Unclean Hands 🫴🏻 (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction)

21 | First Crack In The Glass

The three shared a worried look and kept watch.

"Are you Nathalie Sancoeur?" Officer Reimer asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I am. Can I ask what this is about?"

Officer Laurent glanced around the wide foyer. "May we come in?"

"Of course." Nathalie stepped back as she opened the door further and the officers in.

Adrien, Marinette, and Felix ducked before they were caught and crawled over near the staircase.

"Let's talk in my office," She told them as she lead them in the other room.

Once the door shut, the three of them ran over and sat quietly by the door, holding their ear to the door to listen.

Nathalie faced them and asked, "How can I help you officers?"

"I'm sure you're aware of your boss' disappearance, correct?" Officer Reimer said as he pulled out a small notepad to take notes.

"Yes... he ran away a little over a month ago."

"Why do you believe he ran away?"

Nathalie crossed her arms. "Because that's what happened. Officer Roger found a letter in Gabriel's desk when he first investigated."

Officer Laurent nodded and asked, "What did the letter say?"

"Umm, that he couldn't do this anymore. His wife's disappearance caused him too much pain and misery, and he couldn't be here anymore."

"And you believe what he wrote?"

She shrugged. "It makes sense. This life, his brand, was getting too much for him."

Officer Reimer wrote something down on his notepad. "So, Mr. Agreste had talked to you about it? He's expressed his concerns?"

"Sometimes, yes. Gabriel must've simply cracked and left this all behind. I'm surprised he didn't sooner.

"Why?" Officer Laurent asked.

"He..." Nathalie sighed with a  frown. "Gabriel wasn't the same after Emelie, uh, his wife, disappeared. He... changed."

"Changed how?"

Natalie glanced at the door and thought of Adrien. She closed her eyes tight. "He became obsessed with his work and creations." Not to mention certain superheroes and their jewelry. "Sometimes he'd stay awake in his office for days, just working on new designs." Or plans to finally defeat Ladybug and Cat Noir. "He became distant from everyone, including me and his son."

Officer Laurent glanced around the room, at the designs that hung on the walls. "So... Gabriel Agreste simply ran away and abandoned his work and his family. That's what all the news reports are saying, right?"

"Yes."

"Well..." Officer Reimer looked up at Nathalie. "We have reason to believe Gabriel Agreste didn't run away."

Adrien's eyes widened and he squeezed Marinette's hand tight. No, no, no. This wasn't supposed to happen. We were careful! We had the perfect plan.

Nathalie gasped. "W-What? What are you talking about?"

"Miss Sancoeur, Mr. Agreste had a business trip scheduled in Brazil the night he disappeared, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And you and his bodyguard took a flight without Mr. Agreste?"

Does he suspect me? She slowly nodded. "Yes, he was supposed to take a different flight and meet us at the hotel."

"Why wasn't he with you already?" Officer Reimer asked.

"Gabriel wanted to stay behind and talk with his son about something." I wondered if finally told Adrien the truth...

Adrien and Marinette shared a look.

This was bad. This was very, very bad.

Nathalie cleared her throat. "I don't understand, what's going on?"

Officers Reimer and Laurent looked at each other.

"Ma'am, if Mr. Agreste was truly fed up with this life, why would he leave that letter behind and then still drive to the airport? That's where his car was found, abandoned."

"I-I don't know," She spat out fast. "What are you trying to say?"

Officer Laurent sighed. "We suspect someone sabotaged Gabriel Agreste and made sure he never made it to Brazil."

"And someone wants us to think otherwise," His partner added.

Nathalie's eyes widened. "What, you think someone followed Gabriel and attacked him, or something?"

"Or something."

"One of two things could've taken place," Officer Reimer began to explain. "Gabriel Agreste really did run away, or someone wants to make it look like he did."

"What? I..." Nathalie shook her head. "Why would someone do that?"

"To cover up something worse."

"Like what?"

"Murder."

Marinette could tell Adrien was about to break down, so to avoid getting caught and making this situation worse, she grabbed his hand and dragged him back upstairs to his bedroom. Felix followed and closed the door behind them.

"What did we do wrong?" Adrien asked as he paced back and forth, nervous. "I thought we did everything right!"

"Adrien, calm down!" Marinette told him. "We've come this far. We can't lose focus now."

"It's over, Marinette!" He shouted at her. "We're done! It's only a matter of time until we're caught."

"I'm not going to let that happen," Felix said.

Adrien looked at his cousin. "What?"

"I gave my word, that I'm keeping this secret with you. Those officers only have their suspicions. If we can convince them Gabriel Agreste truly ran away, then no one will find out the truth."

Adrien didn't mean to, but he snorted. "How are we going to do that? They're here—in my house! They can't be here!"

"Cousin, relax! It's not like they're going to find anything."

Marinette and Adrien shared a worried look.

"Right?!" Felix shouted.

She lowered her head and whispered, "Well..."

"Oh no."

"We sort of... hid my father's body... in the basement."

Felix's eyes widened. "You... what?!" He went to scream at them again but stopped. His glare softened. "Wait, so you've been down there?"

"Yes," Adrien answered as he nodded. "Wait, did you know about it?"

"And you know what's down there?"

"The butterfly garden?" Marinette said. "Yes, it's beautiful. Sick and horrible, but beautiful."

"So, you know she's down there?" Felix asked.

Adrien tilted his head, confused. "She? What... what are you talking about?"