Chapter 12: A new threat

The sessions with Gerald were helping Adrien a lot. Talking to the therapist was a relief for him. Gerald had not judged him for any of the things he had mentioned nor had he mentioned anything to Nathalie about some of the things he had done, like leaving the mansion or school without her or his father's permission. He was beginning to open up more to Gerald as he progressed through the sessions.

In one of the sessions with Adrien, Gerald had discovered something important.

Adrien felt that he didn't have a vocation when he was an adult. So, he would have to guide him so that he himself could find one.

At first, he asked him to explain what was happening. Although it wasn't necessarily his job, Gerald could guide Adrien towards the right path. And the right way was for Adrien and his father to talk about the matter.

"Speak with your dad Adrien," Gerald told Adrien "Just let him know what you want."

"I've tried, but my father refuses to listen to me," Adrien said from his seat.

"I see. Adrien, I recommend you try again, young man. But tell the truth to your father directly. Don't beat around the bush," Gerald heard the warning sound from his cell phone "That would be all for today, Adrien. In the next session you will tell me how it went, okay? For the moment I want you to fill out this form and bring it to me when you have it. Take your time, no rushes."

Gerald gave a vocational format to Adrien, similar to the one they used at school. Adrien got up from his seat, taking the paper and folding it and then putting it in his pocket. Gerald accompanied him to the exit where Nathalie was waiting.

Gerald approached Nathalie to ask her about Gabriel.

"Have you already mentioned Mr. Agreste about my offer for therapy?"

"I haven't spoken with him yet." Nathalie had not yet had the opportunity to talk to Gabriel about that topic "Our communication is a little… complicated."

Gerald leaned close to her ear to whisper.

"Why do you and Mr. Agreste have a complicated communication?"

"I just haven't had the time to talk to him personally. A few things came up and it kept us busy" Nathalie didn't want to go into the details of that.

"Please, Nathalie, don't forget to talk to Gabriel. It is extremely important that you talk to him." Gerald insisted.

"I will do. I'll insist until he comes."

Nathalie and Adrien went back to the mansion to have lunch. Gabriel must have been waiting for them now.

Adrien returned to his room and took one of the books that Nathalie had gave him to read in his free time under his arm. He would go to the garden to read as Gerald recommended him after lunch. He put Gerald's sheet into the book to read it later and fill it when he had an idea.

Adrien left the book next to his plate, without realizing that the sheet he kept in the book flew out of it until it landed on the floor.

Gabriel turned to serve the meat he was preparing and saw the paper that had fallen to the floor. He picked it up and examined the contents quickly, realizing the contents of it. It was a vocational format.

It was completely empty. The only information filled out was Adrien's name.

"Why haven't you shown me this Adrien?" He asked gently, showing him the sheet of paper.

"Because I thought you had already chosen something for me" Adrien played a little with the food "on his plate...

"And do you know what you want to do?" Gabriel asked as he read the test questions.

"No. I have no idea. I don't even know where to start."

"Adrien, why didn't you tell me?" Nathalie remembered the list of careers that she had once prepared in case Adrien began to be interested in choosing his own future "I could have helped you."

"I didn't know what to do. When the school asked us to fill out the form, I had no idea what to choose. The only thing I did was write a letter saying that it didn't matter if I still didn't know what I wanted to do in my life, but the only thing I knew was that I love Marinette."

Nathalie was moved. Memories came to Gabriel of when he met Emilie and all he wanted was to spend the rest of his days with her. As a family

"Do you have at least a small idea of what you would like?" Gabriel asked him.

"Don't know. I feel like I'm completely blank."

"Adrien, you don't need to decide now, it's okay if you take your time. Just because you haven't defined it now doesn't mean you don't have enough time to do it, you're still very young." Nathalie put her hand on top of Adrien's to reassure him.

Gabriel began to play with the ring, thinking very carefully on what he was going to say.

"I already canceled all my plans with you, Adrien. I no longer want you to obey everything I ask of you to do. Now you are free to choose what you want to do with your life."

Nathalie saw what he was doing.

"Adrien, could you bring me my jacket? I left it on my bed." Nathalie wanted to get Adrien out of there before reproaching Gabriel for what she had just done.

"Sure, Nathalie, I'll be right back." Adrien left his seat towards the kitchen door.

Nathalie and Gabriel waited until Adrien had left the room.

"Gabriel, I thought you would stop doing that." Nathalie said angrily.

"I know, but if I don't, he will continue to follow my orders indirectly."

"Then maybe you should give him the rings." Nathalie motioned to him with the ring she was wearing.

"What? Now?" Gabriel grabbed the hand that was wearing the ring.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be right now." Nathalie said annoyed "But the sooner you release him, the better it will be for him."

Gabriel made coffee, contemplating how he should give the rings to Adrien without causing him more suffering than necessary. It was obvious that at some point he had to tell him about his origins, but… not yet.

He sat in front of the cup of coffee he had just poured and kept turning the spoon inside his coffee until it gradually cooled down.

Adrien returned with the jacket in his hands, only to find a very strange atmosphere between both adults.

Marinette went to see them as she had become accustomed to. She was going to wait for Luka to bring the new doses of medicine with him to give them to Gabriel and Nathalie.

Adrien met her at the entrance.

"Marinette, you've come." Adrien let her pass "Nathalie and my father will be available in a few moments, let's go to my room to wait in the meantime."

Adrien and Marinette went to Adrien's room. Adrien invited Marinette to take a place on the couch with him.

"How did your appointment with the therapist go, Adrien?" Marinette sat next to him on the couch.

"Today I mentioned to Gerald that I didn't know what to do with my life and he asked me to fill this out." Adrien handed her the paper he had in his hand. Marinette recognized the sheet. It was quite similar to the ones they had been given at school some time ago.

"Are you still having trouble choosing a career, Adrien?" Marinette sat next to him.

"I would like to be like you Marinette. You already have an idea of what you're going to do, but I... I still don't have the slightest idea of what I want to do with my life."

"Don't feel bad, Adrien," Marinette gave him a reassuring smile "It's normal. I'm not sure what I'm going to choose either. There are so many things I like about the design that I'm having trouble choosing just one branch."

Marinette started to think. There had to be some way she could help Adrien this time. Suddenly an idea crossed her mind.

"What if you experienced someone else's careers to find out what you like?"

"But how can I do that, Marinette?" Adrien didn't have the slightest idea where to start.

Marinette thought about the private classes she used to take.

"Adrien, do you want to go to particular classes with me?" Marinette asked.

"Do you take particular classes on holidays, Marinette?"

"Sometimes, especially when I have time." Marinette forgot that she no longer had time to do those things "When I had time, I usually did it. There are many classes you could sign up for, the classes are free and you can choose the project you want. You could try if you like something. My mom also teaches classes as a volunteer, she could help you too. You should speak with your father to get permission."

"I don't know if he is going to give me permission for that, Marinette." Adrien rubbed his arm nervously.

"Then I'll with you to speak with them, Adrien."

Marinette took Adrien by the hand. Adrien took them both to where Nathalie and Gabriel were waiting for them.

Nathalie was sitting on the bed, while Gabriel helped her clean the mess she had on it. It seemed like they were still looking for how to solve Nathalie's problem.

Both adults were in Nathalie's room. She was checking some things on her tablet while Gabriel went around the room with a brush, cleaning off the dust that had accumulated over the past few days and rearranging things out of place.

"Before we start, Adrien wants to ask you something." Marinette motioned for Adrien to ask.

Adrien played with his ring, nervous.

"I am thinking about going to particular classes."

"These are the particular classes I go to on holidays." Marinette intervened "I always choose the art related one, but there are many other options that Adrien can choose from, it could help him find something he likes for his future."

"Is this something you want? Tell me the truth, Adrien." Nathalie wanted to make sure Adrien really wanted it and wasn't influenced by anyone else.

"Yes, Nathalie. I would be very happy if with that I could find my purpose in life."

Both adults remained silent at Adrien's request.

"Then I agree." Nathalie said from her seat.

"Nathalie?" Gabriel didn't expect Nathalie to say yes to Adrien before asking him.

"It's for Adrien to distract himself for a while. Don't you agree?"

Gabriel also believed that it was time to give Adrien a little more freedom.

"You have my permission," Gabriel sighed "But when you leave, I want you to let me know, do you understand Adrien?"

"It's okay, father, thank you." Adrien bowed his head a little in gratitude.

"Then I'll show you what options there are, Adrien," Marinette looked for the school's website where all the activities were listed "I have the complete list for you to review."

For the moment Marinette would touch on a topic that was of vital importance

"Now I have to tell you about what Luka and I have been doing. We were thinking of a theory, something that perhaps could help buy you more time while we look for a cure for you. But we won't know until we try."

"What are you referring to?" Gabriel asked without understanding anything of what she was saying.

"We were thinking that maybe if you distract yourselves from your negative thoughts, both the cataclysm and Nathalie's illness would progress more slowly. That would give us time."

To Gabriel that seemed silly.

"Look, Marinette, I'm grateful for what you're doing for us, but you can't ask us to do something so absurd."

Nathalie, on the other hand, thought they could try.

"And what did you have in mind to achieve it?"

"Well, we were thinking about them doing things on the side, like… hobbies." Marinette said, nervous about the reaction they would have to her idea.

Hobbies. That idea seemed a bit ridiculous to Gabriel.

"Doesn't Nathalie have any hobbies?" Marinette asked curiously.

"Sometimes I read. I also used to play chess, but," Nathalie looked at Gabriel with a sullen expression "My chess partner decided… to dedicate himself to other, more productive things."

"Nathalie…" Gabriel knew what he was referring to.

"And you couldn't retake it?" Marinette asked. "That could help to control the pain."

"I could play with you Nathalie." Adrien wanted to spend more time with Nathalie since he had free time now.

"But Adrien, you don't know how to play chess..." Nathalie smiled at him.

"I don't know, you could teach me how to play Chess. I wouldn't mind." Adrien looked expectant at Nathalie's response.

She could try.

"I'll do it for you Adrien." Nathalie gave Adrien a loving look.

Marinette received the message she was waiting for at that moment. Luka had arrived.

"Sir, Luka has arrived with this week's medicine. He's waiting at the door right now."

"Then I'm going to let him in." Gabriel headed downstairs to let Luka enter. He prepared to open the gate and then went to open the main door of the mansion.

Only to find a crocodile behind the door.

Gabriel jumped back and closed the door quickly.

Adrien went down to guide Luka to the second floor, only to find his father with an expression of… Fear?

"What's wrong Father?"

"There…there is an animal behind the door." Gabriel walked away from the door scared.

An animal? Adrien was very surprised. What does he mean?

When Adrien opened the door, he found Luka giving him a wave and Fang behind him wagging his tail.

"Hello Luka, come in."

Luka walked in with Fang following behind him.

"I'm sorry for bringing Fang here, but I couldn't escape from my dad because he kept insisting that I take care of him. So, I had no choice but to bring him with me."

Fang wagged his tail excitedly, as if he were a dog.

Gabriel walked away a little watching Fang approach him. He grimaced and took a step back when the crocodile came up to greet him and hit him on the feet with his tail, playfully.

"Don't worry, Fang is well behaved. As long as you don't provoke him, everything will be fine."

Luka went to the second floor accompanied by Fang and Adrien. Gabriel followed behind, keeping his distance. Before entering Luka stopped Adrien in his tracks.

"Adrien, could you do me a favor and watch Fang for me this time? I just wouldn't want to infortune Miss Sancoeur and Mr. Agreste while we talk." Luka saw Adrien's expression and Gabriel behind him frowning at the idea of his son being alone with the crocodile. "Don't worry, he's very friendly."

"It's not that, I would like to listen and see what you are going to do." Adrien received Fang's leash from Luka.

"I can leave the door open so you can listen to us."

Adrien thought about it for a moment.

"Okay, Luka." Adrien pulled Fang over and he went to a corner near the door to listen to what Luka was going to say to Nathalie and his father.

Luka came in to deliver the new dose of medicine he had created for that week.

"Good morning, Miss Sancoeur. Since the medicine we gave you had a good effect on you, we brought you more." Luka showed her the new vial with the liquid "You have to drink a little every day."

"Haven't you figured out a way to cure Nathalie yet?" Gabriel felt a little anxious about that topic.

"We're still working on it. This is a second version of the medicine we have been giving you the last few weeks. It's to give Nathalie more time while we find a solution. We also brought something for you Mr. Agreste."

Luka took out a completely different vial than Nathalie. The liquid that was in it was completely black.

"What's that?"

"It is for pain and to reduce the effects of the cataclysm. It's the only thing we can do at the moment."

The liquid was strange. It didn't look good.

"We know that… it doesn't look very good. But it might be useful to you." Luka offered the bottle to Gabriel.

"Are you sure this will work?" Gabriel pointed to the bottle.

"Yes. It's a very old medicine." Luka shook the bottle a little "I found it in a guardians' guide, perfect for the pain. It's the strongest they have. It is the only one that does not have any side effects, but at the same time that causes it to lose properties. This was what guardians used in the toughest training in ancient times. Like the other medicine we gave you, you will have to take it once a week."

Gabriel took the medicine and put it in the inside pocket of his jacket.

Adrien was listening to everything next to the entrance. He didn't feel useful in the situation. With everything Luka and Marinette had done these last few weeks he felt like he didn't really do anything to help Nathalie and his father.

After finishing delivering everything that Luka had brought with him, he left the room, closing his backpack.

Adrien was sitting alone outside the room leaning against the wall. Fang was next to him and Adrien was caressing his scales. The crocodile grunted contently, resting its snout on Adrien's leg.

Luka noticed Adrien, Fang wagging his tail at him. Luka could tell that Adrien was very sad.

He approached him slowly so as not to distract Adrien.

"Is something wrong Adrien?" Luka sat next to him.

"I feel like I can't do anything to help like you are doing. I feel useless in this situation."

Luka realized that Adrien wanted to feel useful so he could help Nathalie.

"You know, I think you could help us with a couple of things," Luka said, "We'll need an extra hand from time to time."

Adrien looked at him.

"Also, I think we're going to need you to give moral support to Nathalie and your dad."

Adrien felt a little better with what Luka told him.

"Thank you, Luka." Adrien gave him a small smile.

Luka then proceeded to explain what he could do to help.

"I'll tell you what we need you to do for us. You'll see…"

After Marinette and Luka left, Gabriel went to the bathroom to open the bottle and drink the contents of the potion they both brought him. The potion was surprisingly odorless.

He took everything in one gulp as they had indicated.

But he managed to taste the horrible liquid.

He gagged before swallowing it all. He held onto the sink as he breathed rapidly.

That thing tasted horrible. It was the bitterest thing he had ever tasted in his life.

But he immediately felt that the cataclysm stopped hurting. He no longer felt the usual stinging of the skin and the usual burning sensation. That showed him that he could trust them to find a solution to his problem.

Gabriel returned to the office to continue working. While he was working, he heard the sound of knocking on the door.

"Go in."

Gabriel saw the gorilla entering his office, a little scared.

"What's going on?" Gabriel found it very strange that the Gorilla was behaving like that.

The gorilla showed him a large number of cards. Gabriel was surprised by the large number of letters he had in his hands.

"What's that?"

The gorilla handed him all the cards he had in his hands. Gabriel took one and checked the sender.

There was none. But what was there was a recipient.

Those were for him.

He opened it finding something that worried him a lot.

I hope you are ready for my revenge.

Revenge?

He took another one to examine it.

DIE.

Since he became famous, Gabriel had always received hate mail. But there was something very particular about these letters. They were all written with magazine clippings.

"Is there a sender for these letters?"

The gorilla denied. Gabriel checked some and none of them had a return address.

He needed a second opinion about all of this.

Gabriel put each of the cards on the kitchen table. Marinette, Adrien and Nathalie were observing each of them and discovered a very important detail.

They were all possibly from the same sender even though he didn't have one. The way all the letters were written was quite similar. Clippings from magazines and newspapers were used to create the messages in them. All the letters had some type of threat.

"Mr. Agreste, do you know if anyone is angry with you?" Marinette asked.

"Many people."

"Oh." Marinette didn't think discarding people would be so difficult.

Now they had a problem and that was to find out who was sending them those threatening notes.

"Father, do you have any idea who could be behind all this?" Adrien was impressed by the large amount of hate mail his father got.

"André, possibly Audrey, Tomoe," Gabriel added "And maybe many more people."

"That's a problem," Nathalie said, examining one of the letters that Gabriel had left on the table. "Gabriel, this could be related to the person who stole the butterfly Miraculous."

"Could someone be seeking revenge on you, Mr. Agreste?" Marinette was actually quite impressed with the large number of death threat letters that were sent to Gabriel in a single day.

"Possibly." Gabriel examined the papers he had. It was obvious that the person who sent him those letters was trying to intimidate him. He had made a lot of enemies these last few months, it could be anyone.

Perhaps if he had some of the letters examined by an expert, he could discover who had been the sender of those threatening letters.

"I'm thinking about sending this to a forensic expert. This is not the first time I have received this type of letters in my entire career. It would be better to rule out whether these letters come from someone who hates me as Gabriel Agreste."

"Do you need me to put you in contact with the forensics, Gabriel?" Nathalie prepared to look up the number.

"Yes, please Nathalie. Do it as soon as you can."

After the affirmative response from the forensics, and the sending of the evidence to be examined. Gabriel began to analyze the evidence he had so far. He reviewed the recordings again frame by frame to see if he could gather any relevant information.

Gabriel paused the recording. The glasses that girl was wearing made her unrecognizable in front of the cameras. He was completely sure that the person in the recordings was a female. He could not distinguish anything about her face no matter how much he applied filters that could clarify her face. Another detail he could recognize about that person was her short black hair.

He didn't recognize her at all.

But who could she be?

He examined the other cameras around the mansion. He saw that the person had found a way to breach his security system or perhaps his security system was already damaged enough in the battle he had with Bug Noire to detect the intruder. Apparently, this person owned a computer with the Tsurugi logo that he could distinguish by cleaning the image with the zoom. It was something very strange, not to mention suspicious.

Could Tomoe have something to do with it?

No, Madame Tsurugi is no fool. Gabriel was sure that she would take the threats he made seriously. He had the power to take her down with him if things went wrong. Examining the laptop closely, it looked very similar to a computer that Madame Tsurugi had and that she lost the day they tried to put Chloe as mayor of Paris.

Could this person be working for someone else? Could she be working alone?

That was the real mystery, there was no way that person could have done it alone. Unless she was a fairly skilled and intelligent person.

Where did she got that laptop?

That was a vital clue that he would have to take into account later.

Gabriel was going to take the initiative and start investigating on his own who could be the person who was threatening them.

A new threat! Who could it be?