wife. Though Philip couldn't deny that Marinette was an attractive woman better looking than Juleka in his opinion.
"Now Adrien and Marinette I checked the agreements you made with Mathew Roperts and I agree with them." Luka stated. "I think that with these agreements CG will be able to use the properties the way we expect to use them while still respecting the community and their culture. Adrien make sure that the contract for these agreements is made."
Adrien nodded. "Of course I'll do that right after the meeting."
"Great." Luka looked at Philip. "Philip, now that we know how we'll start this project I want you to start a financial plan of how much money will be needed, not including the money that Adrien already put in for Miraculous Ladybug. I want the money to be used by the time I sign the contract with Mathew Roperts."
Philip nodded. "Of course Luka."
"Juleka and Kagami, you'll be working by Marinette's side and monitoring everything that goes on during the development of the project." Luka stated as Kagami and Juleka nodded.
"Marinette even though you're the creator and in charge of the project it is still a CG project so any decisions that you make have to be talked with me first before they are done." Luka stated.
"Of course Luka." Marinette replied.
Luka smiled. "You and Adrien already know this so this is just for the rest of you. The people there only know the Agreste family very well so they only trust them. Therefore as one of the agreements states Marinette and Adrien will be the spokespeople between us and the community. It's not that they won't be nice to us because from my own experience I know that they are really nice unless they feel threatened. What I mean by this is that they won't accept any plans, decisions or work to be made without Adrien or/and Marinette being involved. If you guys plan to do anything that Marinette and Adrien are not aware of, especially if Mathew Roperts is not aware of it then they won't let you do it. Is that understood?"
Everyone nodded in understanding and agreement. Philip actually didn't agree with it and he planned to change that especially now that his plan to destroy Adrien was about to start. Philip would just have to make a quick visit to that beach and have a little talk with Mathew Roperts. After all there was nothing a little bit of money couldn't fix.
"Great well that's it that I wanted to say you guys can go back to work." Luka said as he stood up from his chair.
Everyone else stood up too and said their goodbyes before going their separate ways.
It wasn't even a few minutes later when Philip walked into Luka's office. "Luka, I need to talk to you." Philip looked over at Kagami. "Alone."
"Sure." Luka looked over at Kagami. "Dear do you mind?"
Kagami smiled as she stood up. "No, of course not. I'll be with Alix if you need me."
"Alright." Once Kagami left the office Luka looked over at Philip. "How can I help you Philip?"
"Luka I tried to avoid this as much as possible since I know how much you care about Adrien rightfully so as he is your best friend but I need to show you evidence of many irregularities that I have been discovering in the company." Philip replied.
Luka raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by irregularities and what does Adrien have to do with it?"
"You'll find out right now." Philip stated handing Luka a file.
Luka took it before opening it and reading what was inside. Luka couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I can't believe this Philip." He quickly stood up. "This goes beyond the limits of the company. We are talking about a fraud that is beyond belief."
"If you let me give you my opinion I think that you should call for an emergency meeting the company needs to know about this." Philip replied.
"You're right Philip in circumstances like this that would be the right thing to do but I just can't believe that Adrien would do this." Luka said as he sat back down on his chair in sadness. "He doesn't even have a reason to do this, including his own money with Marinette's money and his parents' money he has twice as much as what this company even has."
"Well sometimes ambition is stronger than the person." Philip replied not even knowing that Adrien had so much money. "I know that it's hard for you Luka since you always saw Adrien as family but there's no denying it you have the evidence in front of you."
Luka sighs. "Call for an emergency meeting."
"Alright thanks Alix." Marinette said before hanging up the office phone and looking at Adrien. "Luka just called for an emergency meeting."
"Really? We just had a meeting an hour ago. I wonder what happened." Adrien said before standing up.
"Yea me too but we'll find out soon enough." Marinette said as the two left the office.
Marinette and Adrien went to the conference room and saw everyone in the community there as they took their spots at the table.
"I called all of you here because there is a serious matter in our hands." Luka said in a serious tone hiding his sadness and pain. "Adrien, I need you to explain this to me." He gives the file that Philip gave him to Adrien.
Adrien took the file and opened it before starting to read what was inside. He knew what it was saying but he could believe it because what it said was a lie. "What is this?"
"It's an electrical transfer to your bank account in the United States." Luka replied.
Adrien closed the file. "What are you talking about? I never did that."
"Stop lying Adrien! You stole 3 million euros from the company!" Philip said harshly while standing up. Everyone looked at Adrien with wide eyes not believing what they were hearing.
Adrien stood up too glaring at Philip. "That accusation is false."
"It has to be fake, Adrien isn't capable of doing that." Marinette stated as she stood up too. "This has to be a misunderstanding."
"Yes, I agree with Marinette." Kagami said standing up to. "Adrien doesn't even need all of that money, he's richer than this whole company."
"There's a witness that saw Adrien do it at the bank." Philp said as he walked to the doors of the conference room and opened it as a man in a suit walked in. "This is Roland Rople, a businessman that was at the bank when Adrien created the account isn't that right Mr. Rople?"
Roland nodded. "That's right I saw him at the bank a couple days ago creating an account and transferring money from another account that he has."
"What do you actually work in?" Kagami asked suspiciously.
"I work in a modeling agency." Roland replied.
"This is ridiculous. I have never seen this man in my life." Adrien stated.
"You might not have seen Adrien but he saw you doing the fraud." Philip said sternly.
"How do we even know Adrien is the man he saw or if he's even telling the truth?" Marinette asked.
"It's hard to not recognize Adrien Agreste and I can assure you that it was him." Roland replied.
"Marinette I know Roland Rople for years and I can assure you that he's not the type to lie plus he has no reason to lie." Philip stated. "Thank you for coming Mr. Rople."
"Of course." Roland said before leaving the room.
"Well Adrien isn't a liar either and everyone in this room knows the kind of person Adrien is. He's incapable of doing such a crime." Marinette started to get furious about the situation.
"I can assure you that I had nothing to do with those 3 million euros." Adrien stated.
"That file has evidence that the money went into one of your bank accounts!" Philip exclaimed.
Marinette grabbed the file and opened it before reading it. "I don't recognize this account, it's not one of Adrien's."
"Maybe he kept it from you, Marinette. It wouldn't surprise me if he did." Philip replied.
"He wouldn't do that." Marinette said sternly.
"Philip, we all know Adrien, he's not capable of such a thing." Juleka stated.
"Exactly!" Kagami exclaimed.
"I know that it's hard to believe but that account has Adrien's name and as much as many of us are his friends we have to accept the truth that Adrien stole money from CG." Philip said sternly, getting fed up, that everyone was defending Adrien.
Adrien looked over at Luka. "I didn't steal anything from you Luka I swear. I would never do that to you, how could you even think that?"
Luka sighs standing up. "Adrien you're my best friend and I never thought you would be capable of something like this. I want to believe you. I actually do believe you but there's so much evidence against you so there's only one thing I can do about this… I'm going to give you one month to prove your innocence if you're innocent in the first place."
Adrien nodded. "Thank you Luka."
"What!? Luka you can't be serious about this Adrien committed fraud all the evidence needed is on that file!" Philip exclaimed furious that his plan wasn't going according to plan. Luckily he had a plan B.
"I'm not ignorant, Philip. I know that frauds like that can be done by harkers or people that know how to frame others for their own benefit. Adrien deserves a chance to prove his innocence if he really is innocent however in case that he's not." Luka looked straight at Adrien. "Adrien Agreste until you prove your innocence you're suspended from being the head vice president of this company and not allowed to step foot in this building. If you need information or items from this company to prove your innocence you can ask anyone in this community to give it to you however they have to ask permission from me first."
"Alright, that's fair." Adrien replied.
"That's a good start, Luka but I took matters into my own hands." Philip stated. "We can't let a thief continue walking down the streets of Paris so I called the police to arrest him immediately. They are on the way now."
"What you accused Adrien in the name of this company when I didn't authorize you to do that you didn't even know what I was going to do about the situation." Luka stated sternly.
"I can't believe you did that Philip, even before giving Adrien the chance to explain himself because you obviously did it before the meeting." Juleka said disappointed.
"I only did what I thought was best for the company and the Couffaine family so Adrien enjoy your last minutes of freedom." Philip stated.
Adrien glared at him before leaving the room. "I can't believe you did that Philip." Marinette said before leaving the room too.
Two officers walked in the building and walked over to Alya. "Good afternoon."
Alya stood up surprised to see police officers there but she hid it. "Good afternoon, how can I help you?"
"We are from the delegation of Paris and we have an arrest warrant for Adrien Agreste." An official stated and Alya was even more surprised.
"What are you going to do Adrien?" Marinette asked worriedly.
"I don't know. All of my bank accounts were blocked." Adrien replied frustrated after turning off his computer. "I can't clear my name in jail and even with your and my friends help it's going to be harder."
Alya suddenly rushed in. "Adrien, can you explain to me why there are two police officers on the first floor wanting to arrest you?"
Adrien quickly stood up. "Already? I thought I had a little bit more time and it's a long story Marinette will tell you everything. Right now I need to get out of here quickly."
"I'll distract them for you." Alya stated. "Use the stairs and I'll use the elevator."
"Marinette, go to your parents house and stay there with Hugo until this whole mess clears up. Our mansion is most likely going to be surrounded by police cars and I'm sure my parents house will too. I'm sure they'll look for me at the bakery too so please make sure that Hugo doesn't find out about this." Adrien said before kissing her quickly. "I love you."
"I love you too and don't worry I'll take care of everything from my end." Marinette replied and Adrien nodded before quickly leaving the office with Alya.
Alya used the elevator while Adrien used the stairs. Once the doors opened Alya walked out and to the officers. While Alya was distracting the officers Adrien sneaked out from the building but he saw that there were more officers by his car so he hid and tried to find an idea to get in his car. At this point everyone in the company knew about the police looking for Adrien so some of the employees that worked outside decided to help Adrien by distracting the officers so Adrien could slowly and quietly sneak in his car and drive away without them knowing.
"I was the one that told you about Adrien Agreste, how could you let him escape!? I can't believe it!" Philip exclaimed to the two officers angrily. It was a few minutes after Adrien escaped and everyone was now on the first floor.
Marinette Juleka and Kagami were just finishing telling everything to Alya. "Okay Adrien was framed without a doubt."
"I wish that I could help him clear his name but I don't know how." Marinette replied.
"We'll help you with whatever you need." Kagami stated and the other two women nodded.
Marinette smiled. "Thanks girls you're the best friends ever now I need to go to my parents house to explain everything to them."
"I'll take you there if you want." Juleka stated.
Marinette nodded. "Sure thanks Juleka." Marinette and Juleka soon left the building.
"I can't believe this is happening." Luka mumbled.
"I know that it's hard Luka but you need to accept that Adrien is a delinquent." Philip stated.
"Philip, be quiet please sometimes silence is the best way to support someone." Kagami replied as she held Luka's hand in a comforting way. "And Luka don't worry many of us are feeling the same way as you but I'm sure that everything will get better before we know it."
"Nino we need to help Adrien." Edward whispered to Nino.
"I know and I have an idea on how to start helping him." Nino whispered back.
"Mike you have been the family lawyer for years so you have to believe me." Adrien told Mike Ninling, the Agreste family's primary lawyer. Adrien was currently in his office. "I know that I shouldn't have ran away but I need to prove that I'm innocent."
"Adrien I do believe you but with how things are you should just turn yourself in until we prove your innocence." Mike replied.
"I can't do that Mike, I have a wife and kid that depend on me and I'm not talking about financially because Marinette could handle that plus my accounts are blocked but they need me to be there with them." Adrien stated. "Tomorrow is the annual Father and child sports day in Hugo's school and I promised him I would be there with him."
Luka was back in his office with Kagami. They were on the couch and Kagami was trying to cheer Luka up. "Calm down honey, we both know that Adrien didn't do it and all of this will be over once he proves his innocence."
"It will be hard for him to do that when he's running away from the police and especially if he's taken to prison. That's why I was going to give him time to prove his innocence before calling the police on him." Luka replied sadly.
"As his friend you did the right thing and even though it led to this Adrien is smart and will know how to handle it." Kagami said softly.
"I hope you're right sweetheart." Luka replied.
Philip suddenly walked into the office. "Luka the police is looking for Adrien right now and he should be caught soon."
Luka sighs. "This is the worst thing that happened to this company and the second worst thing that happened to me after my parents death."
Lila walked into the bathroom and saw Juleka who was back from dropping Marinette at her parents house. "Who would have thought that Adrien would do such a thing right Juleka?"
"Adrien is innocent Lila. I have no doubt about it." Juleka replied.
"But all the evidence is against him." Lila stated.
"Sometimes facts are not what they seem." Juleka replied.
"Here is information and pictures of Adrien. I don't know how but you need to find him no matter what." Philip told Francisco while handing him a file.
Francisco took it. "Don't worry Philip, you can count on me." He left Philip's office.
Lila soon walked into the office. "Philip, you told me that Adrien would find his downfall but I never imagined like this. Though I agree with everyone else that Adrien is innocent."
"Why is everyone defending him so much?" Philip asked, irritated since everyone was supposed to hate him now, not defend him.
"Because everyone knows that Adrien doesn't have a single bad bone in his body but I do know many other people in this company that do." Lila said with a smirk.
Philip smirked back. "Well Adrien found his downfall and I'm headed up."
"Thank you for letting me stay here Nino. With the police surrounding my house, and Marinette called me to tell me that they were also searching my parents house and Marinette's parents house I don't want to cause them more trouble, especially for Hugo's sake." Adrien told Nino as they were talking at the dining table in Nino's house. "I'm just glad that Tom and Sabine were able to take Hugo to the park before the police went to search their house. I know that I can't hide all of my life but I honestly don't know where to start."
"Don't worry about it buddy stay here tonight and sleep and relax. Tomorrow morning your mind will be clear enough for you to know where to start." Nino stated.
"I didn't want to cause you trouble either because you have kids too… I was even thinking about going to Edward's house since he's at the moment living alone but your house was closer to me." Adrien replied. "And I wasn't sure if I was being followed or not."
"Don't worry about it Adrien, you're always welcome here." Alya said as she walked over to Adrien with a plate of food and put it in front of him.
Adrien smiled. "Thank you."
After eating dinner Adrien called Marinette and she quickly answered. "Adrien? Where are you? Are you okay?"
"Don't worry princess, I'm fine and I'm at the Lahiffe's household. I'm going to stay here for the night." Adrien replied with a smile.
"Alright I'm glad that you're okay." Marinette stated in relief.
"How is Hugo doing?" Adrien asked.
"He's fine, he's already sleeping. He asked me about you and I told him that you had to do a quick trip. He also asked me if you would come back in time for the father and child sports day and I said probably. My dad said if you don't make it in time he will do it in your place." Marinette replied.
"Say thank you to Tom for me and tell Hugo to have fun and that I'm sorry that I couldn't be there with him." Adrien stated.
"Okay I will please be safe Adrien I'll do everything I can to help you prove your innocence." Marinette replied.
"I will be careful and thanks I know that I can always count on you." Adrien said with a smile.
"I can't believe that they are accusing my son of such a crime." Emile said in a disapproval tone as she watched the police cars that were surrounding her house from the window of the living room. "Adrien is incapable of committing any crime."
"I told them that he wasn't here but they insisted on staying so they could keep an eye if Adrien even thinks of coming here." Gabriel said from beside her. "If Adrien really did do it then he should pay the consequences."
"I can't believe you would say that we're talking about our son here." Emilie stated while crossing her arms.
"I know and I do care about him but if he was innocent he wouldn't be hiding from the police." Gabriel replied.
"I can't believe that you're doubting the innocence of our son." Emilie said upset before walking away.
The next morning Adrien Nino and Alya were looking at what the news was saying about Adrien's situation in the living room when Mayla walked over to them ready for school. "Good morning - Uncle Adrien!" Mayla ran to Adrien and hugged him.
Adrien smiled, hugging her back. "Hi Mayla, how are you doing?"
"Good!" Mayla said happily. "I'm excited because today is father and child sports day! Are you going to be there with Hugo?"
"No, I sadly have other things that I have to deal with today. He's going with his grandpa Tom and you have fun with Nino." Adrien stated.
Mayla nodded. "I will!"
Kevin walked over to them ready for school and when he saw Adrien he did the same thing as what Mayla did he hugged him. "Uncle Adrien."
"Hi Kevin, how are you?" Adrien asked as he hugged back.
"Good!" Kevin cheered.
"Okay kids time for breakfast." Alya said as she stood up from the couch and led the kids to the kitchen.
At that moment Adrien's phone rang and he answered when he saw that it was Edward. "Hey Edward what's up?"
"The police came to look for you here Adrien they just left." Edward stated in a concerned tone.
"Okay thanks for letting me know, take care." Adrien hangs up.
"Sweetie cheer up, today is a special day at school and you're going to have a lot of fun with your grandpa Tom." Marinette told Hugo when she saw his sad expression.
"But I wanted to do it with daddy and he promised that he would be there." Hugo said sadly.
"I know sweetheart and trust me your daddy would prefer to be there with you instead of what he has to deal with now but sometimes circumstances occur where we can't change the outcome and we just have to accept it no matter how much we don't like it." Marinette said softly. "Just have fun, that's what your daddy would want from you."
Hugo nodded with a soft smile. "Okay mommy."
"I should go. I don't want to involve you guys in this or to drag you into this mess anymore than what I already have." Adrien told Nino and Alya.
"Where do you plan to go?" Alya asked concerned.
"I don't know but I'll figure something out." Adrien replied. "Thank you for everything though."
"They are probably tracking your car. You should take my car instead." Nino stated.
"No I can't do that, how are you going to get around without it?" Adrien asked.
"That's for me to figure out and I won't take a no for an answer." Nino said as he put his car keys in Adrien's hand. "Just leave it abandoned somewhere if you need to."
Adrien smiled. "Thank you for everything, take care, all of you." With that Adrien left the house.
"Everything is not going exactly how I plan. Everyone is defending him instead of hating him but once Adrien is arrested I'll be all set for my next step in my plan." Philip told Francisco overjoyed. They were currently at a coffee shop.
"And what's that?" Francisco asked.
"To get the position of head vice president." Philip said with a smirk.
"Where are you Adrien and what did you do?" Gabriel asked Adrien harshly when Adrien called him while driving.
"I didn't do anything dad. I didn't steal anything." Adrien replied.
"If you didn't do anything then why is the police looking for you." Gabriel asked sarcastically still in the harsh tone.
"Because I was framed, dad." Adrien replied. "I shouldn't be talking on the phone right now, I'm going to get rid of it. I called you first though because my bank accounts are blocked. I need to ask you for money and a place to hide."
"If you're telling the truth then there's no reason for you to hide from the law." Gabriel stated. "I can call our lawyers."
"I already talked to Mike Ninling. I need to keep hiding until I have the evidence of my innocence." Adrien replied.
"Oh great, you're going to be a fugitive." Gabriel said sarcastically in an angrier tone. "I'm sorry Adrien but I can't help you if you keep hiding from the law."
"Dad, I'm your son." Adrien stated.
"Exactly because you're my son that I can't help you." Gabriel replied. "I won't let you drag our family name through the dirt. If you really are innocent you need to turn yourself in."
"Dad I can't do that because unlike you I have a family that I want to protect and take care of. Thanks for everything dad." Adrien hangs up. "Good to know who's on my side and who's not."
"I heard everything. I can't believe that you didn't agree to help him." Emile said from behind Gabriel.
Gabriel turned to face her. "He's a fugitive Emilie. I'm not going to help a fugitive."
Emilie crossed her arms. "He's our son Gabriel. You're right he shouldn't be hiding since he's innocent but as his father you should have tried to help him and especially show him your support and love. If he gets arrested for this crime that he didn't do and you were able to help him… I will never forgive you Gabriel."
The father and child sports day was set at the park by the school and Hugo was sitting by a tree sadly as he watched the other kids with their dads.
Someone touched his shoulder from behind him. "Why so sad buddy?"
Hugo quickly turned to the person with a smile knowing who it was. "Daddy." Adrien was wearing casual clothes with a cap and sunglasses to hide his face. "I didn't think you would come."
Adrien smiled, bending down to his level. "I couldn't miss a special day for you Hugo. I sadly can't play with you for reasons I can't tell you yet but have fun with grandpa Tom and I'll be here cheering for you."
Hugo nodded. "Okay daddy."
"Good…. Now Hugo I have to go away for a while but no matter where I am I'll protect you and your mommy so nothing bad will happen to you two and I promise that I'll be back as soon as I can." Adrien stated.
"Okay daddy please come back soon." Hugo said before hugging Adrien.
Adrien hugged him back. "I will buddy, I promise. Now you promise me that you will take care of your mommy and that you will behave like the Agreste that you are."
"I promise daddy." Hugo said as he broke the hug.
After a while Hugo went with the other kids and when Marinette went to look for him she saw Adrien from afar and she couldn't believe that he was there. It was too dangerous for Adrien to be out in the open even though he's hiding his face.
Marinette walked over to him and whispered. "Adrien, it's too dangerous for you to be here. What are you doing here?"
"I promised Hugo that I would be here. I had to come even though I couldn't play with him." Adrien replied. "I also came to see you. I don't think this is going to clear up anytime soon so I came to say goodbye… for now…"
"Where do you plan to go?" Marinette asked worriedly.
"I don't know but I promise that I'll be back as soon as possible." Adrien said with a smile.
"I know and I promise that I'll continue helping you as much as I can." Marinette hugged him. "I'll miss you."
Adrien hugged her back. "I'll miss you too and always remember that I love you."
"I love you too." Marinette said with a soft smile.
"I know take care princess." Adrien broke the hug and kissed her softly before walking away. Marinette watched him walk away sadly as a tear fell down her cheek.
"Of course I know what's going on, that's all Paris is talking about. Your plan worked great." Stella told Philip over the phone while smiling.
"That's right but tell your boyfriend to disappear for a while, we don't want to risk it." Philip stated.
"You won't have to worry about Roland." Stella replied.
"Well this ends our partnership and your revenge is complete." Philip stated.
"No, not until Adrien is arrested." Stella stated sternly.
"He'll get caught sooner than you think. Adrien will spend a long time behind bars." Philip replied with a smirk. "His freedom will be short."
"So he didn't tell you guys what he plans to do?" Edward asked Nino after the Lahiffe family went back home from the father and child sports day. Edward was currently at their house.
"No bro apparently he went to sports day to see Hugo and Marinette but he left without any hint of where he was going." Nino replied. "And we only know this because Marinette told Alya about it."
"I can't believe this is happening, especially now when I'm getting married the day after tomorrow." Edward said sadly. "Adrien was going to be my best man."
"I'm sure everything will be cleared up by then and he'll join you on your special day." Alya said with a smile trying to stay positive.
The Couffaine family and Philip were in the Couffaine household. Luka, Kagami and Juleka were still heartbroken with what was going on with Adrien while Philip obviously wasn't; he was actually in a phone call.
Philip soon hung up and looked at the rest of the family with a smile. "Adrien was tracked down and he should get caught at any moment." The rest of the family just nodded with frowns on their faces.
With him having Nino's car, Adrien, still wearing his cap and sunglasses, just drove around the city thinking about how to find and get the evidence to prove his innocence. Adrien had a strong feeling that it was Philip who framed him since the meeting the day before but he didn't have proof that it was Philip at least not yet.
Adrien suddenly heard a police car siren and when he looked in his rear mirror he saw that a police car was right behind him following him "Shoot." Adrien speeded up and drove around the city trying to get away from the police but by each second that passed more and more police cars joined the first one to try and catch Adrien.
It was the evening so the sun was going down and it was getting darker by the second. Adrien soon took the road that led outside of Paris as the police kept following him. He did this for two reasons: first he didn't want anyone to get accidentally hurt with the chase that was going on and second once outside the city he would be able to go faster and hopefully escape from the police. That's what Adrien did once he was out of the city he put more spread but so did the police. A few minutes passed and Adrien still couldn't escape from the police with how dark it was now and how fast he was going. Adrien suddenly found himself about to go through a railing and over a cliff. Adrien tried to turn the car to the side but it was too late. The car went through the railing and Adrien screamed as the car fell down and landed on the ground upside down. The police cars parked by the railing and many police officers got out and got as close as they could to inspect the incident.
From the sidelines Philip was in his car since he was following the chase to make sure that Adrien got arrested. Francisco joined him and when Adrien fell off the cliff Francisco got out of the car to inspect what happened while Philip stayed in the car since he couldn't let himself be seen. A short moment later Francisco came back to the car.
"It's going to take a long time to get him out since it's difficult to get down there and it's hard to see since it's so dark." Francisco told Philip.
"I can see that fire trucks and ambulances are arriving too." Philip stated as he saw the fire trucks and ambulances arriving.
"Yes though I don't think Adrien will get saved from this." Francisco replied. "It was a big fall." Suddenly a big explosion was heard from below the cliff and everyone covered their heads as they saw fire and smoke. "Well if he did survive the fall he died with that explosion."
"Could it be true? Either way he was already toasted." Philip said while laughing. "Well it's not convenient that we stay here." Philip drove back to Paris.
After a few hours the fire was put off and a body was found in the car with belongings that were burnt. The belongings were put in a bag while the body was given an autopsy by many doctors.
The bag with the belongings was given to the police detective and he identified them as belonging to Adrien Agreste since they identified the car that he was using. After the autopsy the head doctor went to tell the detective what they determined about the body.
"If his body was completely destroyed and there's no way to get fingerprints nor dental identification and the belongings are only identified as his because we identify the car that he was using… we can declare that the body was in the car and identify the body to be Adrien Agreste." The detective concluded.
The doctor nodded. "That's right."
The next day Sabine took Hugo to school while Marinette was getting ready to go to work. Marinette got ready then walked to the bakery to say goodbye to Tom. "Bye dad, have a good day."
"You too sweetheart take care." Tom replied after helping out a customer.
"I will." Marinette said as she was about to walk out from the back door. Her phone suddenly rang and she answered. "Hello?... Yes, I'm Marinette Agreste, his wife. Who is this?... WHAT!? a-are you s-sure that I-it's him?..." Marinette suddenly dropped her phone and she fell down on her knees before bursting into tears.
Tom, seeing what happened, hurried to her side and bent down on his knees. "Sweetheart what's wrong? Who called you?"
"T-The police I-informing me t-t-t-t-that A-Adrien had a t-terrible car a-accident last-night as h-he tried t-to e-escape from t-them and h-he died!" Marinette said between sobs barely able to speak.
Tom immediately hugged her as he felt his own tears coming down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry honey Adrien was a great man he didn't deserve a fate so tragic like that. It hurts me too knowing that he's gone since he was like a son to me."
Marinette kept crying hard as she buried her head in Tom's chest. Finding out that Adrien was gone was the worst thing that ever happened to her. It was as if a knife was stabbing into her heart and the pain was getting stronger by the second. Adrien was her true love, her husband, the father of her son and her best friend. How was she supposed to live without him?
Gabriel was about to leave his house to go to work when his phone rang and he answered it. "Hello?... Yes I'm Gabriel Agreste Adrien's father…" Gabriel's grib on the phone suddenly got weaker as he started to tear up in sadness. "W-what?"
"Are you absolutely sure that it has to do with the body of Adrien's Agreste?" Luka asked over the phone in sadness as he was getting the news of Adrien's death. He was at his office in CG while Kagami was standing next to him looking at him confused. "... It can't be…thank you for letting me know." Luka suddenly dropped his phone as he started to tear up.
The phone was going to fall on the ground if it wasn't for Kagami using her fast reflects and catching it before it did. "Luka what's wrong? Who was it?"
"The police informed me that Adrien…Adrien died last night during a terrible car accident." Luka replied softly.
Kagami started to tear up too. "No it can't… he can't be…" Kagami immediately hugged Luka as she started crying. "Adrien didn't deserve it; he had so much to live for."
Luka hugged her back crying too. "Yes he did and I know that Adrien didn't do that crime he shouldn't have paid for it."
Gabriel slowly walked over to Emilie who was reading a book in the living room. Gabriel sat next to her slowly. "Emilie…I need you to be strong right now."
Emilie immediately closed her book and put it aside once she heard those words coming from him and when she looked at him she got more worried seeing the look on his face. "Gabriel what's wrong? You're scaring me."
"Our son… got into a terrible accident and… and Adrien died." Gabriel said softly as tears fell down his cheeks.
Emilie immediately bursted into tears. "No it can't be… not my little boy…." Emilie hugged Gabriel as the two cried for the loss of their son.
Luka called Philip to his office to tell him about Adrien's death. "He's dead?" Philip asked in fake shockness as he sat on a chair across from Luka. "What a tragedy. I can't believe it."
"Me neither I'm devastated." Luka said as he was still crying from the news.
"Adrien deserved a punishment but I never imagined something like this." Philip stated. "I'm so sorry I know how much this must be hurting you."
"Call for an emergency meeting. I want everyone to know about this since everyone here was his friend." Luka stated softly.
Philip nodded. "Of course I'll do it immediately." He stood up before leaving the office.
"Even with the uncomfortable situation that occurred beforehand I know that we will all miss him. Adrien can't and never will be replaced for the company and for us and he'll always stay in our hearts." Luka told everyone in the conference room. "Though I know that Adrien wouldn't want us to dwell in the past so please continue working as usual but never forget about everything that Adrien has done for all of us… excuse me." Luka quickly left the room and Kagami followed him knowing what he was going through right now.
"I can't believe this. Adrien didn't deserve it." Lila told Juleka and Philip. This time Lila was being honest as much as she wasn't fond of him she knew that Adrien was a great man and he didn't deserve to die like that. If it wasn't for Adrien Lila wouldn't be working in CG right now.
"I'm shocked with the news. Adrien was a great man, he didn't deserve an ending like this." Juleka said in tears as she was hugging Philip. "He was one of my best friends and he'll always be in my heart."
"We just need to keep his memory alive and we'll be able to move on." Philip said being the only one happy in the company that Adrien died.
"I can't believe that Adrien is dead." Alya told Nino and Edward as she wiped her tears with a tissue.
"Neither can I, he was our best friend." Nino mumbled as he was in tears too.
"No he was more than that, he was our family." Edward said as he was wiping his tears with his hand before the three of them hugged each other.
The night before
When the car fell upside down Adrien actually fell out from it unconsciously covered in bruises and wounds. The gasoline tank was opened because of the fall and gasoline started leaking out.
A homeless man was walking by when he saw Adrien. Even in the dark it could be seen that Adrien had money from the clothes he was wearing and from his belongings so the man quickly took Adrien's things including Adrien's watch, phone and wallet. Then the man went in the car from the broken door window to see if Adrien had any more valuable things.
At that moment Adrien slowly got consciousness again but he could barely get up because of how beaten up he was so he dragged himself though the ground while trying to get up. He was barely able to stand up but he was able to after a while. Though he was only able to take two or three steps before he collapsed behind a big rock.
That's when the car exploded with the greedy homeless man inside. Two poor men saw the explosion as they were walking by.
"It must feel awful dying like that." The first man commented.
They suddenly heard a groan from behind a big rock and when they looked they saw Adrien collapsed there. "H-help p-please." Adrien weakly said as he looked at them before coughing.
"Where did he come from?" The first man asked.
"He must have been the one in the car." The second man stated.
"We should take him to the leader and he'll know how to help him." The first man replied and the second man nodded before the men carried Adrien to their shelter.
Once in the shelter Adrien was put on a bed as many of the poor people living there surrounded him. Soon an elderly man walked through the people and over to Adrien. "Excuse me, I need to pass." This elderly man was the leader so everyone let him though. He looked at Adrien. "How did you feel? Where does it hurt?"
"Everywhere… a doctor I need a doctor." Adrien mumbled in pain.
"I am a doctor who lost everything but now it's not the time for explanations. It would be best if we take you to the hospital." The man stated.
"I can't go to the hospital, can't you cue me?" Adrien asked.
"Yes but I don't have amnesia or anything to release the pain so it's going to be painful." The man replied.
"It can't be worse than what I'm feeling now." Adrien mumbled. "So go ahead."
The next day Adrien was sitting against a wall of the shelter with his head bandaged up, his wounds stitched and his left arm in a broken sling. The elderly man walked over to him and handed him a cup of tea. "How do you feel?"
Adrien took the cup. "Better thank you for everything um-"
"Fu, my name is Fu." The man replied.
"I'm Adrien. Thank you for everything Fu. I wish that I could give you something as a thank you but I don't have anything with me." Adrien stated as he drank the tea. "And the reason why I didn't want to go to the hospital is-"
"Don't worry I don't need anything from you, it was my pleasure in helping you and I don't need any explanations from you." Fu replied. "Right now what you need is to recover."
"No, what I need is to leave." Adrien said as he weakly stood up.
"Are you sure that you want to leave?" Fu asked, concerned for him.
"Yes I have a family that I need to take care of in my own way." Adrien replied with a soft smile.
During lunch Alya went to Marinette knowing that the death of Adrien was hurting her more than anyone in the company. After finding out Marinette stayed at her parents house not even bothering to let the company know that she wasn't going to work but at this point everyone knew the reason.
Alya found Marinette in her old room sitting against a wall hugging her knees and softly crying. Alya went over to her, sat next to her and hugged her. "I'm sorry Marinette I really am no one imagined that this would happen. Especially not to Adrien who had a pure heart."
"What am I supposed to do now Alya? I just lost one of the most important people in my life and I don't know if I can cope with it." Marinette mumbled barely able to talk normally with how much she was crying.
"It's going to be hard, I know but you have your family and friends here who will help you get through this. As much as you want to quit up or break down you can't do that because you have a little boy that depends and needs his mother plus I doubt Adrien would want you to not continue your life without him." Alya stated.
"I know you're right Alya but how am I supposed to tell Hugo that his dad died? I don't think that I have the courage to do that." Marinette mumbled.
"That's understandable but Hugo has the right to know the truth about his dad and from his mom not from the streets or social media since Adrien's death is all the city of Paris is talking about right now." Alya stated. "Think about Adrien's memory and that will be your courage."
Marinette nodded with a smile as she wiped her tears. "Thank you Alya for being here with me during a hard time in my life."
"Of course girl I'll always be there for you since you're my best friend and I'm not the only one all your friends will be there for you." Alya said with a bright smile and Marinette nodded feeling better.
Lila was lying down on the couch of her office in tears still affected with the news of Adrien's death when Philip walked in with a bright smile. "Hey sweetheart, why don't we sneak out and have some fun- what's wrong?"
"What do you mean what's wrong? I'm still affected by the news of the death of Adrien. Hopefully he's at a better place now." Lila said as she wiped her tears away.
"Why is everyone making a big drama about that blonde thief?" Philip asked irritated that everyone was mourning about the death of Adrien.
"Look I wasn't fond of him and he wasn't my favorite person after all I helped you with the Lindo Sparks scandal but I can't deny that Adrien was a great man and he didn't deserve to die like this." Lila sat up. "Adrien and Marinette were the first ones to see through my lies but even then Adrien gave me this job because according to him I had the potential to do great things. Maybe it's a good thing that he's gone for our plans but either way I'm sad about it."
Juleka walked in since she was still sharing the office with Lila. "Philip, what are you doing here?"
"Oh I was just telling Lila that it would be best if we call the Agreste family and give them our condolences." Philip lied with a fake smile.
Juleka nodded as she wiped her tears away. "That's a good idea. I still can't believe that Adrien isn't with us anymore." Lila nodded and it took all of Philip's strength to not roll his eyes at them.
Adrien soon found out that everyone in the city thought that he was dead. He knew how much this was probably hurting his family and friends and he was even about to call Marinette and his mom to tell them that he was fine but then he decided against that idea. He didn't want them to suffer but at the same time it was probably a good thing that he was assumed dead. The police weren't looking for him anymore and he had a little more freedom in finding evidence for his innocence.
Adrien still planned to stay close to Marinette and Hugo and his mom but just in the shadows. Adrien went to his parents house and saw that there were no more police cars surrounding it and that his parents weren't home. He took the spare key from inside the brushes from inside of the gate before he opened the gate and slowly sneaked into the house.
He went to his old room and put on new clothes and put some clothes and belongings of his in a travel bag. His arm was feeling better so he took off the sling and put it in the bag. After that he went to his mom's office and wrote a letter before folding it in three. He was just going to leave it at her desk when he saw a picture on the coffee table of Emilie holding Adrien as a baby the day he was born. Adrien smiled as he stood up and walked to the coffee table before he took the picture and a tear fell down his cheek. He opened the frame and put the letter behind the picture before putting the picture back in place knowing that his mom would find the letter at the right time.
Adrien put a cap on and grabbed his bag before he sneaked out from his parents house and walked through the streets of Paris as no one knew who he was.
"Guys I'm going to cancel my wedding tomorrow." Edward told Alya and Nino in sadness.
"Edward the death of Adrien hurts all of us but you I don't think you should cancel your wedding. Adrien will stay in our hearts as our lives move on." Alya said softly.
"Yea bro get married that's what Adrien would want you to do." Nino stated while patting Edward on his shoulder. "He would want you to be happy."
"I know but I can't imagine myself celebrating my wedding when we haven't even buried Adrien yet." Edward replied.
"Think about it Edward. I'm going back to work." Alya said before leaving their office.
"If I do have my wedding tomorrow do you mind being my best man Nino?" Edward asked. "Since… you know."
Nino nodded with a smile. "Of course dude it would be an honor for me."
Philip suddenly walked into their office with a smirk. "I'm glad to see you both. I came to tell you that you should enjoy your days in this company because your days here are numbered."
"We are the team of the head vice president and only the head vice president or Luka can fire us." Edward said sternly.
"Well Adrien is gone it's only natural that I become the head vice president and once I am I'll fire both of you." Philip replied.
"With what excuse?" Nino asked, crossing his arms.
"I'll find one I'm smarter than you think." Philip said before leaving the office.
"I swear if he gets Adrien's position I will quit." Edward stated. "Before he even fires me."
"Don't worry I have a strong feeling that Luka will give that position to someone else." Nino said with a bright smile.
Later that day Philip walked into Luka's office. "Hey Luka I know that it's probably not the appropriate time to ask you this but I was wondering who you'll give Adrien's position to. I mean this company can't go on without a head vice president so I thought maybe it would be wise if we combined both vice presidential positions so there's only one vice president and since I'm already the financial vice president I would gladly take that position."
"That's a good idea Philip but I already picked who will be the vice head president." Luka replied. "It's going to be Marinette."
"What? She's only an assistant, you can't give her that position." Philip said as he tried to hide the anger that he was feeling right now.
"You're right Philip, she was just an assistant the assistant of the head vice president so who better than Marinette to have that position." Kagami said from beside Luka. "Plus it's perfect since she's already in charge of Miraculous Ladybug."
"She didn't even come to work today." Philip stated.
"That's understandable, her husband just died." Luka replied. "I gave her a few days off and when she comes back she'll take over that position."
"What if she doesn't accept it?" Philip asked. Philip hoped that Marinette wouldn't accept it so he would have that position.
"She already agreed to it, we asked her during lunch over the phone. She was obviously hesitant about it at first but in the end she agreed." Kagami replied.
Philip was furious the outcome of his plan didn't go how he wanted it to be but it was fine he would just make a different plan to get what he wanted, a better one. "Good I'm glad everything turned out great."
Adrien went to a pawn shop to give away some of his things to get some money since he lost everything he had in the accident. He only gave away the things he brought himself and not the things that were given to him by friends and family since at the moment those things were the only things that still connected him with them since everyone believed that he was dead. He also only pawned the things that were the least expensive for two reasons first he didn't want to risk accidentally revealing his identity and second since he was dressed like a normal middle to lower class citizen he didn't want to be suspected of stealing anything that only an upper class citizen could have.
After he received the money for the things he pawned which was a fair amount of money the first thing that Adrien did was buy a new phone then he searched for a place to stay at.
Marinette was at the park sitting on a bench. Her parents thought that it would be a good idea if she went out for some fresh air while they took care of Hugo. Hugo still didn't know the news of his dad and Marinette knew that she had to tell him but at the moment she could only concentrate on her feelings.
She still had the same sadness and pain in her heart from when she first found out about the news but now there was another emotion in her heart and that was hatred. She felt hatred for the person that framed Adrien because if it wasn't for that person Adrien wouldn't have been running away from the police and he wouldn't have been in the accident instead he would be by her side at that very moment.
That was the main reason why she accepted to be the head vice president of CG because it will be easier and more flexible to find evidence that Adrien was innocent of the crime. The second reason why she accepted it was because she knew that it would be what Adrien would want her to do.
Marinette was determined to find the actual person who did the crime so that person could pay the price. She wasn't going to let Adrien's death go in vain.
That night as Marinette was helping Hugo get ready for bed she decided that it was time for her to tell him about his dad. They were still at her parents house because Marinette couldn't imagine her stepping in the house that she lived with Adrien for so many years. She knew that she would have to face the reality and go back home but that day wasn't going to be anytime soon.
Marinette sat Hugo on the bed before sitting beside him. "Hugo, I need to tell you something about your daddy. The news is sad and difficult but you need to know it." It took all of Marinette's courage to not break down in tears again as she spoke.
"What's going on with daddy?" Hugo asked sadly sensing that something was wrong with the sad expression that Marinette had.
Marinette took a deep breath. "He had an accident last night and… it hurts me to tell you this but…today I found out…" Marinette took another deep breath as she felt a few tears falling down her cheek. "Sweetheart your daddy went to heaven he passed away."
Hugo started to tear up. "But I don't want daddy to die."
"I know but death can't be decided on when it happens." Marinette said sadly. "It happens when it happens and no one can do anything to avoid it."
"So daddy is in heaven?" Hugo asked as he was softly crying.
"Yes but don't worry, the strong bond that both of you had will always stay here-" Marinette put her hand where Hugo's heart would be. "In your heart and in your memory. As long as you want to remember him he'll always stay alive in your heart." Hugo hugged Marinette as he cried and Marinette hugged him back.
As they hugged each other crying for the loss of Adrien they both thought about the good memories that they had with Adrien. Some were the same memories and the rest were memories they had with Adrien individually. They softly smiled as the memories of Adrien still lived in their hearts.
The next day was a Saturday and it was the funeral of Adrien. It was supposed to be Edward's wedding day but he couldn't get married before the funeral so he just moved the wedding day to the day after on Sunday. It wasn't easy but it was done with help of the Agreste and Couffaine families.
The Agreste family Gabriel and Emilie were there along with Marinette and Hugo plus Marinette's parents. Almost everyone in CG went to the funeral too, especially his friends.
"We are nothing Lila nothing." Philip whispered to Lila as 'Adrien's body' was being buried.
"There's no doubt that the good people always leave first, Philip." Lila mumbled as she hugged herself. "There's Adrien for example who went ahead of us."
Luka and Juleka walked over to Gabriel and Emilie. "Please accept our condolences. Adrien was a great man." Luka said softly.
"Adrien will always be remembered." Juleka added in a sad tone.
"Thank you for your kind words. I know how much you two cared about him and he cared about you two as well after all you were two of his best friends." Emilie stated softly as she wiped her tears with a tissue.
"I want to apologize in the name of my family Agreste that my son betrayed your trust right before his death. I can't believe he pushed away all the values that I taught him." Gabriel told Luka. "What hurts me the most is that his life ended with him running away from the law."
"There's no need to apologize. He didn't betray my trust, at least not yet. I don't believe that he did the crime and I wish that Adrien had the chance to prove his innocence." Luka mumbled in sadness.
"Thank you for your compassion." Gabriel stated.
Nino Alya and Edward were standing by Marinette. "It's like I'm getting the news that Adrien died all over again." Marinette said in tears. "I'm seeing the grave but I still can't believe that he isn't here anymore it feels like he still is."
Alya hugged her. "I know what you mean, I feel the same way. I really feel bad for Hugo. I can't imagine how it feels to lose a parent at such a young age."
Marinette looked at Hugo who was crying in Tom's arms. "I know but I will make sure that Adrien always stays in his heart as I do my best to be a single parent."
"That's the spirit girl but remember you are not alone you will have the help and support of your parents and Emilie, maybe Gabriel and obviously all of your friends." Alya stated with a small smile and Marinette nodded smiling back.
"I can't believe that he won't be with me at my wedding." Edward mumbled softly.
"He won't be there but Hugo and I will be in his name." Marinette stated softly. "Don't be sad tomorrow. Adrien would want you to be happy on your special day."
Edward nodded. "Thank you Marinette and you're right. I know that I'll be happy with Roxie so I will be happy on my special day as Adrien will be there in the hearts of everyone."
"It just hit me hard that my best friend isn't here anymore." Nino said in tears as Alya hugged him tightly with Mayla and Kevin by their side crying for the loss of their uncle.
What no one there knew was that Adrien was closer to them than what they thought. He was hiding behind a tree from afar wearing sunglasses, a cap and hoodie to hide his face. He found out about 'his own funeral' since it was all over the news and he hated seeing everyone in tears thinking that he was dead even though he really wasn't. Adrien especially hated seeing his mom Marinette and Hugo suffering the way they were right now and he wanted to go to them and reveal that he was alive but he sadly knew that it wasn't a good idea.
'I'm sorry everyone. I wish that there was another solution but right now faking my death is the only way I can find evidence of my innocence for the crime I'm being wrongfully accused of. I promise to make it up to all of you once this is all over.'
The previous night Adrien stayed at a motel because it was the only place where he could stay without showing an ID but he knew that he couldn't stay at a motel the whole time. He wasn't the typical rich man that couldn't stay anywhere that wasn't expensive or elegant. He would be fine staying at any place but motels weren't known to have a good reputation and Adrien did not want to be in an environment like that.
Luckily for him he found a rental home with an open room on social media so he went to the address that night and the house was decent looking with a sign in front that read 'The Kurtzberg's rental home' so Adrien went in. The house was in good shape and the owners set up the house almost like a hotel with the living room set up like a lobby and the bar set up as a reception desk. A paper on the 'reception desk' said that breakfast and dinner were served to all guests and the laundry room was opened to everyone. It also said that from the five rooms in the house four were for rent and there was currently one opened for rent. The rent wasn't too much either so Adrien thought it was a good opportunity.
Adrien looked around but he didn't see anyone around. "Um good evening!" Adrien called out.
"I'm coming!" A female voice called out from upstairs as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Adrien took off his sunglasses and hoodie as a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes walked on the other side of the reception. "How can I help you?"
"Good evening I saw online and on this paper here that there's a room available here for rent and I would like to rent it please." Adrien said politely.
"Of course nice to meet you by the way my name is Chloe Kurtzberg I own this place with my husband Nathaniel Kurtzberg." Chloe said, extending her hand to Adrien.
Adrien shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Adrien A-Yea Adrien."
"So how long do you plan to stay?" Chloe asked. "It's okay if you don't know but that way I can plan the rental for you."
"I really don't know days or months." Adrien replied.
"In that case I'll start with a daily plan for you and when you know for sure let me know." Chloe stated.
Adrien nodded. "Okay thank you. So um where's Mr. Kurtzberg?"
Chloe smiles. "Oh he's away on a business trip. This rental home is just a secondary way for us to earn money plus we are social people and we like helping people have a place to stay. My husband's primary way of earning money is by doing his passion which is art. He makes and sells his art and sometimes he gets special requests from people. Right now he's in another city in France doing a wedding portrait for a couple."
"That's cool, what about you?" Adrien asked.
"Oh I am a hairstylist and I only work from requests and in the meantime I sell hair products online and take care of the rental home." Chloe replied. "I have also worked for many celebrities."
"That's cool." Adrien stated.
The next morning Adrien was laying on his bed trying to think of where to start in finding and getting evidence to prove his innocence as soon as possible so he could go back to his family. Plus Adrien saw on Edward's social media that he moved his wedding day to that day and it saddened Adrien that he couldn't be there with Edward on such an important day.
"What am I going to do now?" Adrien mumbled. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Adrien quickly put his cap on. "Come in."
Chloe walked in with a tray of food. "Good morning, here's your breakfast."
Adrien sat up as Chloe handed him the tray. "Thank you Mrs. Kurtzberg."
"Oh please just call me Chloe and it's no problem." Chloe noticed that Adrien had a sad expression on his face. "You either slept badly or you're worried about something. If it's the first thing I can change the mattress for you."
"No, I slept well. I'm just dealing with some problems but I don't want to talk about them." Adrien replied.
Chloe nodded. "Of course I understand I'll be downstairs if you need anything." Adrien nodded before Chloe left the room.
Marinette was the maiden of honor for the wedding so she was currently at Roxie's house with the bridesmaids Rose, Mylene and Alix as well as Alya Juleka and Kagami who were helping Roxie get ready for her big day.
"I'm glad that you came, Marinette but I hope that you didn't feel obligated to come just because you're my maiden of honor, especially after everything that happened… with Adrien." Roxie said softly.
Marinette smiled softly. "Of course not, I'm happy to be here for your special day Roxie, you're my friend after all. Plus Adrien wouldn't want me to mope around, he would want me to live my life and that's what I plan to do with him in my heart."
Roxie smiled. "I'm glad to hear that… well I think I'm ready, what do you girls think?" Roxie asked while doing a spin.
"You look gorgeous." All the women said at the same time with huge smiles.
"Good well we should probably go. I don't want my future husband to be waiting for me all day." Roxie said with a giggle.
"Especially since men are so impatient." Alya stated playfully and all the women laughed as they left the house.
"She's not answering." Chloe said with a sigh as she hung up her phone. She was behind the reception as Adrien walked to the lobby.
"Who?" Adrien asked. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood over his head.
"My friend Mimi. She recently went through a hard moment and I wanted to check on her." Chloe replied. "She works in the most famous entertainment production company Couffaine Group. One of her bosses just passed away and she was upset about it. I never meant him but apparently he was a great boss, worker, friend, husband and father. His name was Adrian Agreste. Here I'll show you a picture." Chloe found a picture of Adrien and was about to show him when she realized that the Adrien in the picture was the same man in front of her. Adrien tried to hide his face but it was too late. Chloe looked at the picture then back to Adrien multiple times in shock. "Oh my gosh."